NORTEC POLICY STATEMENT NEG-OJT PROGRAM

Transcription

1 PURPOSE NORTEC POLICY STATEMENT NEG-OJT PROGRAM The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines to the Service Providers (NoRTEC Subcontractors) in the provision of On-the-Job (OJT) Training services to employers on behalf of participants enrolled in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), OJT National Emergency Grant (OJT-NEG) program. The following provides information on the minimum requirements for the provision of OJT services. Service Providers may include additional elements in their local policies and procedures, as long as they are in conformance with this policy, the WIA, DOL Regulations, and State of California Directives. DEFINITIONS/GENERAL INFORMATION 1. On-the-Job Training (OJT) means training by an employer that is provided to a paid participant while engaged in productive work in a job that (WIA, Section 101(31)): (A) Provides knowledge or skills essential to the full and adequate performance of the job; (B) Provides reimbursement to the employer of up to 90% 1 of the wage rate of the participant for the extraordinary costs of providing the training and additional supervision related to the training; and (C) Is limited in duration as appropriate to the occupation for which the participant is being trained, taking into account the content of the training, the prior work experience of the participant, and the service strategy of the participant, as appropriate OJT may be provided by an employer in the private non-profit or private sector. Public sector employers are not eligible to participate under this program. 3. OJT payments to employer are deemed to be compensation for the extraordinary costs associated with training participants and the costs associated with the lower 1 Maximum reimbursement to employers for the extraordinary cost of training is based upon the following employer size: 1. Up to 90% of the participant s wage rate for employers with 50 or fewer employees; 2. Up to 75% of the participant s wage rate for employers with employees; 3. Up to 50% of the participant s wage rate for employers with more than 250 employees. Employer size is based upon employment at the company s local operation where the OJT placement takes place, and is defined prior to the hiring of any OJT-NEG participant. 2 Employer size may not be the sole criteria for determining the wage percentage reimbursement. The participant s skills gap for the position must also be part of the determination of the length of the OJT, as well as the percentage of reimbursement to the employer.

2 productivity of the participants. Employers are not required to document such extraordinary costs. 4. The length of an OJT contract under this program may not exceed 1,040 hours or six months, whichever comes first. While participants enrolled in this program will be coenrolled in another WIA funding title to cover all costs associated with this training opportunity, except for OJT reimbursements to employers and a limited amount of supportive services 3, the 1,040 hour/six month limitation applies to entire WIA experience under that WIA application number. In no instance may the length of the OJT be extended beyond the 1,040 hours/six month period, regardless of the funding source utilized to reimburse the employer for participant wages during the training period. 5. A certificate of attainment shall be issued to OJT participants who successfully complete the job specific skills training plan outlined in the OJT contract. This training plan should align with the skills, abilities, and knowledge identified in the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Classification Directory, but may be modified through negotiations between the Service Provider and the employer to best meet both the employer s and the trainee/participant s needs. 6. Documentation of the participant s skills gap for the position, the resulting training plan, and the participant s skill gains shall be documented through a NoRTEC Job Specific Skills Certification or an Employer-Based Certification, which shall include a Pre-Test and Post- Test (the Post-Test must be signed by the employer). The development of this training plan shall also reflect the rationale for the length of the OJT and the percentage of the wage reimbursement to the employer, and will be documented in the participant file. PARTICIPANT/TRAINEE ELIGIBILITY To be eligible for program participation under this OJT-NEG program, the individual seeking services must meet the following requirements: 1. Meet the definition of a dislocated worker as defined at WIA Section 101(9); and 2. Must have been laid off after January 1, 2008, and 3. Must meet the definition of prolonged unemployed 4. In addition to the above requirements, the individual must also be/have: 1. Enrolled in the WIA program, and 3 Supportive Services paid for under this grant are limited to a maximum of 8% of the total Service Provider allocation. 4 Prolonged Unemployed refers to those dislocated workers who have been unemployed beyond California s average Unemployment Insurance (UI) duration of 21.5 weeks. Note the number of weeks unemployed is the important indicator, not the UI status. Therefore, an individual not covered by UI may still be considered prolonged unemployed if the period of unemployment exceed the State s average UI duration.

3 2. Received at least one Intensive Service, and 3. Completed an Individual Service Strategy or Individual Employment Plan, and 4. Been referred to and hired by employer, but need specific skills in order to become proficient on the job. PARTICIPANT PRIORITY OF SERVICE Per NoRTEC policy, intensive and training services shall be considered limited when they are immediate competing demands for these resources. When the resources under this program are limited, service priority shall go to: 1. First Priority: Individuals not covered by UI and unemployed for 99 weeks or longer after January 1, Veterans and participants with the greatest barriers to employment receive priority of services. 2. Second Priority: Individuals who have been unemployed and/or receiving UI benefits and meet the definition of prolonged unemployed (i.e., have been unemployed for 21.5 weeks or longer). EMPLOYER ELIGIBILITY To be an eligible employer under this OJT-NEG program, the employer and proposed OJT position must meet the following requirements: 1. The employer must be part of one of the industry clusters involved in NoRTEC s WIRED program: Health Care IT Agri-business Niche Manufacturing Renewable Energy ( Green ) Small Business 2. The employer must be part of the private or private nonprofit sector. Public sector employers are not eligible under this program. 3. The position must have a starting wage rate of no less than $10 per hour 5, and a minimum of 30 hours of work per week. 4. The employer must have an identifiable job with necessary equipment, materials, and supervisor(s) to perform the training. CONTRACT ELEMENTS NoRTEC requires a written, signed agreement between a Service Provider representative and an authorized employer representative prior to the start of work. At a minimum, an OJT 5 The average hourly wage rate for this OJT program must be at least $12 per hour, with no individual OJT contract written for an hourly wage rate of less than $10 per hour.

4 contract between the Service Provider and the employer must comply with the requirements of Sections 195(4) and 101(31) of the Workforce Investment Act and include: 1. The occupation(s) for which the training is to be provided. 2. The duration of the training (1,040 hours or six months, whichever comes first). 3. The wage rate to be paid to the trainee/participant. 4. The rate of reimbursement The maximum amount of the reimbursement A training outline that reflects the work/skills required for the position An outline of any separate classroom training that may be provided by the employer. 8. The employer s agreement to maintain and make available time and attendance, payroll, and other records to support amounts claimed by the employer for reimbursement under the OJT contract. 9. The employer s agreement to remain in compliance with training plans and monitoring guidelines. 10. A written assurance by the employer that said employer complies with the following wage and labor standards: a. Trainees/Participants shall be compensated at the same rates, including periodic increases, as trainees or employees who are similarly situated in similar occupations by the same employer and who have similar training, experience, and skills. Such rates must be accordance with applicable law, but may not be less than the higher of the rate specified in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) or the applicable State or local minimum wage law. b. Trainees/Participants shall be provided benefits and working conditions at the same level and to the same extent as other trainees or employees working a similar length of time and doing the same type of work. 11. A written assurance by the employer that said employer complies with the following health and safety standards: 6 The training reimbursement percentage is applied against the participant s wage rate, unless the wage rate exceeds California s hourly rate of $ If the wage rate exceeds $23.82, the reimbursement amount will have to be lowered so it does not exceed the amount reimbursed on an hourly wage of $ For example, 80% of $23.82 is $ If it is determined the prevailing wage rate for a specific job is $35.00 per hour, and the reimbursement rate was set at 80%, the maximum amount, per hour, the employer could reimbursed is $19.06 (not $28.00 per hour, which is 80% of $35.00). 7 The reimbursement rate is based on the standard hourly rate (i.e., reimbursement is not paid on an overtime rate). The reimbursement must be based on hours actually worked by the trainee/participant, and does not include reimbursement for holidays, sick leave, vacation leave, or other non-training hours. (If a trainee works overtime hours, reimbursement can be made for those hours, but at the standard hourly rate, not the overtime rate.) 8 The trainee s/participant s skills gap for the position, the resulting training plan, and the trainee s/participant s skill gains shall be documented through a NoRTEC Job Specific Skills Certification or an Employer-Based Certification, which shall include a Pre-Test and Post-Test (the Post-Test must be signed by the employer). or employer_based_certification.pdf

5 12. A written assurance by the employer that said employer is in compliance with Federal and State laws including those laws pertaining to nondiscrimination based on race, color, sex, religions, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, and marital stauts. 13. A written assurance the employer is not experiencing abnormal labor conditions such as strikes, lockouts, or layoffs and the OJT trainee/participant will not dislocated or affect employment or promotional opportunities for the employer s current or laid-off employees. 14. The employer or immediate supervisor is not providing OJT training to a member of his/her immediate family (defined as: wife, husband, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, aunt uncle niece, nephew, grandparent or grandchild). MONITORING 1. NoRTEC s Service Providers must monitor each OJT contract at the worksite at least once each calendar month during the OJT period 9. This monitoring will be documented in the participant file and will, at a minimum, include a review of the job specific skills outlined in the training plan. 2. The participant and the employer shall review and sign the final monitoring report of the job specific skills outlined in the training plan portion of the OJT contract NoRTEC will monitor the Service Providers for compliance with this OJT policy as part of the regularly scheduled programmatic and fiscal monitoring, as appropriate. Monitoring by NoRTEC may be on-site or via desk review. PROHIBITIONS 1. A participant may not be placed in an OJT if: (A) any other individual is on layoff (within the previous 365 days) from the same or substantially equivalent job; (B) the employer has terminated the employment of a regular employee with the intention of filling the vacancy with an OJT participant; or (C) the OJT position infringes on the promotional opportunities of currently employed workers Contracts that begin after the 15 th of a given moth are exempt from a Service Provider monitoring visit for that calendar month. Contracts that end prior to the 16 th day of a given month are exempt from a Service Provider monitoring visit for that month. (Note: Any contract, however, of a duration of less than 31 calendar days must be monitored at least once during the time period of the contract.) 10 This program requires employer certification that the trainee/participant has achieved the job skills outlined in the training plan. This sign-off on the final monitoring visit (i.e., the post-test ) will meet this employer certification requirement. 11 The prohibition on displacement may also include a partial displacement, such as a reduction in the hours of non-overtime work, wages, or employment benefits of any current employee.

6 2. Funding for the OJT-NEG program is part of ARRA. Therefore, OJT positions under the program may not be developed with casinos or other gambling establishments, swimming pools, aquariums, zoos, or golf courses. 3. OJTs may not be written with public sector employers. 4. OJTs may not be written to employ the participant in a position involved in the construction, operation, or maintenance of that part of a facility used for religious instruction or worship (sectarian activities). 5. OJTs may not be written to employ a participant in a position directly or indirectly involved with assisting, promoting, or deterring union activities. 6. OJTs may not be written to employ a participant in a position involving political activities. 7. OJTs shall not be entered into with employers of a business or part of a business that has relocated from any location in the United States, until such company has operated at the new location for 120 days, if the relocation resulted in any employee losing her/his job at the original location. 8. OJT contracts shall not be entered into with employers who have received payments under previous contracts and have exhibited a pattern of failing to provide OJT participants with continued long-term employment as regular employees with wages and employment benefits (including health benefits) and working conditions at the same level and to the same extent as other employees working a similar length of time and doing the same type of work 12. POLICY EXCEPTIONS Service Providers (NoRTEC Subcontractors) may make exceptions to this policy only with prior written authorization from the NoRTEC Administrative Entity. 12 The determination of whether an employer has previously exhibited a pattern of failing to provide OJT participants with continued long-term employment as regular employees with wages and employment benefits (including health benefits) and working conditions at the same level and to the same extent as other employees working a similar length of time and doing the same type of work, will be determined by the local One Stop that writes the OJT contract with the employer. One Stop staff will document the determination in the participant file if a contract is written. One Stop staff may use the following form to document the determination, or may develop their own method of documentation: