20 C.F.R. Subpart B—Program Requirements
Title 20 - Employees' Benefits
(a)(1) To establish a continuing relationship under the Act, the Governor and the Secretary shall enter into a Governor/Secretary agreement. The agreement shall consist of a statement assuring that the State shall comply with (i) the Job Training Partnership Act and all applicable rules and regulations and (ii) the Wagner-Peyser Act and all applicable rules and regulations. The agreement shall specify that guidelines, interpretations, and definitions, adopted and issued by the Governor and identified pursuant to section 124 of the Act, shall, to the extent that they are consistent with the Act and applicable rules and regulations, be accepted by the Secretary. (2) Either the Governor or the Secretary may seek a modification, revision, or termination of the agreement at any time, to be effective at the end of a program year. (b) Except as provided at part B of title III of the Act and part 631, subpart G, of this chapter, the State shall be the grant recipient of JTPA funds awarded under titles I, II, and III. (a)(1) The Governor may request, and the Secretary may grant, a waiver of specific provisions of these regulations to the extent that such request is consistent with the provisions of the Act. (2) In requesting a waiver under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the Governor shall demonstrate how it will either improve the targeting of services to the hard to serve, increase the level of basic and occupational skills training provided by the JTPA program in the State, contribute to the provision of academic enrichment services to youth, promote coordination of JTPA programs with other human resource programs, or substantially improve the job placement outcomes of the JTPA program. (3) Waivers granted by the Secretary shall be effective for no more than four years from the date the waiver is granted. No funds available under titles I, II-A, II-C, or III-A of the Act may be used for public service employment (sections 141(p) and 314(d)(2)). (a)(1) Recipients, SDA grant recipients, title III substate grantees, and other subrecipients shall comply with the nondiscrimination provisions of section 167 of the Act. (2) Nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirements and procedures, including complaint processing and compliance reviews, are governed by the provisions of 29 CFR part 34 and are administered and enforced by the DOL Directorate of Civil Rights. (3) Funds may be used to meet a recipient's or subrecipient's obligation to provide physical and programmatic accessibility and reasonable accommodation in regard to the JTPA program as required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. (b) The employment or training of participants in sectarian activities is prohibited. (a) No funds provided under the Act shall be used, or proposed for use, to encourage or to induce the relocation of an establishment, or part thereof, that result in the loss of employment for any employee or such establishment at the original location. (b) For 120 days after the commencement or the expansion of commercial operations of a relocating establishment, no funds provided under this Act shall be used for customized or skill training, on-the-job training, or company-specific assessments of job applicants or employees, for any relocating establishment or part thereof at a new, or expanded location, if the relocation of such establishment or part thereof results in a loss of employment for any employee of such establishment at the original location. (c) For the purposes of this section, relocating establishment means a business entity, including a successor-in-interest, which is moving any operations from a facility in one labor market area within the United States and its territories to a new or expanding facility in another labor market area. For the purposes of this section, a labor market area is an area within which individuals can readily change employment without changing their place of residence. (d) Pre-award review. To verify that an establishment which is new or expanding is not, in fact, relocating employment from another area, standardized pre-award review procedures developed by the State shall be completed and documented jointly by the service delivery area or substate grantee and the establishment as a prerequisite to JTPA assistance. The review should include names under which the establishment does business, including successors-in-interest; the name, title, and address of the company official certifying the information; the name and address of the facility in the other geographic location which is being closed or from which business is being transferred; a statement from the employer about job losses at that location; the nature of the products or business being transferred; the date the facility will commence or expand operations, and whether JTPA assistance is sought in connection with past or impending job losses at other facilities. (e) Violations and sanctions. The Department will promptly review and take appropriate action with regard to alleged violations of the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. Procedures for the investigation and resolution of the violations are provided for under subpart F of this part. Sanctions and remedies are provided for under subpart G of this part. (a) Coordination. Financial assistance programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) (the Pell Grant program, the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant program, the Work-study program, and Federal loan programs such as Federal Perkins Loans. Federal Stafford Loans and Federal Direct Stafford Loans) provide student financial aid and are available to JTPA participants enrolling in postsecondary level education programs. SDA's and title III SSG's shall establish coordination procedures and contractual safeguards to ensure that JTPA funds are used in addition to funds otherwise available in the area and are coordinated with these funding sources. (b) Affordable programs. (1) The SDA shall assist the participant early in the objective assessment, as appropriate, to establish eligibility for Pell Grants, student loans and other forms of financial aid. (2) The SDA or SSA shall record in the ISS or participant record the participant's training-related financial assistance needs and the mix of JTPA and other funds, including Pell Grant funds (sections 141(b), 107(b), 205(b) and 265(b)). (3) The SDA shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that available Federal, State, and local resources are coordinated sufficiently to meet the training and education-related costs of services, so that the participant can afford to complete the agreed-upon program successfully. (4) Participants shall not be required to apply for or access student loans, or incur personal debt as a condition of JTPA participation. (c) Information sharing. To prevent duplication of funding and to streamline the tracking of the participant's financial needs and use of funds when HEA, title IV programs are involved, contracts and agreements with educational institutions shall require the educational institution's financial aid officer to inform the SDA's/SSG's of the amounts and disposition of any HEA, title IV awards and other types of financial aid to each JTPA participant awarded after the enrollment of the participant, as part of a continuing, regular information sharing process (section 141(b)). (a)(1) No funds available under the Act shall be used for employment generating activities, economic development activities, investment in revolving loan funds, capitalization of businesses, investment in contract bidding resource centers, or similar activities. (2) No funds available under titles I, II, or III of the Act shall be used for foreign travel for employment generating activities, economic development activities, or similar activities. (b) JTPA funds may be used for normal employer outreach and job development activities including, but not limited to: contacts with potential employers for the purpose of placement of JTPA participants; participation in business associations (such as chambers of commerce); JTPA staff participation on economic development boards and commissions, and work with economic development agencies, to provide information about JTPA and to assist in making informed decisions about community job training needs; subscriptions to relevant publications; general dissemination of information on JTPA programs and activities; labor market surveys; and development of on-the-job training (OJT) opportunities, as defined in §627.240; and other allowable JTPA activities in the private sector. (a) No currently employed worker shall be displaced by any participant (including partial displacement such as a reduction in the hours of nonovertime work, wages, or employment benefits). (b) No participant shall be employed or job opening filled: (1) When any other individual is on layoff from the same or any substantially equivalent job, or (2) When the employer has terminated any regular employee without cause or otherwise reduced its workforce with the intention of filling the vacancy so created by hiring a participant whose wages are subsidized under the Act. (c) Violations and sanctions. The Department will promptly review and take appropriate action with regard to alleged violations of the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. Procedures for the investigation and resolution of violations are provided for under subpart F of this part. Sanctions and remedies are provided for under subpart G of this part. (a) The requirements set forth in sections 141, 142 and 143 of the Act apply to all programs under titles I, II, and III of the Act, except as provided elsewhere in the Act. (b) Recipients shall ensure that an individual enrolled in a JTPA program meets the requirements of section 167(a)(5) of the Act, Section 3 of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 453) and other requirements applicable to programs funded under the specific section or title of the Act under which the participant is enrolling (section 604). (c) Recipients shall ensure that individuals are enrolled within 45 days of the date of eligibility determination or a new eligibility determination (including new application, if necessary) shall be made, except that eligible summer program applicants under title II-B may be enrolled within 45 days into a summer youth enrollee pool, and no subsequent eligibility determination need be made prior to participation during the period of that summer program. In addition, the 45-day enrollment requirement shall not apply for individuals who have a valid certificate of continuing eligibility under the title III program, as described in §631.3 and §631.53 of this chapter. (d) Programs operated under titles I, II, and III of the Act are not subject to the provisions of 29 CFR part 97, “Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments,” except as otherwise explicitly provided in this chapter. (e) If a recipient or SDA imposes a requirement that is in addition to the provisions of the Act and these regulations relating to the administration and operation of programs funded by the Act, the recipient or SDA shall identify the requirement as a State- or SDA-imposed requirement (section 124). (a) General—(1) On-the-job training (OJT) means training by an employer in the private or public sector given to a participant who, after objective assessment, and in accordance with the ISS, has been referred to and hired by the employer following the development of an agreement with the employer to provide occupational training in exchange for reimbursement of the employer's extraordinary costs. On-the-job training occurs while the participant is engaged in productive work which provides knowledge and skills essential to the full and adequate performance of the job. (2) This does not preclude a participant who has been trained by one employer from ultimately being placed in a comparable training-related position with another employer. (3) On-the-job training may be sequenced with or accompanied by other types of training such as classroom training or literacy training. (b) Duration of OJT. (1) OJT authorized for a participant shall be limited to a period not in excess of that required for the participant to acquire the skills needed for the OJT position. Except as described in paragraph (b) (3) of this section, the period of reimbursement to the employer under an OJT agreement shall not exceed 6 months of training. (2) The 6-month duration of OJT may be expressed as a number of hours, days, or weeks the participant is expected to work in a 6-month period if the participant works full-time. (3) In the event that a participant's regular employment is less than full-time and less than 500 hours of OJT has occurred by the end of 6 months, that participant may remain in OJT until 499 hours OJT hours have occurred. (4)(i) Recipients shall develop policies and procedures for determining the average training duration for occupations including to reflect an individual participant's need for additional training time, or reduction in training time to reflect the individual participant's partial acquisition of needed skills. (In no case should an individual who is fully skilled in an occupation be placed in OJT in that occupation.) (ii) In determining the average training time, consideration should be given to recognized reference materials, such as the “Dictionary of Occupational Titles” (DOT) and employer training plans. Such materials need not be limited to the DOT, however. (5) On-the-job training is encouraged, but not required, in all occupations with significant training content, particularly in higher-skill occupations appropriate to the participant's needs. Training plans may be developed that recognize the full duration of the OJT period necessary for the full and adequate performance of the job, but the period of reimbursement may not exceed the duration in paragraph (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section. (6) When the OJT period in a given occupation for a participant for whom the ISS identifies OJT as appropriate varies from the average for that occupation, the basis for the variation shall be recorded in the ISS. (c) On-the-job training payments to employers. (1) On-the-job training payments to employers are deemed to be in compensation for the extraordinary costs associated with training participants and in compensation for the costs associated with the lower productivity of such participants. Employers shall not be required to document such extraordinary costs or lower productivity (section 141(g)(1)). (2)(i) On-the-job training payments to employers shall not, during the period of such training, average more than 50 percent of the wages paid by the employer to OJT participants. (ii) On-the-job training payments to employers may be based upon scheduled raises or regular pay increases. (iii) On-the-job training payments may not be based on overtime, shift differential, premium pay and other nonregular wages paid by the employer to participants. (iv) On-the-job training payments may not be based upon periods of time such as illness, holidays, plant downtime or other events in which no training occurs. (3) Employers which provide classroom or vestibule training to meet the specific training needs of JTPA participants to equip them with education and knowledge necessary to the OJT occupation may be separately reimbursed for training costs, such as instructors and training material. (d) On-the-job training agreements. (1) Each OJT agreement shall, at a minimum, specify the occupation(s) for which training is to be provided, the duration of the training, the number of participants to be trained in each occupation, wage rates to be paid, the rate of reimbursement, the maximum amount of reimbursement, a job description or training outline that reflects what the participant will learn, and any other separate classroom training that may be provided. (2) The agreement shall provide that the employer will maintain and make available time and attendance, payroll and other records to support amounts reimbursed under OJT contracts. (e) Labor standards. OJT participants shall be compensated by the employer at the same rates, including periodic increases, as similarly situated employees, but in no event less than the higher of the minimum wage specified under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended or the applicable State or local minimum wage. Participants must receive the same benefits and have the same working conditions as similarly situated employees. (f) Suitability of participants. (1) Only those participants who have been assessed and for whom OJT has been determined as an appropriate activity in the participant's ISS may be referred to an employer for participation in OJT. (2) An individual referred to the JTPA program by an employer may be enrolled in an OJT program with such employer only upon completion of the objective assessment and individual service strategy in which OJT with such employer has been determined to be an appropriate activity and only if the employer has not already hired such individual. (3) OJT with the participant's previous or current employer in the same, a similar, or an upgraded job is not permitted. (g) Monitoring. (1) OJT agreements shall be monitored periodically on-site by the entity issuing the contract to assure that the validity and propriety of amounts claimed for reimbursement are substantiated by payroll and time and attendance records and that the training is being provided as specified in the agreement. (2) Brokering contractors shall conduct on-site monitoring of the OJT employers and other subcontractors to verify compliance with subcontract terms before making payments. (3) Nothing in this paragraph (g) shall relieve recipients and SDA's from responsibility for monitoring expenditures under the Act. (h) Employer eligibility. (1) OJT agreements shall not be entered into with employers which, under previous agreements, have exhibited a pattern of failing to provide OJT participants with continued long-term employment as regular employees with wages, benefits and working conditions at the same level and to the same extent as similarly situated employees. This prohibition does not apply to OJT agreements for youth in the program under title II-B who are returning to school. (2) Governors shall issue procedures and criteria to implement the requirement in paragraph (h)(1) of this section, which shall specify the duration of the period of loss of eligibility. The procedures and criteria shall provide that situations in which OJT participants quit voluntarily, are terminated for cause, or are released due to unforeseeable changes in business conditions will not necessarily result in termination of employer eligibility. (i) Brokered OJT. Each agreement with an OJT employer that is written by a brokering contractor (not written directly by the SDA/SSA or recipient) shall specify and clearly differentiate the services to be provided by the brokering contractor (including but not limited to outreach, recruitment, training, counseling, assessment, placement, monitoring, and followup), the employer and other agencies and subcontractors, including services provided with or without cost by other agencies or subcontractors. (j) Youth OJT. OJT conducted under title II-C shall meet the requirements of subpart H of part 628 of this chapter (628.804), as well as the requirements of this section. Where OJT is provided to youth concurrently enrolled under titles II-B and II-C, the source of funding for the OJT shall govern which requirements apply. (k) Employment and employee leasing agencies—(1) Definition. The terms employment agency and employee leasing agency mean an employer that provides regular, on-going employment (i.e., not probationary, temporary, or intermittent employment) in a specific occupation and, for a fee, places employees at the worksite of another employer to perform work for such employer. (2) Employment and employee leasing agencies that meet the other requirements of this section may be eligible for OJT agreements when the agreement specifies the source of training and specifies that the payments are for the extraordinary training costs of the entity providing the training. (a) Definition. Work experience means a short-term or part-time training assignment with a public or private nonprofit organization for a participant who needs assistance in becoming accustomed to basic work requirements. It is prohibited in the private for-profit sector. (b) Suitability. Work experience should be designed to promote the development of good work habits and basic work skills. (c) Duration of work experience. Participation in work experience shall be for a reasonable length of time, based on the needs of the participant. The duration of work experience shall be recorded in the participant's ISS. (d) Combination with other services. Work experience under titles II-A and C shall be accompanied either concurrently or sequentially by other services designed to increase the basic education and/or occupational skills of the participant, as recorded in the ISS. (e) Work experience is not an allowable activity under title III of the Act. (Sections 204(b) and (c), 253(a), and 264 (c) and (d).) The Secretary hereby grants authority to the several States to enter into interstate agreements and compacts in accordance with section 127 of the Act and, as specified in §627.420(g), Procurement.
Title 20: Employees' Benefits
PART 627—GENERAL PROVISIONS GOVERNING PROGRAMS UNDER TITLES I, II, AND III OF THE ACT
Subpart B—Program Requirements
§ 627.200 Governor/Secretary agreement.
§ 627.201 Waivers.
§ 627.205 Public service employment prohibition.
§ 627.210 Nondiscrimination and nonsectarian activities.
§ 627.215 Relocation.
§ 627.220 Coordination with programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act including the Pell grant program.
§ 627.225 Employment generating activities.
§ 627.230 Displacement.
§ 627.235 General program requirements.
§ 627.240 On-the-job training.
§ 627.245 Work experience.
§ 627.250 Interstate agreements.
