20 C.F.R. § 631.30 Designation or creation and functions of a State dislocated worker unit or office, and rapid response assistance.
Title 20 - Employees' Benefits
(a) Designation or creation of State dislocated worker unit or office. The State shall designate or create an identifiable State dislocated worker unit or office with the capabilities and functions identified in paragraph (b) of this section. Such unit or office may be an existing organization or new organization formed for this purpose (section 311(b)(2)). The State dislocated worker unit or office shall: (1) Make appropriate retraining and basic adjustment services available to eligible dislocated workers through substate grantees, and in statewide, regional or industrywide projects; (2) Work with employers and labor organizations in promoting labor-management cooperation to achieve the goals of this part; (3) Operate a monitoring, reporting, and management system to provide adequate information for effective program management, review, and evaluation; (4) Provide technical assistance and advice to substate grantees; (5) Exchange information and coordinate programs with the appropriate economic development agency, State education and training and social services programs; (6) Coordinate with the unemployment insurance system, the Federal-State Employment Service system, the Trade Adjustment Assistance program and other programs under this chapter; (7) Receive advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs as provided at section 3(a)(2) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102(a)(2) and part 639 of this chapter); (8) Immediately notify (within 48 hours) the appropriate substate grantees following receipt of an employer notice of layoff or plant closing or of any other information that indicates a projected layoff or plant closing by an employer in the grantee's substate area, in order to continue and expand the services initiated by the rapid response team (section 311(b)(3)(D)); (9) Fully consult with labor organizations where substantial numbers of their members are to be served; and (10) Disseminate throughout the State information on the availability of services and activities under Title III of the Act and this part. (b) Rapid response capability. The dislocated worker unit shall have one or more rapid response specialists, and the capability to provide rapid response assistance, on-site, for dislocation events such as permanent closures and substantial layoffs throughout the State. The State shall not transfer the responsibility for the rapid response assistance functions of the State dislocated worker unit to another entity, but the State may contract with another entity to perform rapid response assistance services. Nothing in this paragraph shall remove or diminish the dislocated worker unit's accountability for ensuring the effective delivery of rapid response assistance services throughout the State (section 311(b)(12)). (1) State rapid response specialists should be knowledgeable about the resources available through programs under this part and all other appropriate resources available through public and private sources to assist dislocated workers. The expertise required by this part includes knowledge of the Federal, State, and local training and employment systems; labor-management relations and collective bargaining activities; private industry and labor market trends; programs and services available to veterans; and other fields necessary to carry out the rapid response requirements of the Act. (2) The rapid response specialists should have: (i) The ability to organize a broad-based response to a dislocation event, including the ability to coordinate services provided under this part with other State-administered programs available to assist dislocated workers, and the ability to involve the substate grantee and local service providers in the assistance effort; (ii) The authority to provide limited amounts of immediate financial assistance for rapid response activities, including, where appropriate, financial assistance to labor-management committees formed under paragraph (c)(2) of this section; (iii) Credibility among employers and in the employer community in order to effectively work with employers in difficult situations; and (iv) Credibility among employee groups and in the labor community, including organized labor, in order to effectively work with employees in difficult situations. (3) The dissemination of information on the State dislocated worker unit's services and activities should include efforts to ensure that major employers, organized labor, and groups of employees not represented by organized labor, are aware of the availability of rapid response assistance. The State dislocated worker unit should make equal effort in responding to dislocation events without regard to whether the affected workers are represented by a union. (4) In a situation involving an impending permanent closure or substantial layoff, a State may provide funds, where other public or private resources are not expeditiously available, for a preliminary assessment of the advisability of conducting a comprehensive study exploring the feasibility of having a company or group, including the workers, purchase the plant and continue it in operation. (5) Rapid response specialists may use funds available under this part: (i) To establish on-site contact with employer and employee representatives within a short period of time (preferably 48 hours or less) after becoming aware of a current or projected permanent closure or substantial layoff in order to— (A) Provide information on and facilitate access to available public programs and services; and (B) Provide emergency assistance adapted to the particular permanent closure or substantial layoff; such emergency assistance may include financial assistance for appropriate rapid response activities, such as arranging for the provision of early intervention services and other appropriate forms of immediate assistance in response to the dislocation event; (ii) To promote the formation of labor-management committees as provided for in paragraph (c) of this section, by providing: (A) Immediate assistance in the establishment of the labor-management committee, including providing immediate financial assistance to cover the start-up costs of the committee; (B) A list of individuals from which the chairperson of the committee may be selected; (C) Technical advice as well as information on sources of assistance, and liaison with other public and private services and programs; and (D) Assistance in the selection of worker representatives in the event no union is present; (iii) To provide ongoing assistance to labor-management committees described in paragraph (c) of this section by: (A) Maintaining ongoing contact with such committees, either directly or through the committee chairperson; (B) Attending meetings of such committees on an ex officio basis; and (C) Ensuring ongoing liaison between the committee and locally available resources for addressing the dislocation, including the establishment of linkages with the substate grantee or with the service provider designated by the substate grantee to act in such capacity; (iv) To collect information related to: (A) Economic dislocation (including potential closings or layoffs); and (B) All available resources within the State for serving displaced workers, which information shall be made available on a regular basis to the Governor and the State Council to assist in providing an adequate information base for effective program management, review, and evaluation; (v) To provide or obtain appropriate financial and technical advice and liaison with economic development agencies and other organizations to assist in efforts to avert worker dislocations; (vi) To disseminate information throughout the State on the availability of services and activities carried out by the dislocated worker unit or office; and (vii) To assist the local community in developing its own coordinated response and in obtaining access to State economic development assistance. (6) Notwithstanding the definition of “substantial layoff (for rapid response assistance)” at §631.2 of this part; (i) The Governor shall provide rapid response and basic readjustment services to members of a group of workers under the NAFTA Worker Security Act for which the Governor has made a finding under §631.3(j); and (ii) The Governor may, under exceptional circumstances, authorize rapid response assistance provided by a State dislocated worker unit when the layoff is less than 50 or more individuals, is not at a single site of employment, or does not take place during a single 30 day period. For purposes of this provision, exceptional circumstances include those situations which would have a major impact upon the community(ies) in which they occur (section 314(b)). (c) Labor-management committees. As provided in sections 301(b)(1) and 314(b)(1)(B) of the Act, labor-management committees are a form of rapid response assistance which may be voluntarily established to respond to actual or prospective worker dislocation. (1) Labor management committees ordinarily include (but are not limited to) the following: (i) Shared and equal participation by workers and management, with members often selected in an informal fashion; (ii) Shared financial participation between the company and the State, using funds provided under Title III of the Act, in paying for the operating expenses of the committee; in some instances, labor union funds may help to pay committee expenses; (iii) A chairperson, to oversee and guide the activities of the committee who— (A) Shall be jointly selected by the labor and management members of the committee; (B) Is not employed by or under contract with labor or management at the site; and (C) Shall provide advice and leadership to the committee and prepare a report on its activities; (iv) The ability to respond flexibly to the needs of affected workers by devising and implementing a strategy for assessing the employment and training needs of each dislocated worker and for obtaining the services and assistance necessary to meet those needs; (v) A formal agreement, terminable at will by the workers or the company management, and terminable for cause by the Governor; and (vi) Local job identification activities by the chairperson and members of the committee on behalf of the affected workers. (2) Because they include employee representatives, labor-management committees typically provide a channel whereby the needs of eligible dislocated workers can be assessed, and programs of assistance developed and implemented, in an atmosphere supportive to each affected worker. As such, committees must be perceived to be representative and fair in order to be most effective.
Title 20: Employees' Benefits
PART 631—PROGRAMS UNDER TITLE III OF THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT
Subpart D—State Administration
§ 631.30 Designation or creation and functions of a State dislocated worker unit or office, and rapid response assistance.
