ARTICLE
15
RELATING TO
HUMAN RESOURCE INVESTMENT COUNCIL
SECTION 1. Chapter 42-102 of the General Laws entitled
"Rhode Island Human
Resource Investment
Council" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
42-102-11.
State Work Immersion Program. -- (a)(1) The council shall develop a state
work immersion program and a non-trade apprenticeship
program. For the purposes of this
section work immersion shall mean a temporary, paid work
experience that provides a
meaningful learning opportunity and increases the employability
of the participant. The programs
shall be designed in order to provide post-secondary school
students and unemployed adults with
a meaningful work experience, and to assist businesses
by training individuals for potential
employment.
(2) Funding for the
work immersion program will be allocated from the job development
fund account and/or from funds appropriated in the annual
appropriations act. Appropriated funds
will match investments made by businesses in providing
meaningful work immersion positions
and non-trade apprenticeships.
(b) For each
participant in the work immersion program, the program shall reimburse
eligible businesses up to fifty percent (50%) of the cost of
not more than two hundred (200) hours
of work experience and during a period of ten (10)
weeks. If an eligible business hires a program
participant at the completion of such a program, the state may
provide reimbursement for a total
of seventy-five percent (75%) of the cost of the work
immersion position.
(c) The council shall
create a non-trade apprenticeship program and annually award
funding on a competitive basis to at least one (1) new
initiative proposed and operated by the
Governor's Workforce Board
Industry Partnerships. This
program shall meet the standards of
apprenticeship programs defined pursuant to section 28-45-9 of the
general laws. The council
shall present the program to the State Apprenticeship Council,
established pursuant to chapter 28-
45 of the general laws, for
review and consideration.
(d) An eligible
participant in programs established in subsections (b) and (c) must be at
least eighteen (18) years of age and must be a
non-Rhode Island resident, who is enrolled in a college or
university located in Rhode Island, is
eligible to participate while enrolled at the college or
university.
(e) In order to fully
implement the provisions of this section, the council is authorized to
promulgate rules and regulations. In developing rules and
regulations, the council shall consult
with the Governor's Workforce Board. The rules and
regulations shall define eligible businesses
that can participate in the programs created by this
section.
SECTION 2. Chapter 28-44 of the General Laws entitled
"Employment Security –
Benefits" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following section:
28-44-71.
Back to Work
purpose. – The general assembly hereby finds as follows:
(1) As of January 1,
2013,
(2) Despite this high
unemployment, businesses report difficulties and frustration in
locating employment candidates with the requisite knowledge,
skills, and abilities they need;
(3) In an uncertain
economy, employers are hesitant to invest in training if there is a risk
the investment will not result in a qualified and skilled
employee;
(4) Despite the need
for skilled employees, job seekers face difficulties in getting their
"foot in the door"
to demonstrate their value to potential employers;
(5) Statistics indicate
that unemployment compensation claimants who participated in
employer-partnered, structured training programs return to work more
quickly than those who do
not, and that such programs have saved significant sums
of employment security funds;
(6) The purpose of
the "Back to Work
with planned, structured, and career-relevant job training
to gain new skills and abilities and help
increase their prospects for employment, and assist employers in
locating and obtaining skilled
and well qualified job candidates for open employment
positions.
(b) Definitions. –
For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(1)
"Claimant" means a person collecting unemployment security benefits
under the
provisions of chapters 28-42 through 28-44 of this title;
(2)
"Department" means the
(3)
"Director" means the director of the
(4)
"Participating employer" means an employer who has voluntarily agreed
to participate
in the "Back to Work
by this section and as determined by the director;
(5)
"Program" means the "Back to Work
section;
(6) "Skill
enhancement and job training" means a planned, structured learning
environment for the primary benefit of the trainee and from which
the participating employer
derives no immediate advantage and which is designed to
provide the skills and knowledge
necessary to meet the employer's specifications for an
occupation or trade.
(7)
"Unemployment benefits" means the money payable to a claimant for his
or her wage
losses due to unemployment, payable pursuant to chapters 42
through 44 of this title, and includes
any amounts payable pursuant to an agreement under
federal law providing for compensation,
assistance, or allowances with respect to unemployment.
(c) Program
established. – (1) The "Back to Work
established and shall be administered by the department of labor
and training.
(2) The program shall
be designed so as to permit a claimant to be matched with an
employer participating in the program and be placed in
department-approved skill enhancement
and job training made available by the employer.
Participation by both claimant and employer
shall be voluntary. The employer shall provide the claimant
with skill enhancement and job
training relevant to an open employment position for up to
twenty-four (24) hours per week for
up to six (6) weeks. Upon completion of the six (6) week
period, claimants must be considered
for employment by the employer. During the six (6) week
period, the employer shall not
compensate the claimant in any way other than the training that
the claimant receives through
participation in the program. Both the employer and the claimant
may terminate participation in
the program at any time.
(3) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this title to the contrary, no otherwise eligible
individual shall be denied unemployment benefits because of his
or her participation in the "Back
to Work
claimant may receive a reasonable stipend in an amount
determined by the director to cover any
additional costs associated with their participation in the
program, including, but not limited to,
transportation or childcare costs.
(4) The department
shall notify employers of the availability of the program and shall
provide employers with information and materials necessary to
participate upon request.
(5) The department
shall continuously monitor the program to ensure that participating
employers enter the program in good faith with the genuine
expectation of hiring for the open
position and with the intent and ability to provide relevant
skill enhancement and job training.
(6) The department
shall develop and conduct an orientation program for participating
claimants and employers informing them of the rules,
regulations, opportunities, and limitations
of the "Back to Work
(7) A claimant may
stay in the program if they exhaust benefits or lose program
eligibility prior to the end of the six (6) week period;
(8) Participation in
the program by a claimant shall be limited to six (6) weeks in any
benefit year. A claimant shall be encouraged to end a
training relationship that is not beneficial
and shall be encouraged to preserve the remainder of his
or her six (6) weeks of training for
another training opportunity.
(9) In order to
participate, a claimant must be seeking work and must be able to work,
available to work, and accept work during the training period.
(10) Interested
claimants shall be encouraged, but not required, to find employment
opportunities that align with their current job skills, knowledge
and experience. Employers shall
be encouraged to work with the department to locate
claimants with current job skills, knowledge,
and experience that align with the requirements of an
open employment opportunity;
(11) The claimant and
the employer must agree upon a formal training plan and schedule
which must be approved by the department and may include
on-site training, education, and the
application of skills or experiences;
(12) Participation in
the program may be limited based on program capacity as
determined by the department.
(13) The "Back
to Work
expire on December 31, 2014. New participants will not be
enrolled after November 18, 2014.
(d) Eligibility to be
a participating employer. – (1) An employer wishing to
participate in
the "Back to Work
in addition to any further criteria established by the
director:
(i)
The employer must conduct business in
be domestic to
(ii) The employer
must have a full-time position of employment available that the
employer is desirous of filling;
(iii) The employer
must be willing and able to provide a participating claimant with skills
enhancement and job training focused toward the position that is
available;
(iv)
The employer must certify that he, she, they, or it will not pay
any wages or provide
any payment in kind to the claimant during the course of
the claimant's participation in the
program;
(v) The employer must
certify that he, she, they, or it will, at completion of the training
period, consider the claimant for employment in the full
time position for which the claimant was
trained;
(vi)
The employer must agree to follow up a claimant's participation
in the program with
a performance evaluation of the claimant, regardless of
whether or not the claimant is hired for
employment;
(vii) The employer
must agree to provide information as requested by the department and
verify that employment of a participating claimant will not
displace nor have any impact on a
promotion due an existing employee;
(viii) The employer must
certify that the employment and training opportunity is not due
to a lockout, strike, or other labor dispute; and
(ix) For employers
with employees who are subject to collective bargaining, the written
approval by the collective bargaining representative for each
affected unit shall be required to be
included in the plan for any job training for a position which
would otherwise be covered by a
collective bargaining agreement.
(e) Eligibility to be
a participating claimant. – (1) An individual
receiving unemployment
benefits and wishing to participate in the "Back to Work
following qualifications:
(i)
The individual must be eligible to receive
benefits;
(ii) The individual
must continue to file weekly continued claims to receive benefits
unless otherwise exempted;
(iii) The individual
must continue to look for work and employment opportunities during
their participation in the program, unless otherwise
exempt;
(iv)
The individual must certify that he or she understands that
participation in the
program includes no guarantee of employment;
(v) The individual
must attend a mandatory orientation to be offered by the department;
(vi)
The individual must agree to provide relevant information as
requested by the
department and to cooperate with requests from the department
for the evaluation of aspects of
the "Back to Work Rhode Island Program;”
(2) Claimants with a
definite recall date within six (6) weeks and those who do not
register for employment services are not eligible for the
program.
(f) Workers'
compensation. – (1) The department will provide
workers compensation
coverage for participating claimants.
(2) A claimant's
participation in the program does not create an employment relationship
with the department for the purposes of Chapter 28-29.
(3) For the purposes
of computing an approved claimant's wage compensation and
benefit amount under Chapter 28-29, the average weekly wage
shall be the claimant's maximum
weekly unemployment compensation benefit rate for the
benefit year in effect at the time of
injury.
(g) Rules and
regulations. – The director shall promulgate such rules and regulations as
the director deems necessary to implement the provisions
of this section.
(h) Program
Performance monitoring. – The department shall develop and implement a
performance monitoring system which does the following:
(1) Collects critical
information on the "Back to Work
basis or more frequently as determined by the director,
including:
(i)
Increases in claimant skills.
(ii) Skill training
being provided by businesses.
(iii) Placement of
claimants after training.
(iv)
Challenges foreseen by businesses.
(v) Business training
best practices.
(vi)
Amount of weeks claimants received unemployment compensation
benefits after
completion of the training period.
(2) Defines the
benefits of the program and its training to businesses, claimants and the
Employment Security Fund.
(i)
Funding. – Creation of the "Back to Work
funding.
SECTION 3. Section 40-5.2-20 of the General Laws in Chapter
40-1 5.2 entitled "The
Rhode Island Works
Program" is hereby amended to read as follows:
40-5.2-20. Child
care assistance. -- Families or assistance units eligible for childcare
assistance.
(a) The department shall
provide appropriate child care to every participant who is
eligible for cash assistance and who requires child care in
order to meet the work requirements in
accordance with this chapter.
(b) Low-Income child care.
- The department shall provide child care to all other working
families with incomes at or below one hundred eighty percent
(180%) of the federal poverty
level, if and to the extent such other families require
child care in order to work at paid
employment as defined in the department's rules and regulations.
Beginning October 1, 2013, and
until January 1, 2015, the department shall also provide
child care to families with income below
one hundred eighty percent (180%) of the federal poverty level
if and to the extent such families
require child care to participate on a short term basis, as
defined in the department's rules and
regulations, in training, apprenticeship, internship, on-the-job
training, work experience, work
immersion, or other job readiness/job attachment program
sponsored or funded by the human
resource investment council (governor's workforce board) or
state agencies that are part of the
coordinated program system pursuant to sections 42-102-9 and
42-102-11.
(c) No family/assistance
unit shall be eligible for child care assistance under this chapter
if the combined value of its liquid resources exceeds
ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Liquid
resources are defined as any interest(s) in property in the
form of cash or other financial
instruments or accounts which are readily convertible to cash or
cash equivalents. These include,
but are not limited to, cash, bank, credit union, or
other financial institution savings, checking and
money market accounts, certificates of deposit or other
time deposits, stocks, bonds, mutual
funds, and other similar financial instruments or accounts.
These do not include educational
savings accounts, plans, or programs; retirement accounts,
plans, or programs; or accounts held
jointly with another adult, not including a spouse. The
department is authorized to promulgate
rules and regulations to determine the ownership and source
of the funds in the joint account.
(d) As a condition of
eligibility for child care assistance under this chapter, the parent or
caretaker relative of the family must consent to and must
cooperate with the department in
establishing paternity, and in establishing and/or enforcing child
support and medical support
orders for all children in the family in accordance with
title 15 of the general laws, as amended,
unless the parent or caretaker relative is found to have
good cause for refusing to comply with the
requirements of this subsection.
(e) For purposes of this
section "appropriate child care" means child care, including
infant, toddler,
pre-school, nursery school, school-age, which is provided by a person or
organization qualified, approved, and authorized to provide such
care by the department of
children, youth, and families, or by the department of
elementary and secondary education, or
such other lawful providers as determined by the
department of human services, in cooperation
with the department of children, youth and families and
the department of elementary and
secondary education.
(f) Families with
incomes below one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable federal
poverty level guidelines shall be provided with free
childcare. Families with incomes greater than
one hundred percent (100%) and less than one hundred
eighty (180%) of the applicable federal
poverty guideline shall be required to pay for some portion
of the childcare they receive,
according to a sliding fee scale adopted by the department in
the department's rules.
(g) In determining the
type of childcare to be provided to a family, the department shall
take into account the cost of available childcare options,
the suitability of the type of care
available for the child, and the parent's preference as to the
type of child care.
(h) For purposes of this
section "income" for families receiving cash assistance under
section 40-5.2-11 means gross earned income and unearned
income, subject to the income
exclusions in subdivisions 40-5.2-10(g)(2) and 40-5.2-10(g)(3)
and income for other families
shall mean gross earned and unearned income as determined
by departmental regulations.
(i)
The caseload estimating conference established by chapter 17 of title 35 shall
forecast
the expenditures for childcare in accordance with the
provisions of 1 section 35-17-1.
(j) In determining
eligibility for child care assistance for children of members of reserve
components called to active duty during a time of conflict, the
department shall freeze the family
composition and the family income of the reserve component member
as it was in the month prior
to the month of leaving for active duty. This shall
continue until the individual is officially
discharged from active duty.
SECTION 4. Title 28 of the General Laws entitled "LABOR
AND LABOR
RELATIONS" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
55
THE
28-55-1.
Short title. -- This chapter shall be known and
may be cited as "The Rhode
28-55-2.
Legislative findings. -- The general assembly
finds and declares that:
(1)
and industry needs;
(2) Despite high unemployment,
businesses report difficulties and frustration in locating
employment candidates with the requisite knowledge, skills, and
abilities they need;
(3) Locating,
training and preparing candidates to fill job openings is an expense that few
companies can afford;
(4) The state needs a
focused interagency collaboration to provide easy access for
businesses to find competent employees and job seekers to obtain
necessary resources, training
and skills development; and
(5) The state needs
to build upon the efforts of the department of labor and training to
facilitate employers' access to high quality, skilled job
seekers and reduce the number of
unemployed individuals in
28-55-3. The
the department of labor and training shall implement the
jobs match enhancement program using
the current department of labor and training web based
workforce and job system as a basis, with
significant enhancements, as follows:
(1) It shall be easy
for employers to participate in, update and receive responses from job
seekers, addressing potential barriers to participation;
(2) It shall be understandable,
accessible and productive for job seekers, including
measures to ensure literacy-based accessibility;
(3) It shall allow
for the prompt identification of workers who are partially, but not fully
matched for job openings, resulting in timely skill gap
remediation plans;
(4) It shall have the
ability to address identified skill gaps through the provision of
training and/or education;
(5) It shall notify
the department of labor and training of the nature of the skill gaps
which exist between job openings and job seekers, and shall
have the ability to aggregate skill
gap reports for the department;
(6) It shall be
promoted and advertised to maximize business and employment use; and
(7) In an effort to ensure
that employers' hiring needs are being met, employers shall be
encouraged to engage with the system and provide information
pertaining to job openings and
desired skill sets for potential new hires.
28-55-4.
Reporting. -- On or before October 1, 2013, the
department of labor and
training shall report to the president of the senate and the
speaker of the house of representatives
on the progress toward implementing the jobs match
enhancement program, along with an
estimate of any additional costs related to the purchase of
the enhancements listed in section 28-
55-3.
28-55-5.
Funding. -- The implementation of enhancements
to the department of labor
and training's web based workforce and job system shall
be contingent upon available public and/
or private financing.
SECTION 5. Reporting Requirements.
In
determining the effectiveness of the workforce training initiatives contained
in sections
1 through 4 of this
article, the governor's workforce board shall report on the progress of these
programs in the biennial employment and training plan for the
state as required under section 42-
102-9.
SECTION 6. If any of the provisions of this act or the
application thereof to any persons
or circumstances are held invalid, the remainder of this
act and the application thereof to other
persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. To
that end, the provisions of this act are
declared to be severable.
SECTION 7. This article shall take effect upon passage.