ENROLLED
ORIGINAL
AN ACT IN THE COUNCIL OF THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To establish an integrated workforce
investment system that builds on the current best practices in workforce investment,
protects the effective expenditure of federal and District funds and ensures compliance
with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT
OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "Workforce Investment Implementation
Act of 2000".
Sec. 2. The Council finds that:
(1) Many District workers need an integrated
workforce investment system to help them assume responsibility for building a better
future for themselves and their families.
(2) A workforce investment system should be
consumer-driven, accountable and responsive to the needs of employers and job seekers.
(3) The goals of an integrated workforce
development systems are to:
(A) Coordinate activities at the state and
local levels to increase the occupational skills, employment, job retention and earnings
of the workforce;(B) Reduce welfare dependency by helping
workers obtain employment that will assure self-sufficiency;(C) Enhance the productivity and
competitiveness of District business and industry;(D) Encourage ongoing progress toward work
preparation from kindergarten through adulthood;(E) Encourage the attraction and retention of
high skill and high wage employers; and(F) Encourage cooperation among regional
workforce development efforts to promote the participation of District residents in the
regional economy.
(4) To implement the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 the District of Columbia must apply the necessary resources to
carry out its assigned responsibilities and must delegate accountability and authority, as
allowed under the federal law, to the governing entity of the workforce investment system.
(5) These objectives are to be accomplished
under the direction of the District’s Workforce Investment Board. This Board will enlist
the views of a diverse group of business, labor, community, education and government
leaders to develop a strategic plan for workforce development in the District of Columbia.
(6) The strategic plan should provide for the
development of a comprehensive, consumer-driven employment and career development system
that meets the needs of all members of the workforce, including those entering the
workforce for the first. time, those in transition to employment and those currently
employed who seek to enhance their skills for continued career advancement.
Sec. 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this
act, the term:
(1) "Basic skills deficient" means
reading, writing or computing on a level no higher than 8th grade.
(2) "Federal Act" means the federal
Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
(3) "Self-sufficiency" means
employment that pays a wage equal to the wage calculated by The Self Sufficiency Standard
for the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, for the appropriate family composition.
(4) "Service provider" and
"provider" mean a provider of employment and training services including a
private or public school or institution of higher education, a business, labor
organization or a community-based organization.
Sec. 4. Workforce Investment Board.
(a) There is created a Workforce Investment
Board ("Board") pursuant to section 111(b) and (c) and section 117(c)(4) of the
Federal Act, to assist in the development of the State Unified Workforce Plan to carry out
the functions described by the Federal Act.
(b) The Board shall assist the Mayor in:
(1) Developing the District’s workforce
investment system;(2) Assigning duties and responsibilities to
the Department of Human Services ("DHS") and the Department of Employment
Services ("DOES") to implement the Federal Act, and to do so in a manner that
avoids conflicts of interest and capitalizes on the experience developed by workforce
partners who are efficient and effective at meeting the requirements of the Federal Act;(3) Developing an employment statistics
system, as described in section 15(e) of the Wagner-Peyser Act;(4) Preparing an annual report and submitting
it to the Council by September 30th of each year;(5) Establishing performance standards for
training and employment programs pursuant to section 7;(6) Fostering and coordinating initiatives of
the District of Columbia Public Schools and the University of the District of Columbia to
enhance the contributions of public schools and institutions of higher education to the
implementation of the District employment and training policy;(7) Examining federal and local laws and
regulations to assess whether those laws and regulations present barriers to achieving any
of the goals of this act. The Board shall, as it deems appropriate, issue to the Mayor and
the Council reports on its findings, including recommendations for changes in local and
federal laws or regulations concerning employment and training programs or service; and(8) Developing a wage progression strategy
that includes mechanisms to help low-income workers upgrade skills to assist them in
moving up the career ladder toward self-sufficiency.
Sec. 5. Unified workforce plan.
The Board shall develop and submit to the
Mayor a single unified workplace plan that outlines a 5-year strategy, with quantitative
goals, for the statewide workforce investment system for the District of Columbia in
accordance with section 112 of the Federal Act. Upon the Mayor’s approval of the state
plan, the Mayor shall transmit the State Unified Workforce Plan to the Council for a
10-day period of review, excluding days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve
or disapprove the State Unified Workforce Plan by resolution within the 10-day review
period, the State Unified Workforce Plan shall be deemed approved Within 2 years of the
effective date of this act, the Unified Workforce Plan shall be amended to also encompass
services provided to the Welfare to Work and TANF implementing laws.
Sec. 6. Labor market analysis.
The Board shall conduct a labor market
analysis. The analysis shall:
(1) Identify industries or occupations that
have or expect growth, the loss of skilled workers or that have a demand for a subset of
workers;
(2) Create a profile and analyze the
characteristics of the District’s unemployed and underemployed residents, including
educational attainment, barriers to employment, geographic concentrations,
self-sufficiency needs and access to needed support services;
(3) Identify the entry-level education and
skills requirements for the industries or ,occupations that have or expect a need for
workers;
(4) Analyze the entry-level wages and benefits
in identified industries or occupations;
(5) Develop a profile of the education,
training and support services already in place to prepare workers for the identified
industries or occupations;
(6) Identify the mismatch between job seekers
and identified industries or occupations where wages and benefits match the needs of the
unemployed, in terms of education and training resources; and
(7) Identify opportunities for collaboration
with institutions of higher education community-based organizations and economic
development and welfare agencies.
Sec. 7. Performance based accountability.
(a) Service providers shall be paid only for
achieving positive outcomes for participants, such as job placement, job retention and
earnings in accordance with the Core Indicators of Performance as described in section
136(b)(2)(A) of the Federal Act, except partial payment to a service provider is
permissible when a participant meets the Core Indicator of attaining a recognized
credential, pending further payment when the participant enters unsubsidized employment.
(b) The Board shall establish a performance
report with quantifiable benchmarks to assess the full range of programs providing
education and training services, including WIA, TANF, Welfare to Work, and Vocational
Rehabilitation.
(c) The Board shall evaluate the workforce
investment system by using the following factors as relevant for individual programs:
(1) The amount and source of funding;
(2) Program entrance and successful completion
rates;(3) Employment and wage information for 6
months and one year after completion of the training;(4) The relationship of training to
employment;(5) Achievement of industry skill standard
certification, where it exists;(6) Return on public investment;
(7) Employment-related barriers of customers;
and(8) Any other indicators of performance
required under the Federal Act.
Sec. 8. Employment and training services
criteria.
(a) Employment and training services,
including on-the-job training, shall not be obtained from a service provider with
appropriated funds unless the provider is approved, pursuant to the procedures and
criteria established by the Board, which are submitted to the Council for a 10-day period
of review, excluding days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove
the procedures and criteria by resolution within this 10-day period, the procedures and
criteria shall be deemed approved.
(1) Each service provider shall certify that
none of its officers or employees has, in the past 5 years, been convicted of a felony or
a misdemeanor, the underlying basis of which involved workplace safety and health or labor
standards.(2) The service provider shall also certify as
to all violations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor and DOES within the past 5 years,
and all judgements and settlements, the underlying basis of which involved workplace
safety and health or labor standards.
(b) All participants who meet the requirements
of an employee pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 in the on-the-job training
program shall be compensated at no less than the minimum wage required by section 4 of the
Minimum Wage Act Revision Act of 1992.
(c) Each service provider shall make
appropriate records available upon request for monitoring or inspection by the Board,
including a record:
(1) For each student enrolled, including the
student’s name and social security number; and(2) Of all administrative and overhead
expenses of the provider, except for employers providing on the job training, that derive
from employment and training services funded by the program and the provider’s direct
expenses for providing the services.
(d) In the case of a provider of vocational
training, the Board shall collect the information needed to effectively measure the
long-term success of the former trainees of the provider in moving toward
self-sufficiency, including obtaining permanent employment and increasing earnings over a
period of not less than one year following the completion of training. The Board shall use
the information obtained pursuant to subsection (c) of this section to assist in:
(1) Evaluating the performance of providers of
vocational training services;(2) Determining which providers of vocational
training services to approve pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; and(3) Evaluating the overall effectiveness of
training funded by the program.
Sec. 9. Anti-displacement.
Participants shall not be assigned, placed or
be permitted to work for any employer or worksite where:
(1) Any other individual is laid off from the
same or substantially equivalent job;(2) An employer has terminated a regular
employee and filled the vacancy with a participant;(3) An employer has caused an involuntary
reduction in the workforce and filled the vacancy with a participant;(4) An employer has caused an involuntary
reduction below full-time hours of any employee in the same or substantially equivalent
job;(5) An employer has caused an involuntary
reduction in wages or employment benefits;(6) Placement of a recipient will violate an
existing collective bargaining agreement, unless the labor organization and the employer
provide a written concurrence;(7) The job is created in a promotional line
that will infringe in any way upon the promotional opportunities of currently employed
individuals;(8) The placement is the equivalent of filling
an established unfilled position vacancy, or is the equivalent of performing a job that is
substantially similar to the vacant position, unless the participant is given a bona fide
opportunity to apply for the position as an unsubsidized employee after 18 weeks of
satisfactory service in the position; or(9) There is a hiring freeze for positions
that are the same or substantially similar to the position performed by the participants.
Sec. 10. Grievance procedure.
The Mayor shall direct the Office of Human
Rights to establish and maintain a procedure to receive grievances or complaints alleging
violations of the Federal Act from participants and other interested or affected parties.
The procedure shall be in accordance with section 181 (c) of the Federal Act.
Sec. 11. Use of funds for employment and
training activities.
(a) The Board shall advise the Mayor as
required pursuant to section 112 of the Federal Act and on matters pertaining to the use
of funds pursuant to section 134 of the Federal Act.
(b) As a part of the core services required by
section 134(d)(2)(E)(i) of the Federal Act, the one-stop delivery system, as described in
section 134(c) of the Federal Act, shall provide timely listings of all job opportunities
and supportive services providers, consistent with this act, to a participant immediately
upon application by the participant for services offered by the onestop delivery system.
In addition, core services shall include an initial assessment of aptitudes and abilities
that is nongender biased using tools that assess women’s interest in high-wage employment
that is nontraditional for women.
(c) Intensive services offered by the one-stop
delivery system may include addiction recovery. Consistent with this act, intensive
services may also include short-term prevocational services that raise job seekers’ basic
reading, writing and computational skills to enable them to compete for jobs.
(d) The one stop delivery system shall provide
a thorough assessment of job seekers’ skills and employment barriers. If individuals are
basic skills deficient or face other serious barriers to employment, such as a poor work
history or long-term absence from the workforce, or TANF receipt, the one-stop operator
shall determine that they are unable to obtain employment through core services.
(e) Consistent with this act, job seekers who
are employed, but do not earn a self-sufficient wage, shall be eligible for intensive
services.
(f) Any funds expended pursuant to this
section shall be appropriated by the Council.
Sec. 12. One-stop partners.
(1) The Board shall ensure that the District’s
one-stop delivery system under the Federal Act is the foundation of local service delivery
to employers and participants.
(2) One-stop partners shall include the Income
Maintenance Administration, Office of Early Childhood Development, and the Medicaid
program.
Sec. 13. Regional cooperation.
This act encourages the Board to work with its
Maryland and Virginia counterparts to develop a regional information sharing system that
allows one-stops and welfare agencies in the District and surrounding jurisdictions to
access information regarding regional employment opportunities, job training providers,
and support services.
Sec. 14. Disclosure of information by the
Board.
The Board shall not withhold information from
the public regarding its operations, procedures, and decisions that would otherwise be
subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 1976.
Sec. 15. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement
in the committee report as the fiscal impact statement required by section 602 (c)(3) of
the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C.
Code § 1-233(c)(3)).
Sec. 16. Effective date.
This act shall take effect upon its approval
by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the
veto), approval by the Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority as
provided in section 203(a) of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and
Management Assistance Act of 1995, approved April 17, 1995 (109 Stat. 116; D.C. Code §
47-392.3(a)), a 30-day period of Congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of
the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C.
Code § 1-233(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia Register.
Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia
Mayor, District of Columbia