Title 20—Employees' Benefits--Volume 1
PART 682—STATEWIDE ACTIVITIES UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT
§ 682.100   What are the statewide employment and training activities under title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act?
Statewide employment and training activities include those activities for adults and dislocated workers, as described in WIOA sec. 134(a), and statewide youth activities, as described in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) sec. 129(b). They include both required and allowable activities. In accordance with the requirements of this subpart, the State may develop policies and strategies for use of statewide employment and training funds. Descriptions of these policies and strategies must be included in the State Plan.
§ 682.110   How are statewide employment and training activities funded?
(a) Except for the statewide rapid response activities described in paragraph (c) of this section, statewide employment and training activities are supported by funds reserved by the Governor under WIOA sec. 128(a).
(b) Funds reserved by the Governor for statewide workforce investment activities may be combined and used for any of the activities authorized in WIOA sec. 129(b), 134(a)(2)(B), or 134(a)(3)(A) (which are described in §§ 682.200 and 682.210), regardless of whether the funds were allotted through the youth, adult, or dislocated worker funding streams.
(c) Funds for statewide rapid response activities are reserved under WIOA sec.133(a)(2) and may be used to provide the activities authorized at WIOA sec. 134(a)(2)(A) (which are described in §§ 682.310 through 682.330).
§ 682.200   What are required statewide employment and training activities?
Required statewide employment and training activities are:
(a) Required rapid response activities, as described in § 682.310;
(b) Disseminating by various means, as provided by WIOA sec. 134(a)(2)(B):
(1) The State list of eligible training providers (including those providing non-traditional training services), for adults and dislocated workers and eligible training providers of registered apprenticeship programs;
(2) Information identifying eligible providers of on-the-job training (OJT), customized training, incumbent worker training (see § 680.790 of this chapter), internships, paid or unpaid work experience opportunities (see § 680.180 of this chapter) and transitional jobs (see § 680.190 of this chapter);
(3) Information on effective outreach and partnerships with business;
(4) Information on effective service delivery strategies and promising practices to serve workers and job seekers;
(5) Performance information and information on the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, consistent with the requirements of §§ 680.490 and 680.530 of this chapter;
(6) A list of eligible providers of youth activities as described in WIOA sec. 123; and
(7) Information of physical and programmatic accessibility for individuals with disabilities;
(c) States must assure that the information listed in paragraphs (b)(1) through (7) of this section is widely available;
(d) Conducting evaluations under WIOA sec. 116(e), consistent with the requirements found under § 682.220;
(e) Providing technical assistance to State entities and agencies, local areas, and one-stop partners in carrying out activities described in the State Plan, including coordination and alignment of data systems used to carry out the requirements of this Act;
(f) Assisting local areas, one-stop operators, one-stop partners, and eligible providers, including development of staff, including staff training to provide opportunities for individuals with barriers to employment to enter in-demand industry sectors or occupations and nontraditional occupations, and the development of exemplary program activities;
(g) Assisting local areas for carrying out the regional planning and service delivery efforts required under WIOA sec. 106(c);
(h) Assisting local areas by providing information on and support for the effective development, convening, and implementation of industry and sector partnerships;
(i) Providing technical assistance to local areas that fail to meet the adjusted levels of performance agreed to under § 677.210 of this chapter;
(j) Carrying out monitoring and oversight of activities for services to youth, adults, and dislocated workers under WIOA title I, and which may include a review comparing the services provided to male and female youth;
(k) Providing additional assistance to local areas that have a high concentration of eligible youth; and
(l) Operating a fiscal and management accountability information system, based on guidelines established by the Secretary.
§ 682.210   What are allowable statewide employment and training activities?
Allowable statewide employment and training activities may include:
(a) State administration of the adult, dislocated worker and youth workforce investment activities, consistent with the five percent administrative cost limitation at WIOA sec. 134(a)(3)(B) and § 683.205(a)(1) of this chapter;
(b) Developing and implementing innovative programs and strategies designed to meet the needs of all employers (including small employers) in the State, including the programs and strategies referenced in WIOA sec. 134(a)(3)(A)(i);
(c) Developing strategies for serving individuals with barriers to employment, and for coordinating programs and services among one-stop partners;
(d) Development or identification of education and training programs that have the characteristics referenced in WIOA sec. 134(a)(3)(A)(iii);
(e) Implementing programs to increase the number of individuals training for and placed in non-traditional employment;
(f) Conducting research and demonstrations related to meeting the employment and education needs of youth, adults and dislocated workers;
(g) Supporting the development of alternative, evidence-based programs, and other activities that enhance the choices available to eligible youth and which encourage youth to reenter and complete secondary education, enroll in postsecondary education and advanced training, progress through a career pathway, and enter into unsubsidized employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency;
(h) Supporting the provision of career services in the one-stop delivery system in the State as described in § 678.430 of this chapter and WIOA secs. 129(b)(2)(C) and 134(c)(2);
(i) Supporting financial literacy activities as described in § 681.500 of this chapter and WIOA sec. 129(b)(2)(D);
(j) Providing incentive grants to local areas for performance by the local areas on local performance accountability measures;
(k) Providing technical assistance to Local Workforce Development Boards (WDBs), chief elected officials, one-stop operators, one-stop partners, and eligible providers in local areas on the development of exemplary program activities and on the provision of technology to facilitate remote access to services provided through the one-stop delivery system in the State;
(l) Providing technical assistance to local areas that are implementing WIOA Pay-for-Performance contract strategies and conducting evaluations of such strategies. Technical assistance may include providing assistance with data collections, meeting data entry requirements, and identifying level of performance;
(m) Carrying out activities to facilitate remote access to training services provided through the one-stop delivery system;
(n) Activities that include:
(1) Activities to improve coordination of workforce investment activities, with economic development activities; and
(2) Activities to improve coordination of employment and training activities with child support services and activities, cooperative extension programs carried out by the Department of Agriculture, programs carried out by local areas for individuals with disabilities (including the programs identified in WIOA sec. 134(a)(3)(A)(viii)(II)(cc)), adult education and literacy activities including those provided by public libraries, activities in the correction systems to assist ex-offenders in reentering the workforce and financial literacy activities; and
(3) Developing and disseminating workforce and labor market information;
(o) Implementation of promising practices for workers and businesses as described in WIOA sec. 134(a)(3)(A)(x);
(p) Adopting, calculating, or commissioning for approval an economic self-sufficiency standard for the State that specifies the income needs of families, by family size, the number and ages of children in the family, and sub-State geographical considerations;
(q) Developing and disseminating common intake procedures and related items, including registration processes, across core and partner programs; and
(r) Coordinating activities with the child welfare system to facilitate provision of services for children and youth who are eligible for assistance under sec. 477 of the Social Security Act.
§ 682.220   What are States' responsibilities in regard to evaluations?
(a) As required by § 682.200(d), States must use funds reserved by the Governor for statewide activities to conduct evaluations of activities under the WIOA title I core programs in order to promote continuous improvement, research and test innovative services and strategies, and achieve high levels of performance and outcomes.
(b) Evaluations conducted under paragraph (a) of this section must:
(1) Be coordinated with and designed in conjunction with State and Local WDBs and with State agencies responsible for the administration of all core programs;
(2) When appropriate, include analysis of customer feedback and outcome and process measures in the statewide workforce development system;
(3) Use designs that employ the most rigorous analytical and statistical methods that are reasonably feasible, such as the use of control groups; and
(4) To the extent feasible, be coordinated with the evaluations provided for by the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education under WIOA sec. 169 (regarding title I programs and other employment-related programs), WIOA sec. 242(c)(2)(D) (regarding adult education), sec. 12(a)(5), 14, and 107 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 709(a)(5), 711, 727) (applied with respect to programs carried out under title I of that Act (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq. )), and the investigations provided by the Secretary of Labor under sec. 10(b) of the Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49i(b)).
(c) States must annually prepare, submit to the State WDB and Local WDBs in the State, and make available to the public (including by electronic means) reports containing the results, as available, of the evaluations described in paragraph (a) of this section.
(d) States must cooperate, to the extent practicable, in evaluations and related research projects conducted by the Secretaries of Labor and Education under the laws cited in paragraph (b)(4) of this section. Such cooperation must, at a minimum, meet the following requirements:
(1) The timely provision of:
(i) Data, in accordance with appropriate privacy protections established by the Secretary of Labor;
(ii) Responses to surveys;
(iii) Site visits; and
(iv) Data and survey responses from local subgrantees and State and Local WDBs, and assuring that subgrantees and WDBs allow timely site visits;
(2) Encouraging other one-stop partners at local level to cooperate in timely provision of data, survey responses and site visits as listed in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (iv) of this section; and
(3) If a State determines that timely cooperation in data provision as described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section is not practicable, the Governor must inform the Secretary in writing and explain the reasons why it is not practicable. In such circumstances, the State must cooperate with the Department in developing a plan or strategy to mitigate or overcome the problems preventing timely provision of data, survey responses, and site visits.
(e) In fulfilling the requirements under paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section, States are permitted, but not required, to:
(1) Conduct evaluations that jointly examine title I core program activities and activities under other core programs in WIOA titles II-IV, as determined through the processes associated with paragraph (b)(1) of this section;
(2) Conduct any type of evaluation similar to those authorized for, or conducted by, the Department of Labor or the Department of Education under the laws cited in paragraph (b)(4) of this section, including process and outcome studies, pilot and demonstration projects that have an evaluative component, analyses of administrative and programmatic data, impact and benefit-cost analyses, and use of rigorous designs to test the efficacy of various interventions; and
(3) Conduct evaluations over multiple program years, involving multiple phases and such tasks and activities as necessary for an evaluation, such as a literature or evidence review, feasibility study, planning, research, coordination, design, data collection, analysis, and report preparation, clearance, and dissemination.
(f) In funding evaluations conducted under paragraph (a) of this section, States are permitted, but not required to:
(1) Use funds from any WIOA title I-IV core program to conduct evaluations, as determined through the processes associated with paragraph (b)(1) of this section; and
(2) Use or combine funds, consistent with Federal and State law, regulation and guidance, from other public or private sources, to conduct evaluations relating to activities under the WIOA title I-IV core programs. Such projects may include those funded by the Department of Labor and other Federal agencies, among other sources.
§ 682.300   What is rapid response, and what is its purpose?
(a) Rapid response is described in §§ 682.300 through 682.370, and encompasses the strategies and activities necessary to:
(1) Plan for and respond to as quickly as possible following an event described in § 682.302; and
(2) Deliver services to enable dislocated workers to transition to new employment as quickly as possible.
(b) The purpose of rapid response is to promote economic recovery and vitality by developing an ongoing, comprehensive approach to identifying, planning for, responding to layoffs and dislocations, and preventing or minimizing their impacts on workers, businesses, and communities. A successful rapid response system includes:
(1) Informational and direct reemployment services for workers, including but not limited to information and support for filing unemployment insurance claims, information on the impacts of layoff on health coverage or other benefits, information on and referral to career services, reemployment-focused workshops and services, and training;
(2) Delivery of solutions to address the needs of businesses in transition, provided across the business lifecycle (expansion and contraction), including comprehensive business engagement and layoff aversion strategies and activities designed to prevent or minimize the duration of unemployment;
(3) Convening, brokering, and facilitating the connections, networks and partners to ensure the ability to provide assistance to dislocated workers and their families such as home heating assistance, legal aid, and financial advice; and
(4) Strategic planning, data gathering and analysis designed to anticipate, prepare for, and manage economic change.
§ 682.302   Under what circumstances must rapid response services be delivered?
Rapid response must be delivered when one or more of the following circumstances occur:
(a) Announcement or notification of a permanent closure, regardless of the number of workers affected;
(b) Announcement or notification of a mass layoff as defined in § 682.305;
(c) A mass job dislocation resulting from a natural or other disaster; or
(d) The filing of a Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) petition.
§ 682.305   How does the Department define the term “mass layoff” for the purposes of rapid response?
For the purposes of rapid response, the term “mass layoff” used throughout this subpart will have occurred when at least one of the following conditions have been met:
(a) A layoff meets the State's definition of mass layoff, as long as the definition does not exceed a minimum threshold of 50 affected workers;
(b) Where a State has not defined a minimum threshold for mass layoff meeting the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, layoffs affecting 50 or more workers; or
(c) When a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice has been filed, regardless of the number of workers affected by the layoff announced.
§ 682.310   Who is responsible for carrying out rapid response activities?
(a) Rapid response activities must be carried out by the State or an entity designated by the State, in conjunction with the Local WDBs, chief elected officials, and other stakeholders, as provided by WIOA secs. 133(a)(2) and 134(a)(2)(A).
(b) States must establish and maintain a rapid response unit to carry out statewide rapid response activities and to oversee rapid response activities undertaken by a designated State entity, Local WDB, or the chief elected officials for affected local areas, as provided under WIOA sec. 134(a)(2)(A)(i)(I).
§ 682.320   What is layoff aversion, and what are appropriate layoff aversion strategies and activities?
(a) Layoff aversion consists of strategies and activities, including those provided in paragraph (b) of this section and §§ 682.330 and 682.340, to prevent or minimize the duration of unemployment resulting from layoffs.
(b) Layoff aversion activities may include:
(1) Providing assistance to employers in managing reductions in force, which may include early identification of firms at risk of layoffs, assessment of the needs of and options for at-risk firms, and the delivery of services to address these needs, as provided by WIOA sec. 134(d)(1)(A)(ix)(II)(cc);
(2) Ongoing engagement, partnership, and relationship-building activities with businesses in the community, in order to create an environment for successful layoff aversion efforts and to enable the provision of assistance to dislocated workers in obtaining reemployment as soon as possible;
(3) Funding feasibility studies to determine if a company's operations may be sustained through a buyout or other means to avoid or minimize layoffs;
(4) Developing, funding, and managing incumbent worker training programs or other worker upskilling approaches as part of a layoff aversion strategy or activity;
(5) Connecting companies to:
(i) Short-time compensation or other programs designed to prevent layoffs or to reemploy dislocated workers quickly, available under Unemployment Insurance programs;
(ii) Employer loan programs for employee skill upgrading; and
(iii) Other Federal, State, and local resources as necessary to address other business needs that cannot be funded with resources provided under this title;
(6) Establishing linkages with economic development activities at the Federal, State, and local levels, including Federal Department of Commerce programs and available State and local business retention and expansion activities;
(7) Partnering or contracting with business-focused organizations to assess risks to companies, propose strategies to address those risks, implement services, and measure impacts of services delivered;
(8) Conducting analyses of the suppliers of an affected company to assess their risks and vulnerabilities from a potential closing or shift in production of their major customer;
(9) Engaging in proactive measures to identify opportunities for potential economic transition and training needs in growing industry sectors or expanding businesses; and
(10) Connecting businesses and workers to short-term, on-the-job, or customized training programs and registered apprenticeships before or after layoff to help facilitate rapid reemployment.
§ 682.330   What rapid response activities are required?
Rapid response activities must include:
(a) Layoff aversion activities as described in § 682.320, as applicable.
(b) Immediate and on-site contact with the employer, representatives of the affected workers, and the local community, including an assessment of and plans to address the:
(1) Layoff plans and schedule of the employer;
(2) Background and probable assistance needs of the affected workers;
(3) Reemployment prospects for workers; and
(4) Available resources to meet the short and long-term assistance needs of the affected workers.
(c) The provision of information and access to unemployment compensation benefits and programs, such as Short-Time Compensation, comprehensive one-stop delivery system services, and employment and training activities, including information on the TAA program (19 U.S.C. 2271 et seq. ), Pell Grants, the GI Bill, and other resources.
(d) The delivery of other necessary services and resources including workshops and classes, use of worker transition centers, and job fairs, to support reemployment efforts for affected workers.
(e) Partnership with the Local WDB(s) and chief elected official(s) to ensure a coordinated response to the dislocation event and, as needed, obtain access to State or local economic development assistance. Such coordinated response may include the development of an application for a national dislocated worker grant as provided under part 687 of this chapter.
(f) The provision of emergency assistance adapted to the particular layoff or disaster.
(g) As appropriate, developing systems and processes for:
(1) Identifying and gathering information for early warning of potential layoffs or opportunities for layoff aversion;
(2) Analyzing, and acting upon, data and information on dislocations and other economic activity in the State, region, or local area; and
(3) Tracking outcome and performance data and information related to the activities of the rapid response program.
(h) Developing and maintaining partnerships with other appropriate Federal, State and local agencies and officials, employer associations, technical councils, other industry business councils, labor organizations, and other public and private organizations, as applicable, in order to:
(1) Conduct strategic planning activities to develop strategies for addressing dislocation events and ensuring timely access to a broad range of necessary assistance; and
(2) Develop mechanisms for gathering and exchanging information and data relating to potential dislocations, resources available, and the customization of layoff aversion or rapid response activities, to ensure the ability to provide rapid response services as early as possible.
(i) Delivery of services to worker groups for which a petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance has been filed.
(j) The provision of additional assistance, as described in § 682.350, to local areas that experience disasters, mass layoffs, or other dislocation events when such events exceed the capacity of the local area to respond with existing resources as provided under WIOA sec. 134(a)(2)(A)(i)(II).
(k) Provision of guidance and financial assistance as appropriate, in establishing a labor-management committee if voluntarily agreed to by the employee's bargaining representative and management. The committee may devise and oversee an implementation strategy that responds to the reemployment needs of the workers. The assistance to this committee may include:
(1) The provision of training and technical assistance to members of the committee; and
(2) Funding the operating costs of a committee to enable it to provide advice and assistance in carrying out rapid response activities and in the design and delivery of WIOA-authorized services to affected workers.
§ 682.340   May other activities be undertaken as part of rapid response?
(a) Yes, in order to conduct layoff aversion activities, or to prepare for and respond to dislocation events, in addition to the activities required under § 682.330, a State or designated entity may devise rapid response strategies or conduct activities that are intended to minimize the negative impacts of dislocation on workers, businesses, and communities and ensure rapid reemployment for workers affected by layoffs.
(b) When circumstances allow, rapid response may provide guidance and/or financial assistance to establish community transition teams to assist the impacted community in organizing support for dislocated workers and in meeting the basic needs of their families, including heat, shelter, food, clothing and other necessities and services that are beyond the resources and ability of the one-stop delivery system to provide.
§ 682.350   What is meant by “provision of additional assistance” in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act?
As stated in WIOA sec. 133(a)(2), a State may reserve up to 25 percent of its allotted dislocated worker funds for rapid response activities. Once the State has reserved adequate funds for rapid response activities, such as those described in §§ 682.310, 682.320, and 682.330, any of the remaining funds reserved may be provided to local areas that experience increases of unemployment due to natural disasters, mass layoffs or other events, for provision of direct career services to participants if there are not adequate local funds available to assist the dislocated workers. States may wish to establish the policies or procedures governing the provision of additional assistance as described in § 682.340.
§ 682.360   What rapid response, layoff aversion, or other information will States be required to report to the Employment and Training Administration?
(a) Where a WIOA individual record exists for an individual served under programs reporting through the WIOA individual record, States must report information regarding the receipt of services under this subpart for such an individual. This information must be reported in the WIOA individual record.
(b) States must comply with these requirements as explained in guidance issued by the Department of Labor.
§ 682.370   What are the statewide activities for which rapid response funds remaining unobligated after the first program year for which the funds were allotted may be used by the State?
Funds reserved by the Governor for rapid response activities that remain unobligated after the first program year for which such funds were allotted may be used by the Governor to carry out statewide activities under §§ 682.200 and 682.210. Statewide activities for which these funds may be used include prioritizing the planning for and delivery of activities designed to prevent job loss, increasing the rate of reemployment, building relationships with businesses and other stakeholders, building and maintaining early warning networks and systems, and otherwise supporting efforts to allow long-term unemployed workers to return to work.