Title 20—Employees' Benefits--Volume 1
PART 1010—APPLICATION OF PRIORITY OF SERVICE FOR COVERED PERSONS
§ 1010.100   What is the purpose and scope of this part?
(a) Part 1010 contains the Department regulations implementing priority of service for covered persons. Priority of service for covered persons is authorized by section 2(a)(1) of JVA (38 U.S.C. 4215). These regulations fulfill section 605 of the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, Pub. L. 109-461 (Dec. 22, 2006), which requires the Department to implement priority of service via regulation.
(b) As provided in § 1010.210, this part applies to all qualified job training programs.
§ 1010.110   What definitions apply to this part?
The following definitions apply to this part:
Covered person as defined in section 2(a) of the JVA (38 U.S.C. 4215(a)) means a veteran or eligible spouse.
Department or DOL means the United States Department of Labor, including its agencies and organizational units and their representatives.
Eligible spouse as defined in section 2(a) of the JVA (38 U.S.C. 4215(a)) means the spouse of any of the following:
(1) Any veteran who died of a service-connected disability;
(2) Any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who, at the time of application for the priority, is listed in one or more of the following categories and has been so listed for a total of more than 90 days:
(i) Missing in action;
(ii) Captured in line of duty by a hostile force; or
(iii) Forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government or power;
(3) Any veteran who has a total disability resulting from a service-connected disability, as evaluated by the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(4) Any veteran who died while a disability, as indicated in paragraph (3) of this section, was in existence.
Grant means an award of Federal financial assistance by the Department of Labor to an eligible recipient.
Jobs for Veterans Act (JVA) means Public Law 107-288 (2002). Section 2(a) of the JVA, codified at 38 U.S.C. 4215(a), provides priority of service for covered persons.
Non-covered person means any individual who meets neither the definition of “veteran,” as defined in this section, nor the definition of “eligible spouse” as defined in this section.
Qualified job training program means any program or service for workforce preparation, development, or delivery that is directly funded, in whole or in part, by the Department of Labor.
Recipient means an entity to which federal financial assistance, in whole or in part, is awarded directly from the Department or through a sub-award for any qualified job training program.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Department of Labor.
Veteran means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable, as specified in 38 U.S.C. 101(2). Active service includes full-time duty in the National Guard or a Reserve component, other than full-time duty for training purposes.
§ 1010.200   What is priority of service?
(a) As defined in section 2(a) of the JVA (38 U.S.C. 4215(a)) “priority of service” means, with respect to any qualified job training program, that a covered person shall be given priority over a non-covered person for the receipt of employment, training, and placement services provided under that program, notwithstanding any other provision of the law.
(b) Priority in the context of providing priority of service to veterans and other covered persons in qualified job training programs covered by this regulation means the right to take precedence over non-covered persons in obtaining services. Depending on the type of service or resource being provided, taking precedence may mean:
(1) The covered person receives access to the service or resource earlier in time than the non-covered person; or
(2) If the service or resource is limited, the covered person receives access to the service or resource instead of or before the non-covered person.
§ 1010.210   In which Department job training programs do covered persons receive priority of service?
(a) Priority of service applies to every qualified job training program funded, in whole or in part, by the Department, including:
(1) Any such program or service that uses technology to assist individuals to access workforce development programs (such as job and training opportunities, labor market information, career assessment tools, and related support services); and
(2) Any such program or service under the public employment service system, One-Stop Career Centers, the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, a demonstration or other temporary program; any workforce development program targeted to specific groups; and those programs implemented by States or local service providers based on Federal block grants administered by the Department.
(b) The implementation of priority of service does not change the intended function of a program or service. Covered persons must meet all statutory eligibility and program requirements for participation in order to receive priority for a program or service.
§ 1010.220   How are recipients required to implement priority of service?
(a) An agreement to implement priority of service, as described in these regulations and in any departmental guidance, is a condition for receipt of all Department job training program funds.
(b) All recipients are required to ensure that priority of service is applied by all sub-recipients of Department funds. All program activities, including those obtained through requests for proposals, solicitations for grant awards, sub-grants, contracts, sub-contracts, and (where feasible) memoranda of understanding or other service provision agreements, issued or executed by qualified job training program operators, must be administered in compliance with priority of service.
§ 1010.230   In addition to the responsibilities of all recipients, do States and political subdivisions of States have any particular responsibilities in implementing priority of service?
(a) Pursuant to their responsibility under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, States are required to address priority of service in their comprehensive strategic plan for the State's workforce investment system. Specifically, States must develop policies for the delivery of priority of service by the State Workforce Agency or Agencies, Local Workforce Investment Boards, and One-Stop Career Centers for all qualified job training programs delivered through the State's workforce system. The policy or policies must require that processes are in place to ensure that covered persons are identified at the point of entry and given an opportunity to take full advantage of priority of service. These processes shall be undertaken to ensure that covered persons are aware of:
(1) Their entitlement to priority of service;
(2) The full array of employment, training, and placement services available under priority of service; and
(3) Any applicable eligibility requirements for those programs and/or services.
(b) The State's policy or policies must require Local Workforce Investment Boards to develop and include in their strategic local plan, policies implementing priority of service for the local One-Stop Career Centers and for service delivery by local workforce preparation and training providers. These policies must establish processes to ensure that covered persons are identified at the point of entry so that covered persons are able to take full advantage of priority of service. These processes shall ensure that covered persons are aware of:
(1) Their entitlement to priority of service;
(2) The full array of employment, training, and placement services available under priority of service; and
(3) Any applicable eligibility requirements for those programs and/or services.
§ 1010.240   Will the Department be monitoring for compliance with priority of service?
(a) The Department will monitor recipients of funds for qualified job training programs to ensure that covered persons are made aware of and afforded priority of service.
(b) Monitoring priority of service will be performed jointly between the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) and the DOL agency responsible for the program's administration and oversight.
(c) A recipient's failure to provide priority of service to covered persons will be handled in accordance with the program's established compliance review processes. In addition to the remedies available under the program's compliance review processes, a recipient may be required to submit a corrective action plan to correct such failure.
§ 1010.250   Can priority of service be waived?
No, priority of service cannot be waived.
§ 1010.300   What processes are to be implemented to identify covered persons?
(a) Recipients of funds for qualified job training programs must implement processes to identify covered persons who physically access service delivery points or who access virtual service delivery programs or Web sites in order to provide covered persons with timely and useful information on priority of service at the point of entry. Point of entry may include reception through a One-Stop Career Center established pursuant to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as part of an application process for a specific program, or through any other method by which covered persons express an interest in receiving services, either in-person or virtually.
(b)(1) The processes for identifying covered persons at the point of entry must be designed to:
(i) Permit the individual to make known his or her covered person status; and
(ii) Permit those qualified job training programs specified in § 1010.330(a)(2) to initiate data collection for covered entrants.
(2) The processes for identifying covered persons are not required to verify the status of an individual as a veteran or eligible spouse at the point of entry unless they immediately undergo eligibility determination and enrollment in a program.
(c) The processes for identifying covered persons must ensure that:
(1) Covered persons are identified at the point of entry to allow covered persons to take full advantage of priority of service; and
(2) Covered persons are to be made aware of:
(i) Their entitlement to priority of service;
(ii) The full array of employment, training, and placement services available under priority of service; and
(iii) Any applicable eligibility requirements for those programs and/or services.
§ 1010.310   How will priority of service be applied?
(a) Recipients of funds for qualified job training programs must implement processes in accordance with § 1010.300 to identify covered persons at the point of entry, whether in person or virtual, so the covered person can be notified of their eligibility for priority of service. Since qualified job training programs may offer various types of services including staff-assisted services as well as self-services or informational activities, recipients also must ensure that priority of service is implemented throughout the full array of services provided to covered persons by the qualified job training program.
(b) Three categories of qualified job training programs affect the application of priority of service: universal access, discretionary targeting and statutory targeting. To obtain priority, a covered person must meet the statutory eligibility requirement(s) applicable to the specific program from which services are sought. For those programs that also have discretionary or statutory priorities or preferences pursuant to a Federal statute or regulation, recipients must coordinate providing priority of service with applying those other priorities, as prescribed in paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this section.
(1) Universal access programs operate or deliver services to the public as a whole; they do not target specific groups. These programs are required to provide priority of service to covered persons.
(2) Discretionary targeting programs focus on a particular group, or make efforts to provide a certain level of service to such a group, but do not specifically mandate that the favored group be served before other eligible individuals. Whether these provisions are found in a Federal statute or regulation, priority of service will apply. Covered persons must receive the highest priority for the program or service, and non-covered persons within the discretionary targeting will receive priority over non-covered persons outside the discretionary targeting.
(3) Statutory targeting programs are programs derived from a Federal statutory mandate that requires a priority or preference for a particular group of individuals or requires spending a certain portion of program funds on a particular group of persons receiving services. These are mandatory priorities. Recipients must determine each individual's covered person status and apply priority of service as described below:
(i) Covered persons who meet the mandatory priorities or spending requirement or limitation must receive the highest priority for the program or service;
(ii) Non-covered persons within the program's mandatory priority or spending requirement or limitation, must receive priority for the program or service over covered persons outside the program-specific mandatory priority or spending requirement or limitation; and,
(iii) Covered persons outside the program-specific mandatory priority or spending requirement or limitation must receive priority for the program or service over non-covered persons outside the program-specific mandatory priority or spending requirement or limitation.
§ 1010.320   Will recipients be required to collect information and report on priority of service?
Yes. Every recipient of funds for qualified job training programs must collect such information, maintain such records, and submit reports containing such information and in such formats as the Secretary may require related to the provision of priority of service.
§ 1010.330   What are the responsibilities of recipients to collect and maintain data on covered and non-covered persons?
(a) General requirements. Recipients must collect information in accordance with instructions issued by the Department.
(1) Recipients must collect two broad categories of information:
(i) For the qualified job training programs specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, information must be collected on covered persons from the point of entry, as defined in § 1010.300(a), and as provided in paragraph (b) of this section; and,
(ii) For all qualified job training programs, including the programs specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, information must be collected on covered and non-covered persons who receive services, as prescribed by the respective qualified job training programs, as provided in paragraph (c) of this section.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, qualified job training programs that served, at the national level, 1,000 or more veterans per year for the three most recent years of program operations (currently the Wagner-Peyser, WIA Adult, WIA Dislocated Worker, WIA National Emergency Grant, and Senior Community Service Employment Programs) must collect information and report on covered entrants. The Trade Adjustment Assistance Program must collect information and report on covered entrants on the effective date of the next information collection requirement applicable to that program, whether that is for a renewal of an existing approved information collection or for approval of a new information collection.
(3) For purposes of this section, covered persons at the point of entry are referred to as “covered entrants.” This group includes two further subgroups: veterans and eligible spouses as defined in § 1010.110.
(b) Collection and maintenance of data on covered entrants. In accordance with instructions issued by the Department, recipients of assistance for the programs specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section must collect and report individual record data for all covered entrants from the point of entry.
(c) Collection and maintenance of data on covered and non-covered persons who receive services. In accordance with instructions issued for individual qualified job training programs, all recipients must collect and maintain data on covered and non-covered persons who receive services, including individual record data for those programs that require establishment and submission of individual records for persons receiving services.
(1) The information to be collected shall include, but is not limited to:
(i) The covered and non-covered person status of all persons receiving services;
(ii) The types of services provided to covered and non-covered persons;
(iii) The dates that services were received by covered and non-covered persons; and;
(iv) The employment outcomes experienced by covered and non-covered persons receiving services.
(2)(i) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, for persons receiving services, recipients must apply the definitions set forth in § 1010.110 to distinguish covered from non-covered persons receiving services and, within covered persons, to distinguish veterans from eligible spouses.
(ii) Until qualified job training programs adopt the definitions for covered and non-covered persons set forth at § 1010.110 through the publication of requirements pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, recipients must collect data on the services provided to and the outcomes experienced by veterans (however defined) and non-veterans receiving services in accord with regulations, policies and currently approved information collections.
(d) All information must be stored and managed in a manner that ensures confidentiality.