48086 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 159 / Friday, August 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Veterans’ Employment and Training 

Service 

20 CFR Part 1010 

RIN 1293–AA15 

Priority of Service for Covered Persons 

AGENCY: Veterans’ Employment and 

Training Service, Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Veterans’ Employment 

and Training Service (VETS) of the 

Department of Labor (Department or 

DOL) is proposing a rule to implement 

priority of service in qualified job 

training programs prescribed in section 

2(a)(1) of the Jobs for Veterans Act 

(JVA). The Department undertakes this 

rulemaking in accordance with section 

605 of the Veterans’ Benefits, Health 

Care, and Information Technology Act 

of 2006, which requires the Department 

to implement priority of service via 

regulation. The Department seeks 

comments on this proposed rule. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments must be received on or before 

October 14, 2008. Comments received 

after that date will be considered to the 

extent possible. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Regulatory Information 

Number (RIN) 1293–AA15, by either 

one of the two following methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the Web 

site instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: 

Written comments, disk, and CD–ROM 

submissions may be mailed or delivered 

by hand delivery/courier to Gordon 

Burke, Director, Office of Grants and 

Transition Programs, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Room S–1312, Washington, DC 20210. 

Instructions: Please submit one copy 

of your comments by only one method. 

All submissions received must include 

the agency name, as well as RIN 1293– 

AA15. 

Please be advised that the Department 

will post all comments received on 

www.regulations.gov without making 

any change to the comments, including 

any personal information provided. The 

www.regulations.gov Web site is the 

Federal e-rulemaking portal and all 

comments posted there are available 

and accessible to the public. Therefore, 

the Department recommends that 

commenters safeguard their personal 

information such as Social Security 

Numbers, personal addresses, telephone 

numbers, and e-mail addresses included 

in their comments. It is the 

responsibility of the commenter to 

safeguard his or her information. 

Also, please note that due to security 

concerns, postal mail delivery in 

Washington, DC, may be delayed. 

Therefore, in order to ensure that 

comments receive full consideration, 

the Department encourages the public to 

submit comments via the Internet as 

indicated above. 

Docket: The Department will make all 

the comments it receives available for 

public inspection during normal 

business hours at the above address. If 

you need assistance to review the 

comments, the Department will provide 

you with appropriate aids such as 

readers or print magnifiers. The 

Department will make copies of the 

proposed rule available, upon request, 

in large print or electronic file on 

computer disk. The Department will 

consider providing the proposed rule in 

other formats upon request. To schedule 

an appointment to review the comments 

and/or obtain the proposed rule in an 

alternate format, contact the office of 

Gordon Burke at (202) 693–4740 

(VOICE) (this is not a toll-free number) 

or (202) 693–4760 (TTY/TDD). You may 

also contact Mr. Burke’s office at the 

address listed above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela Langley, Chief, Division of Grant 

Programs, Veterans’ Employment and 

Training Service, U.S. Department of 

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Room S–1312, Washington, DC 20210, 

Langley.Pamela@dol.gov, (202) 693– 

4708 (this is not a toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

preamble to this proposed rule is 

organized as follows: 

I. Background—provides a brief description 

of the development of the proposed rule. 

II. Section-by-Section Review of the Proposed 

Rule—summarizes and discusses 

proposed regulations. 

III. Administrative Information—sets forth 

the applicable regulatory requirements. 

I. Background 

On November 7, 2002, President Bush 

signed the Jobs for Veterans Act, Public 

Law 107–288 (Nov. 7, 2002). One 

provision of the JVA, codified at 38 

U.S.C. Section 4215, creates a priority of 

service requirement for covered persons 

in Department qualified job training 

programs. Since the passage of the Act, 

the Department has provided policy 

guidance to the workforce investment 

system regarding the implementation of 

priority of service, including the 

Department’s Employment and Training 

Administration (ETA) issuance of 

Training and Employment Guidance 

Letter (TEGL) No. 05–03 in September 

2003. TEGL No. 05–03 applies to a large 

majority of the job training programs 

impacted by priority of service. In 

December 2006, President Bush signed 

the Veterans’ Benefits, Health Care, and 

Information Technology Act of 2006 

(Pub. L. 109–461). That law requires the 

Department to issue regulations 

regarding the implementation of priority 

of service. The purpose of this notice is 

to propose those regulations. 

The JVA provides that veterans and 

eligible spouses of veterans (as defined 

in § 1010.110) are identified as covered 

persons and are entitled to priority over 

non-covered persons for the receipt of 

employment, training, and placement 

services provided under new or existing 

qualified job training programs, 

notwithstanding any other provision of 

the law. At 38 U.S.C. 4215(a)(2), 

qualified job training programs are 

defined as ‘‘any workforce preparation, 

development or delivery program or 

service that is directly funded, in whole 

or in part, by the Department.’’ 

Currently, such programs are offered by 

many agencies within the Department, 

including, but not limited to, ETA, 

VETS, the Women’s Bureau, and the 

Office of Disability Employment Policy 

(ODEP). 

JVA, and the priority of service it 

requires, is an important 

acknowledgment of the sacrifices of the 

men and women who have served in the 

U.S. armed forces. The Department’s 

strategic vision for priority of service to 

covered persons honors veterans and 

eligible spouses of veterans as our 

‘‘heroes at home’’ and envisions that 

DOL-funded employment and training 

programs, including the publiclyfunded workforce investment system, 

will identify, inform and deliver 

comprehensive services to covered 

persons as part of strategic workforce 

development activities across the 

country. Veterans possess unique 

attributes and contribute greatly in the 

workplace. They are an important 

source of highly skilled and experienced 

talent and play an important role in 

regional workforce development 

strategies. They are highly sought after 

by employers and they make excellent 

employees. Implementation of priority 

of service is designed to provide 

covered persons with clear entry points 

into high-growth, high wage civilian 

jobs and easily accessible postsecondary education and training to 

support veterans’ advancement along 

career pathways which will benefit 

regional economies. 

One-Stop Career Centers are the 

delivery point for a significant 


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percentage of qualified job training 

programs and services covered by the 

JVA and are required to implement 

priority of service. All One-Stop Career 

Centers should have clear strategies for 

providing veterans and eligible spouses 

of veterans with the highest quality of 

service at every phase of services 

offered. This can range from basic 

functions of the One-Stop System, such 

as assistance with job search and 

identification of needed skills to more 

customized initiatives such as creating 

career pathways, with corresponding 

competency assessments and training 

opportunities, which allow covered 

persons to advance their careers in high 

growth sectors of the economy. The 

Department expects that the One-Stop 

System will draw on all available 

resources to support the reemployment 

needs of covered persons. 

Veterans and their spouses have 

specific needs and concerns that can be 

addressed as DOL-funded employment 

and training programs develop strategies 

for serving them. When military service 

has ended, a major concern for many 

veterans is getting a good job. Combat 

veterans may experience difficulties 

both in finding employment and in 

readjusting to civilian work 

environments. DOL-funded employment 

and training programs should work with 

employers to ensure that the value a 

veteran brings to the table is understood 

and to address any concerns that 

employers may have about hiring 

veterans. Those veterans who have 

sustained injuries or illnesses as a result 

of their military service may require 

additional support in developing skills 

and securing employment. DOL, the 

Department of Defense and the 

Department of Veterans Affairs are 

collaborating in closely monitoring the 

rehabilitation of wounded and injured 

veterans so that their readiness for 

employment can be assessed and 

appropriate preparations for civilian 

employment can be made. Upon 

achieving job-ready status, these 

‘‘heroes at home’’ should be 

immediately provided the full array of 

employment and training services to 

ensure that they make a successful 

transition into a civilian career. 

Priority of service ensures that 

covered persons receive priority 

employment and job training services 

that will effectively integrate them into 

the economy. It does not change a 

program’s intended functions; covered 

persons still need to meet all statutory 

eligibility and program requirements for 

participation. Some DOL-funded 

employment and training programs have 

only general program eligibility 

requirements and do not statutorily 

target specific groups. These programs 

require only a straightforward 

implementation of priority of service. 

However, some DOL-funded 

employment and training programs do 

carry existing statutory targeting 

provisions that must be taken into 

account when applying priority of 

service. The purpose of this proposed 

rule is to articulate how priority of 

service is to be applied across all 

existing and new qualified job training 

programs. 

II. Section-by-Section Review of the 

Proposed Rule 

Subpart A—Purpose and Definitions 

What is the purpose and scope of this 

part? (§ 1010.100) 

Section 1010.100 briefly describes 

and supplies the statutory context for 

these regulations. The purpose of the 

regulations is to implement priority of 

service for veterans and eligible spouses 

of veterans, collectively identified as 

covered persons. These regulations 

apply to all workforce preparation, 

development or delivery programs 

funded in whole or in part by the 

Department. These regulations 

implement the priority of service 

provision of the JVA (38 U.S.C. 4215) as 

required by the Veterans’ Benefits, 

Health Care, and Information 

Technology Act of 2006, Public Law 

109–461 (Dec. 22, 2006). 

What definitions apply to this part? 

(§ 1010.110) 

The definitions in this section are 

provided to assist in understanding 

priority of service, its implementation 

and corresponding requirements. For 

the most part, these terms incorporate 

definitions contained in the Jobs for 

Veterans Act. The term ‘‘veteran’’ is 

based on the definition in 38 U.S.C. 

101(2) and is defined as ‘‘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 provided 

in § 1010.330(c)(2)(i), this will result in 

uniformity in the application of and in 

the reporting on priority of service for 

veterans. 

Subpart B—Understanding Priority of 

Service 

What is priority of service? (§ 1010.200) 

Priority of service entitles covered 

persons, including veterans and eligible 

spouses of veterans who are otherwise 

eligible for DOL qualified job training 

programs, to receive priority access to 

programs or services over non-covered 

persons. It is important to emphasize 

that covered persons must meet a 

program’s statutory eligibility 

requirements in order to obtain priority 

of service in the program. 

To carry out these objectives, priority 

of service requires that covered persons 

take precedence over non-covered 

persons in obtaining DOL-funded 

services. Section 1010.200 provides that 

covered persons receive access to the 

service or resource earlier in time than 

non-covered persons; or if the service or 

resource is limited, covered persons 

receive access to the service or resource 

instead of or before non-covered 

persons. 

In which Department job training 

programs do covered persons receive 

priority of service (§ 1010.210)? 

This section stipulates that priority of 

service applies to every workforce 

preparation, development, or delivery 

program or service that is directly 

funded in whole or in part by the 

Department. Priority of service is 

intended to apply to all such programs 

currently in operation, as well as all 

new such programs that come into 

existence in the future. The 

implementation of priority of service is 

not meant to change the intended 

function of a program or service. 

The Department funds a broad range 

of programs and services that are 

affected by priority of service, 

including, but not limited to: WagnerPeyser funded employment services; the 

Trade Adjustment Assistance Program; 

Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs 

funded under the Workforce Investment 

Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105–220, Aug. 7, 

1998) (WIA); WIA Youth Formula 

Funded Programs, WIA national 

programs; Community Based Job 

Training Grants; Job Corps; the 

Veterans’ Workforce Investment 

Program; Office of Disability 

Employment Programs; Pilot and 

Demonstration Grants; discretionary 

grants such as those using H–1B funds; 

and future grant formula or 

discretionary grants. As new workforce 

preparation, development, or delivery 

programs or services funded in whole or 

in part by the Department are 

developed, they will also be covered by 

priority of service. 

How are recipients required to 

implement priority of service? 

(§ 1010.220) 

Under paragraph (a) of this section, all 

recipients of DOL funding for the 

administration and delivery of qualified 

job training programs are required to 

agree to implement priority of service as 

a condition for receipt of any 

Department funds for existing and new 


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programs. As part of this agreement, 

funding recipients must provide the 

Department with information on how 

priority of service will be implemented. 

The agreement may be executed in a 

variety of ways, depending on the 

program. For example, the Department 

may require the agreement as part of the 

terms of formal grant award documents 

and/or through program governance 

documents, such as strategic plans and 

State workforce investment plans 

submitted under the Workforce 

Investment Act of 1998. 

Under paragraph (b) of this section, it 

is the responsibility of the funding 

recipient to ensure that any subrecipients of funds implement priority 

of service. As such, funding recipients 

should include priority of service and 

its associated data collection and 

reporting requirements in all requests 

for proposals, solicitations for grant 

awards, sub-grants, sub-contracts, or 

other mechanisms utilized to define 

service delivery strategies using DOL 

funding, including (where feasible) 

memoranda of understanding or other 

service delivery agreements. 

Do States and political subdivisions of 

States have any additional 

responsibilities in implementing 

priority of service that go beyond what 

is expected of recipients? (§ 1010.230) 

Because of the importance of their 

role in ensuring that priority of service 

for covered persons is carried out 

throughout the One-Stop Delivery 

System, both States and local workforce 

investment areas have particular 

responsibilities for planning and 

establishing policies for the delivery of 

priority of service throughout the 

workforce investment system. States are 

required to address priority of service in 

their comprehensive strategic plans, and 

they are also required to ensure that 

Local Workforce Investment Boards 

address priority of service in their 

strategic plans. These plans should 

identify the processes that a State’s 

workforce system will follow to identify 

covered persons at the point of entry so 

that covered persons can take full 

advantage of priority of service. State 

entities and political subdivisions of 

states are required to ensure that 

covered persons are made aware of the 

programs and the benefits conveyed by 

priority of service and that covered 

persons understand: (a) Their 

entitlement to priority of service; (b) the 

full array of employment, training, and 

placement services available under 

priority service, and (c) any applicable 

eligibility requirements for those 

programs or services. It is the 

responsibility of states to ensure that 

state and local policies are in place to 

fulfill these requirements. 

Will the Department be monitoring for 

compliance with priority of service? 

(§ 1010.240) 

The Department is committed to 

ensuring full and proper 

implementation of priority of service 

across the nation. Therefore, the 

Department will monitor and evaluate 

recipients of funds for qualified job and 

training programs to ensure that covered 

persons are made aware of and are 

afforded priority of service. The 

responsibility for monitoring priority of 

service will be shared jointly between 

VETS and the DOL agency responsible 

for administration and oversight of the 

program. At the regional level, VETS 

staff will coordinate monitoring reviews 

and validation visits with the 

appropriate federal official with 

comparable responsibility for the 

qualified job training program. 

Monitoring and evaluation will include 

collecting information indicating that 

covered persons are afforded priority of 

service in qualified job training 

programs, and ensuring that covered 

persons are made aware of priority of 

service at the point of entry and are 

afforded its benefits. The processes to 

address the inability of grantees to 

perform programmatic requirements, 

such as the application of priority of 

service, vary by program. At a 

minimum, if a recipient is found to not 

be in compliance with the requirement 

to provide priority of service to covered 

persons, the recipient will be required 

to submit a corrective action plan. 

Can priority of service be waived? 

(§ 1010.250) 

In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 

4215(a)(3), priority of service will be 

applied for covered persons in all 

qualified programs and services 

‘‘notwithstanding any other provision of 

law’’ and cannot be waived. 

Subpart C—Applying Priority of Service 

for Covered Persons 

What processes are to be implemented 

to identify covered persons? 

(§ 1010.300) 

To ensure complete implementation 

of priority of service, recipients of funds 

for qualified job training programs must 

have procedures in place to identify 

covered persons as quickly as possible 

in order to promptly inform them about 

their priority of service benefits, 

regardless of whether those benefits are 

being delivered in person or over the 

Web. As described in greater detail in 

conjunction with the review of 

§ 1010.330, DOL has identified ‘‘point of 

entry’’ as the point at which customers 

first come into contact with DOL-funded 

employment and training programs. 

Points 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 inperson or virtually. These processes are 

to ensure that: 

(1) Covered persons are identified at 

the point of entry to allow them to take 

the fullest advantage of priority of 

service; and 

(2) To ensure covered persons 

understand: 

(a) Their entitlement to priority of 

service, 

(b) The full array of employment and 

training services available under 

priority of service, and 

(c) Any eligibility requirements the 

covered person must meet in order to 

gain entry into the program or to be 

provided services by the program. 

These procedures must ensure that 

covered persons are identified at the 

point of entry so that they have the 

opportunity to take advantage of priority 

of service. For example, a program with 

intake procedures must ascertain during 

intake whether the applicant is a 

covered person so that the covered 

person can be afforded priority during 

the receipt of all applicable subsequent 

services. 

Because of the broad scope of 

qualified job training programs, a single 

procedure for all programs is not 

feasible and will not be specified. 

Instead, each program will need to 

develop those procedures that best fit 

within that program’s context and 

current client flow process. 

How will priority of service be applied? 

(§ 1010.310) 

As mentioned above, veterans must 

meet program eligibility requirements in 

order to obtain priority. This section 

discusses the different ways that 

programs may target groups of eligible 

individuals and how such targeting 

interacts with the priority of service. 

Some DOL-funded qualified job training 

programs have only general program 

eligibility requirements and do not 

statutorily target specific groups. For 

these programs, implementing priority 

of service for covered persons is 

relatively straightforward. However, 

DOL also administers a number of 

programs that have existing federal 

statutory or discretionary targeting 

provisions that prioritize certain 


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population groups. The Department is 

using this rule-making opportunity to 

clarify and codify how such priorities 

should be balanced when implementing 

priority of service in those programs 

with federal statutory priorities. The 

veterans’ priority of service will always 

take precedence over state- or locallyimposed priorities and preferences. 

Many qualified job training programs 

also provide more than one phase of 

service. For example, within the OneStop Career Center, a continuum of 

services may be available, ranging from 

self-service and information to career 

counseling and training, depending 

upon the needs of the customer. It is 

important to note that covered persons 

must be given priority of service 

throughout this continuum of services. 

Identifying covered persons at the point 

of entry is a means of ensuring that 

covered persons have access to and are 

afforded priority in receiving the full 

array of services available throughout 

the different phases of service delivery. 

For the purposes of implementing 

priority of service, all DOL-funded 

qualified job training programs fall into 

one of three broad categories: (1) 

Programs whose eligibility requirements 

do not target specific groups (universal 

access); (2) programs with discretionary 

targeting of specific groups pursuant to 

a federal statute or regulation; (3) 

programs with statutory targeting of 

specific groups pursuant to a federal 

statute or regulation. For each of these 

three categories, instructions for 

applying priority of service are provided 

below: 

1. Programs whose eligibility 

requirements do not target specific 

groups (universal access): 

Some DOL-funded qualified 

programs, such as Wagner-Peyser 

employment services, are available to 

eligible individuals from the general 

population as a whole. For these 

programs, funding recipients must 

identify covered persons and give all 

covered persons priority of service over 

non-covered persons for program 

services. 

2. Programs with discretionary 

targeting of specific groups pursuant to 

a federal statute or regulation: 

Some DOL-funded qualified job 

training programs are designed by 

statute or regulation to focus on a 

particular group, or to make efforts to 

provide a certain level of service to such 

a group, but such focus is optional or 

discretionary. In that case, priority of 

service takes precedence over the 

discretionary priority. This means that 

funding recipients are required to 

provide covered persons the highest 

priority over non-covered persons. Noncovered persons within the 

discretionary area of focus would then 

receive priority over non-covered 

persons outside the discretionary area of 

focus. The discretionary targeting will 

still remain consistent with the federal 

statutory and/or regulatory provision(s) 

governing the discretionary targeting. 

3. Programs with statutory targeting 

pursuant to a federal statute or 

regulation: 

Some qualified programs have 

mandatory priorities or priorities 

required by federal law. These targeting 

provisions mandate priority or 

preference for a particular group of 

individuals, such as the Workforce 

Investment Act (WIA) Adult Program 

(which requires, by statute, that priority 

for intensive and training services be 

given to recipients of public assistance 

and other low-income individuals, 

when funds allocated to a local area are 

limited) or require spending a certain 

portion of program funds on a particular 

group of persons receiving services, 

such as the WIA Youth Program (which 

requires that at least 30% of funds be 

spent on out-of-school youth). For these 

programs containing a federal statutory 

priority, funding recipients should 

implement priority of service in the 

following order: (1) Covered persons 

who meet the mandatory priorities or 

spending requirement or limitation 

would receive the highest priority for 

the program; (2) Non-covered persons 

within the program’s mandatory 

priorities would receive preference 

before covered persons outside the 

program’s mandatory priorities; and (3) 

Covered persons outside the program’s 

mandatory priorities would receive 

priority over any non-covered persons 

outside the program’s mandatory 

priorities. 

Will recipients be required to collect 

information and report on priority of 

service? (§ 1010.320) 

Yes, recipients of funds will be 

required to collect information and 

report on priority of service. JVA 

requires the Department to evaluate: (1) 

Whether covered persons are receiving 

priority of service; (2) whether covered 

persons are being fully served by 

qualified job training programs; and (3) 

whether the representation of covered 

persons in such programs is in 

proportion to the incidence of 

representation of covered persons in the 

labor market. The data to be collected 

and maintained, as described in 

§ 1010.330, will play a direct role in 

enabling the Department to fulfill the 

statutory responsibilities of evaluating 

whether covered persons are receiving 

priority of service and are being fully 

served by qualified job training 

programs, and whether the 

representation of covered persons in 

such programs is in proportion to the 

incidence of representation of covered 

persons in the labor market. In addition, 

by calling covered persons to the 

attention of program staff at the point of 

entry, the requirement to collect data on 

covered persons is expected to reinforce 

the provision of timely information to 

covered persons about their right to 

priority, about available services and 

about applicable eligibility 

requirements, as required by § 1010.300. 

What are the responsibilities of 

recipients to collect and maintain data 

on covered and non-covered persons? 

(§ 1010.330) 

Each recipient of funds must collect 

data and maintain records that indicate 

covered person status to determine 

whether the funding recipient is 

providing priority of service as required 

by the Secretary. This regulation is 

accompanied by an Information 

Collection Request (ICR) that identifies 

the initial set of requirements. Those 

requirements are to be implemented for 

selected qualified job training programs 

in coordination with the approval of the 

ICR, with the expectation of 

implementing those requirements on 

July 1 of the subsequent program year. 

Some qualified job training programs 

are not included in the ICR that 

accompanies this Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM). For each of those 

programs, the reporting requirements 

related to priority of service will be 

identified as part of that program’s 

periodic renewal of approval for an 

existing information collection or as 

part of that program’s request for a new 

information collection, whichever first 

follows the approval of the ICR that 

accompanies this NPRM. VETS will 

review information collection 

requirements for programs not included 

in the initial ICR to ensure they meet the 

reporting requirements for priority of 

service. 

In developing information collection 

and reporting requirements, the 

Department has taken into consideration 

the broad scope of programs to which 

these reporting requirements will apply. 

The Department also considered the fact 

that priority of service addresses 

processes experienced by customers, 

both covered and non-covered, before 

they receive services. In designing its 

approach to data collection and 

reporting on priority of service, DOL 

identified ‘‘point of entry’’ as the point 

at which customers first come into 

contact with DOL-funded employment 

and training programs. Since customers 


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can make initial contact with these 

programs in a wide variety of ways, 

point of entry embraces a variety of 

situations. For example, some customers 

first contact One-Stop Career Centers, 

while others apply directly for specific 

DOL-funded employment and training 

programs. In either of those cases, 

customers also may make their initial 

contacts at physical locations or by 

remotely accessing electronic resources. 

In conjunction with the identification of 

point of entry, DOL also designated 

customers at this stage as ‘‘entrants,’’

who can be either covered or noncovered. 

In assessing the available options for 

measuring priority of service, the 

Department carefully considered the 

benefits that would be derived and the 

burdens that would be imposed if data 

were collected and reported on both 

covered and non-covered entrants. 

While that would have allowed DOL to 

compare the rates of entry to services for 

both groups, DOL concluded that 

requiring data collection and reporting 

for non-covered entrants would be 

disproportionately burdensome to both 

workforce professionals and their 

customers, the overwhelming majority 

of whom are not covered persons. 

Specifically, historical data on veteran 

participation suggest that non-covered 

entrants will represent over four-fifths 

of all entrants. Therefore, the 

Department has determined that entrant 

data collection and reporting will be 

restricted to covered entrants. 

Similarly, DOL considered requiring 

entrant data collection for all qualified 

job training programs. In that case also, 

an assessment of the trade-offs between 

the benefits and the burdens for 

programs of different sizes indicated 

that data collection and reporting on 

covered entrants should be restricted to 

six major workforce programs that 

historically surpassed a ‘‘threshold’’

level of veteran participation. The 

threshold level identified is 

participation of 1,000 or more veteran 

participants per year, on average over 

the prior three years. Of the nine major 

workforce programs included in the 

Annual Report on veterans’

employment, the six programs above the 

threshold level accounted for 99.9% of 

the veteran participants. In light of the 

expected concentration of covered 

entrants in those six programs, DOL has 

determined that data collection and 

reporting on covered entrants will be 

restricted to those six programs 

(Wagner-Peyser, WIA Adult, WIA 

Dislocated Worker, WIA National 

Emergency Grant, Senior Community 

Service Employment, and Trade 

Adjustment Assistance Programs). 

All funding recipients also must 

collect and maintain data on covered 

and non-covered persons who receive 

services (also known as ‘participants’). 

The information to be collected may 

include, but is not limited to: (1) The 

covered and non-covered person status 

of all persons receiving services; (2) the 

types of services provided to covered 

and non-covered persons; (3) the dates 

in which services were received by 

covered and non-covered persons; and 

(4) the employment outcomes 

experienced by covered and noncovered persons receiving services. In 

collecting data on the services provided 

to and the outcomes experiences by 

persons receiving services, funding 

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. 

III. Administrative Information 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, 

Executive Order 13272, and Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 

5 U.S.C. Chapter 6, requires the 

Department to evaluate the economic 

impact of this proposed rule with regard 

to small entities. The RFA defines small 

entities to include small businesses, 

small organizations including not-forprofit organizations, and small 

governmental jurisdictions. The 

Department must determine whether the 

proposed rule imposes a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of such small entities. 

The Department has determined that 

there is no significant economic impact 

resulting from this NPRM. The JVA 

mandates that veterans receive priority 

of service in all qualified job training 

programs. The purpose of this NPRM is 

to implement the JVA’s priority of 

service requirement. It defines the 

program and reporting requirements for 

ongoing programs funded by the 

Department (and any new programs 

created in the future) and administered 

by funding recipients. The priority of 

service provisions in the JVA do not 

create any new job training programs; 

rather, the programs affected by the 

priority of service are ongoing. The 

proposed rule requires funding 

recipients to do certain things, such as 

implement processes to identify covered 

persons at the point of entry and report 

on priority of service. However, the 

Department funds these programs and 

the funds are meant to include such 

activities as administration and 

reporting. Although certain funding 

recipients that operate qualified job 

training programs may be small entities, 

the Department certifies that this NPRM 

does not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities under the provisions of the RFA 

and also under the provisions of 

Executive Order 13272. 

Finally, the Department has also 

determined that this rule is not a ‘‘major 

rule’’ for purposes of The Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 

Chapter 8, requires agencies to take 

certain actions when a ‘‘major rule’’ is 

promulgated. SBREFA defines a ‘‘major 

rule’’ as one that has or will likely to 

result in an annual effect on the 

economy of $100,000,000 or more; a 

major increase in costs or prices for, 

among other things, state or local 

government agencies; or in significant 

and adverse effects on the U.S. business 

climate. For the reasons already 

discussed, this proposed rule will not 

have any significant financial impact. 

Accordingly, none of the definitions of 

‘‘major rule’’ apply in this instance. 

Executive Order 12866 

Executive Order 12866 requires that 

for each ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

proposed by the Department, the 

Department conduct an assessment of 

the proposed regulatory action and 

provide the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) with the proposed 

regulation and the requisite assessment 

prior to publishing the regulation. A 

significant regulatory action is defined 

to include an action that will have an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more, as well as an action 

that raises a novel legal or policy issue. 

The priority of service implemented 

by this proposed rule will not have an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more, for the reasons outlined 

above. While much of the proposed rule 

is consistent with current DOL policy, 

certain portions may raise novel policy 

issues. Accordingly, OMB has reviewed 

this proposed rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The purposes of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq., include minimizing the 

paperwork burden on affected entities. 

The PRA requires certain actions before 

an agency can adopt or revise the 

collection of information, including 

publishing a summary of the collection 

of information and a brief description of 

the need for and proposed use of the 

information. 

The Department hereby announces 

that the collections of information 


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contained in this proposed rule, and 

identified as such, have been submitted 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and approval in 

accordance with section 3507(d) of the 

PRA. A copy of this submission, with 

applicable supporting documentation, a 

description of the likely respondents, 

proposed frequency of response, and 

estimated total burden, may be obtained 

at http://www.doleta.gov/OMBCN/ 

OMBControlNumber.cfm or from the 

RegInfo.gov Web site at http:// 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or 

by contacting Darrin A. King, Acting 

Departmental Clearance Officer, on 202–

693–4129 (this is not a toll-free 

number); e-mail: king.darrin@dol.gov. 

The Department invites comments on 

the collections of information contained 

in this proposed rule. Comments may be 

submitted by e-mail to 

OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Comments also may be sent to the Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Room 10235, New Executive Office 

Building, Washington, DC 20503; 

Attention: Desk Officer for the 

Employment and Training 

Administration. Although comments 

may be submitted through October 14, 

2008, OMB requests that comments be 

received within 30 days of publication 

of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to 

ensure their consideration. In order to 

ensure the appropriate consideration, 

comments should reference the OMB 

Control Number: 1205–0NEW. The 

OMB is particularly interested in 

comments that: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

• Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

• Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

• Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. 

Type of Review: Request for New 

Collection. 

Title of the Collection: Application for 

Priority of Service Data Collection. 

OMB Control Number: 1205–0NEW. 

Total Estimated Annual Respondents: 

(a) 1,586,815 covered entrants; and (b) 

151,530 covered Wagner-Peyser/VETS 

persons receiving services to be tracked 

through individual data records. 

Estimated Time for Response: 3.5 

minutes per record. 

Total Estimated Burden Hours: 

155,539. 

Total Estimated Cost Burden: $0. 

Description: The primary data 

collection and reporting requirements 

related to this proposed rule are set 

forth in § 1010.330(b) and call for 

minimal data collection for covered 

persons to be initiated at the point of 

entry by those qualified job training 

programs above a certain size threshold, 

as specified in § 1010.330(a)(2). These 

new data collection and reporting 

requirements are specified in the ICR 

that accompanies this NPRM and will 

impact the four approved information 

collections identified below. The 

effective date(s) for the new reporting 

requirements will be determined by the 

application of criteria identified in the 

ICR, in conjunction with the point in 

time at which OMB approval of the ICR 

is received. It is possible that the 

effective date for application of the new 

data collection and reporting 

requirements for covered persons at the 

point of entry will coincide with the 

effective date for implementation of the 

Workforce Investment Streamlined 

Performance Reporting (WISPR) System. 

In that case, only the WISPR System and 

the SCSEP Performance Measurement 

System will be impacted, because 

WISPR will replace the other three 

systems identified below. 

§ 1010.330(b)—What are the 

responsibilities of recipients to collect 

and maintain data on covered and noncovered persons? 

• 1205–0040: SCSEP Performance 

Measurement System. 

• 1205–0240: Labor Exchange 

Reporting System (LERS). 

• 1205–0392: Trade Act Participant 

Report (TAPR). 

• 1205–0420: WIA Management 

Information and Reporting System. 

A second data collection and 

reporting requirement relates to this 

proposed rule. It is based on the 

provisions of § 1010.220, which require 

funding recipients to agree to 

implement priority of service as a 

condition for the receipt of funds. It is 

anticipated that this requirement will 

impact the six approved information 

collections identified below. 

§ 1010.220—How are recipients 

required to implement priority of 

service? 

• 1205–0219: Standard Job Corps 

Request for Proposal and Related 

Contractor Information Gathering. 

• 1205–0275: Trade Adjustment 

Assistance/NAFTA Financial Status/ 

Request for Funds Report. 

• 1205–0398: TITLE: Planning 

Guidance and Instructions for 

Submission of the Strategic State Plan 

and Plan Modifications for Title I of the 

Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

(WIA). 

• 1205–0407: State Unified Plan 

Planning Guidance for State Unified 

Plans and Unified Plan Modifications 

Submitted Under Section 501 of the 

Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

(WIA). 

• 1205–0439: Workforce Investment 

Act: National Emergency Grant (NEG) 

Assistance—Application and Reporting 

Procedures. 

• 1205–0458: Generic Solicitation for 

Grant Applications (SGA). 

The Department intends that the 

required revisions to the six information 

collections listed above will take effect 

when these information collections are 

next approved, whether that approval 

responds to a request for renewed 

approval of an existing information 

collection, or to a request for initial 

approval of a new information 

collection. 

The third data collection and 

reporting requirement that relates to this 

proposed rule is based on the provisions 

of § 1010.330(c), which require funding 

recipients to collect data and report on 

covered and non-covered persons 

receiving services. It is anticipated that 

this requirement will impact the 14 

approved information collections 

identified below. In most cases, the only 

impact will be to insert new 

specifications for existing data fields for 

veterans and eligible spouses in these 

reporting systems. 

Section 1010.330(c)—What are the 

responsibilities of recipients to collect 

and maintain data on covered and noncovered persons? 

• 1205–0025: Job Corps Application 

Data. 

• 1205–0353: Worker Profiling and 

Reemployment Services Activities and 

Worker Profiling and Reemployment 

Outcomes. 

• 1205–0371: Work Opportunity Tax 

Credit (WOTC) and Welfare-to-Work 

(WtW) Tax Credit. 

• 1205–0417: One-Stop Workforce 

Information Grant Plan and Annual 

Performance Report. 


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• 1205–0422: Financial and Program 

Reporting and Performance Standards 

System for Indian and Native American 

Programs Under Title I, Section 166 of 

the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). 

• 1205–0425: Reporting and 

Performance Standards System for 

Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker 

Programs Under Title I, Section 167 of 

the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). 

• 1205–0436: Quick Turnaround 

Surveys on Workforce Investment Act 

Implementation. 

• 1205–0448: Employment and 

Training Data Validation Requirement. 

• 1205–0455: Prisoner Reentry 

Initiative (PRI) Reporting System. 

• 1205–0464: YouthBuild Reporting 

System. 

• 1205–0465: High Growth and 

Community-Based Job Training Grants. 

• 1225–0059: Job Accommodation 

Network (JAN) Customer Satisfaction 

Survey. 

• 1230–0003: Employment Assistance 

& Recruiting Network (EARN) Employer 

and Provider Enrollment Form, and 

Surveys. 

• 1293–0009: VETS Manager’s Report 

and SF–269A. 

The Department intends that the 

required revisions to the 14 information 

collections listed above will take effect 

when these information collections are 

next approved, whether that approval 

responds to a request for renewed 

approval of an existing information 

collection, or to a request for initial 

approval of a new information 

collection. 

The Department notes that a Federal 

agency cannot conduct or sponsor a 

collection of information unless it is 

approved by OMB under the PRA, and 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number, and the public is not required 

to respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. Also, notwithstanding 

any other provisions of law, no person 

shall be subject to penalty for failing to 

comply with a collection of information 

if the collection of information does not 

display a currently valid OMB control 

number. Comments submitted in 

response to this notice will become a 

matter of public record. Those wishing 

to submit comments on the collections 

of information contained in this 

proposed rule are reminded that: (a) the 

relevant documents can be obtained for 

review from any one of the three sources 

cited above; and, (b) comments should 

be submitted to the e-mail address or to 

the postal address for OMB’s Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA), also cited above. 

Executive Order 13132 

The Department has reviewed this 

proposed rule in accordance with 

Executive Order 13132 regarding 

federalism and has determined that it 

does not have ‘‘federalism 

implications.’’ The rule does not ‘‘have 

substantial direct effects on the States, 

on the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government.’’ This proposed 

rule implements the priority of services 

for qualified job training programs. 

Although States are recipients of funds 

for many qualified job training 

programs, this proposed rule does not 

have a substantial direct effect on the 

States; it merely establishes certain 

conditions on the receipt of program 

funds. This proposed rule does nothing 

to alter either the relationship between 

the national government and the States, 

or the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Accordingly, this 

proposed rule does not have ‘‘federalism 

implications.’’

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

For purposes of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) of 1995, 

this rule does not include any Federal 

mandate that may result in increased 

expenditures by State, local and tribal 

governments, or by the private sector. 

This proposed rule merely establishes 

that recipients of qualified job training 

funds must use some of those funds to 

satisfy priority of service requirements. 

As this proposed rule does not impose 

any unfunded Federal mandate, the 

UMRA is not implicated. 

Executive Order 13045 

Executive Order 13045 concerns the 

protection of children from 

environmental health risks and safety 

risks. This proposed rule implements 

the priority of service provisions for 

qualified job training programs funded 

by the Department. This proposed rule 

has no impact on safety or health risks 

to children. 

Executive Order 13175 

Executive Order 13175 addresses the 

unique relationship between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribal 

governments. The order requires Federal 

agencies to take certain actions when 

regulations have ‘‘tribal implications.’’

Required actions include consulting 

with Tribal Governments prior to 

promulgating a regulation with tribal 

implications and preparing a tribal 

impact statement. The order defines 

regulations as having ‘‘tribal 

implications’’ when they have 

substantial direct effects on one or more 

Indian tribes, on the relationship 

between the Federal Government and 

Indian tribes, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes. 

The Department has reviewed this 

proposed rule and concludes that it 

does not have tribal implications. 

Although tribal governments are 

recipients of some qualified job training 

program funds, this proposed rule 

merely establishes certain conditions on 

the receipt of program funds. Indian 

tribes will not even be required to 

perform the new reporting duties 

described in this proposed rule because 

the programs they administer do not 

serve an average of 1,000 covered 

persons per year. The proposed rule 

does nothing to affect either the 

relationship or the distribution of power 

and responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. 

Therefore, this proposed rule does not 

have tribal implications for purposes of 

Executive Order 13175. 

Environmental Impact Assessment 

The Department has reviewed this 

proposed rule in accordance with the 

requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 

regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality (40 CFR part 

1500), and the Department’s NEPA 

procedures (29 CFR part 11). The 

proposed rule will not have a significant 

impact on the quality of the human 

environment, and thus the Department 

has not prepared an environmental 

assessment or an environmental impact 

statement. 

Assessment of Federal Regulations and 

Policies on Families 

Section 654 of the Treasury and 

General Government Appropriations 

Act, enacted as part of the Omnibus 

Consolidated and Emergency 

Supplemental Appropriations Act of 

1999 (Pub. L. 105–277, 112 Stat. 2681), 

requires the Department to assess the 

impact of this rule on family well-being. 

A rule that is determined to have a 

negative affect on families must be 

supported with an adequate rationale. 

The Department has assessed this 

proposed rule and has determined that 

it will not have a negative effect on 

families. 

Privacy Act 

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 

552a) provides safeguards to individuals 

concerning their personal information 

which the Government collects. The Act 


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requires certain actions by an agency 

that collects information on individuals 

when that information contains 

personally identifying information such 

as Social Security Numbers or names. 

Because this proposed rule does not 

require a new collection of personally 

identifiable information, the privacy act 

does not apply in this instance. 

Executive Order 12630 

This proposed rule is not subject to 

Executive Order 12630, Governmental 

Actions and Interference with 

Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights, because it does not involve 

implementation of a policy with takings 

implications. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been drafted 

and reviewed in accordance with 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform, and will not unduly burden the 

Federal court system. The proposed 

regulation has been written so as to 

minimize litigation and provide a clear 

legal standard for affected conduct, and 

has been reviewed carefully to eliminate 

drafting errors and ambiguities. 

Executive Order 13211 

This proposed rule is not subject to 

Executive Order 13211, because it will 

not have a significant adverse effect on 

the supply, distribution, or use of 

energy. 

Plain Language 

The Department drafted this proposed 

rule in plain language. 

Catalogue of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Number 

This proposed rule is not programspecific; rather it applies across a broad 

spectrum of qualified job training 

programs. Therefore, designation of a 

listing in the Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance would not be 

appropriate. 

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 1010 

Employment, Grant programs—Labor, 

Veterans. 

Signed at Washington, DC this 7th day of 

August 2008. 

Charles S. Ciccolella, 

Assistant Secretary, Veterans Employment 

and Training Service. 

For reasons stated in the preamble, 

the Department proposes to amend 20 

CFR chapter V by adding part 1010 to 

read as follows: 

PART 1010—APPLICATION OF 

PRIORITY OF SERVICE FOR COVERED 

PERSONS 

Subpart A—Purpose and Definitions 

Sec. 

1010.100 What is the purpose and scope of 

this part? 

1010.110 What definitions apply to this 

part? 

Subpart B—Understanding Priority of 

Service 

1010.200 What is priority of service? 

1010.210 In which Department job training 

programs do covered persons receive 

priority of service? 

1010.220 How are recipients required to 

implement 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? 

1010.240 Will the Department be 

monitoring for compliance with priority 

of service? 

1010.250 Can priority of service be waived? 

Subpart C—Applying Priority of Service 

1010.300 What processes are to be 

implemented to identify covered 

persons? 

1010.310 How will priority of service be 

applied? 

1010.320 Will recipients be required to 

collect information and report on 

priority of service? 

1010.330 What are the responsibilities of 

recipients to collect and maintain data 

on covered and non-covered persons? 

Authority: Public Law 109–461 (Dec. 22, 

2006), section 605 [38 U.S.C. 4215 Note]; 38 

U.S.C. 4215. 

Subpart A—Purpose and Definitions 

§ 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, Public Law 

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 serviceconnected 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 serviceconnected disability, as evaluated by the 

Department of Veterans Affairs; 

(4) Any veteran who died while a 

disability, as indicated in paragraph (3) 

of this definition, 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 

below, nor the definition of ‘‘eligible 

spouse’’ as defined above. 

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). 

Subpart B—Understanding Priority of 

Service 

§ 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 


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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. 

Subpart C—Applying Priority of 

Service 

§ 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) These processes 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 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 159 / Friday, August 15, 2008 / Proposed Rules 48095 

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 noncovered 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 noncovered 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. 

[FR Doc. E8–18869 Filed 8–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–79–P 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with PROPOSALS