NY Lab L § 846 (2021)
2021 New York Laws LAB - Labor Article 24 - Worker Adjustment Act 846 - Substate Level Activities.

§  846.  Substate  level  activities.  1. (a) Grantees shall use funds allotted to them pursuant to section eight hundred forty-eight  of  this article  to provide to eligible dislocated workers the core functions of the worker adjustment program,  which  include  intake,  assessment  and counseling,  as  well  as  basic readjustment and retraining services as defined in section eight hundred thirty-five of this  article,  directly or  by  contract.  Provided,  however,  that  such grantees shall not be required by the department to contract with any  specific  provider  for the provision of such services.  (b)  Each  substate  grantee  shall  provide  intake,  counseling  and assessment directly or by contract on an ongoing  basis  at  a  site  or sites designated by the substate grantee to which all dislocated workers in the area have access. In addition, the substate grantee may make such services  available  at  the  location of a plant closing or substantial layoff.  (c)  Substate  grantees  shall  require  that  all  service  providers selected  by the substate grantee to receive funds allocated pursuant to section eight hundred forty-eight of this article, other  than  vouchers for   training  services  given  to  program  participants  pursuant  to subdivision four of this section, shall provide  a  written  plan  which includes:  (i)  the  amount and purposes for which funding is requested; (ii) a description  of  the  services  to  be  provided,  including  the duration  of service and the estimated service cost per recipient; (iii) procedures  for  identifying  and   selecting   participants   and   for eligibility  determination  and  verification;  (iv)  evidence  that the proposed  service  program  will  provide  appropriate   assistance   to recipients   seeking   available   private   sector  employment;  (v)  a description of  other  funding  sources  which  may  be  used  for  such programs;  (vi)  a  description of steps the provider will take to avoid duplication of services available through existing  resources;  (vii)  a description  of the provider's coordination with programs and activities funded  through  the  job  training  partnership  act  or  other   state resources;  (viii)  procedures  for  advising the local private industry council of the provider's proposal, including ways in which the provider intends to cooperate with the local private industry council;  and  (ix) such other information as may be required by the grantee.  (d)  The  grantee  shall  select  training providers and determine the amount of monies available for each  program.  Selection  considerations shall   include:   the   provider's  past  effectiveness  in  delivering employment  or  vocational  training  programs  or  other   readjustment services  based  on  demonstrated  performance;  for training providers, ability to provide  participants  with  the  skills  necessary  to  fill available  jobs in the private sector; cost of the proposed program; the administrative  capability   to   operate   such   a   program;   fiscal responsibility;  for  training  providers, a record of job placement for completers which meets standards of  acceptability  established  by  the commissioner for this purpose; the degree to which the provider has made provisions  for coordination with other services available under the job training partnership act and other state and federal programs; and  such other  factors  as the grantee may determine. Funds provided pursuant to this article shall not be  used  to  duplicate  facilities  or  services available  to  the  substate  area  from  other  federal, state or local sources.  (e)  Appropriate  vocational  and  educational  institutions  in   the substate  area  shall  be  accorded  the  initial opportunity to provide educational services unless  the  grantee  determines  that  alternative entities  would  be  more  effective  or would have greater potential to enhance participants' continued occupational and career growth.  (f) Funds shall be made available to service providers through  direct contract  between  each  such  service  provider  and the grantee.   The grantee shall notify the department of the award of  each  contract  and shall certify that the requirements of this article have been met.  (g)  After  March first of each year, the department shall reapportion an amount of unexpended funds from each substate area's allocation  that the  department  has  determined  cannot  be  expended  as  planned. The substate area shall be provided with no less than  thirty  days  advance notice  and  an  opportunity  to appeal the reallocation. The department shall  reallocate  those  funds  to  the  substate  areas  in  a  manner consistent with the purposes of this section and with applicable federal law  and  regulations. Funds shall be reallocated to substate areas that have demonstrated an ability to expend funds at a rate in  keeping  with or   exceeding   planned   levels   and  where  existing  resources  are insufficient  to  provide  needed  services,   to   be   determined   in consultation  with  interested  parties.  At  any  time  after  December thirty-first, a substate area may volunteer to  deobligate  funds.  Such funds  may  be reallocated immediately by the department to the substate grantees consistent with the purposes of this article.   2. Opportunities may be  offered  for  on-the-job  training  with  the following conditions:  (a)  preference  will  be given for jobs which exceed the minimum wage and which have the capacity for growth and advancement;  (b) the employer will be responsible for at least fifty percent of the wages and fringe benefits paid to a worker in training.   3. Needs-related payments may be provided under this section  pursuant to  subparagraph  (e)  of  section three hundred fourteen of the act for eligible participants upon demonstration of need after  considering  all of   the   sources  of  income  available  to  the  participant  or  the participant's family.  However, such payment shall not  be  made  unless the  participant's  unemployment  compensation,  including  any extended benefits, will expire prior to their completion of the program.   4.  Alternative  methods  of  providing  retraining  services  may  be approved such as:  (a)  A  substate grantee may defer the delivery of retraining services by providing the program participant with a  certificate  of  continuing eligibility:  (i)  such  certificates may be effective for periods not to exceed one hundred four weeks;  (ii) certificates will not include references to any specific  amounts of funds;  (iii)  certificates  shall state that they are subject to availability of funds at the time that the services are to be provided; and  (iv) acceptance of a certificate shall not be deemed as enrollment  in training.  (b)  A  substate  grantee  may  provide  the program participants with vouchers for training services whereby the participants may seek out and arrange their own retraining with the following limitations:  (i) service providers must be approved by the grantee pursuant to  the provisions of subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph;  (ii)  the  commissioner  of education shall prepare a list of programs approved for funding and shall submit such list to the  commissioner  by July first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, and shall thereafter from time to  time  as  he  or  she  determines  necessary  update  such list. The commissioner shall include on such list only non-degree  programs  which are  at  least  three  hundred  twenty  clock hours in length, and which provide skills for employment based on current requirements of  business and  industry  in  an  occupational field for which favorable employment  opportunities are anticipated in the state and which meet  standards  of instructional  quality established in regulations by the commissioner of education. These standards  shall  include,  but  are  not  limited  to, qualifications of administrative and instructional personnel, quality of the  curricula,  quality  of  facilities  and equipment, record keeping, admission, grading, attendance and record  of  placement  of  completers which   meets   standards   of   acceptability  as  established  by  the commissioner of education in conjunction with the commissioner;  (iii) such services shall be conducted  under  a  grant,  contract  or other arrangement between the grantee and the service provider; and  (iv)  substate grantees shall provide vouchers to program participants only upon demonstration that such program participant has been  accepted for  and  is  proposing  to undertake an occupational retraining program which has been approved by the commissioner  of  education  pursuant  to this section.   5.  Substate grantees shall establish linkages with all involved state agencies, including local and regional  offices  of  the  department  of labor,  the  department  of  education  and  the  department of economic development.