2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART III - Social Security (§§ 611 — 726f) › Chapter 47 - Employment Security Act (§§ 701 — 717) › § 711c - Employment and Training Opportunities Development Fund

(a) Establishment of the Fund.— An Employment Opportunities Development Fund is hereby created in the Department of the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as a special fund, separate and distinct from all other moneys or funds of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This fund shall consist of:
(1) All moneys arising from the portion of the special tax collected by virtue of § 708(h)(1) of this title;
(2) any interest accrued on any moneys in the Fund;
(3) any property or securities acquired in lieu of interest, fines, penalties or other obligations to the Fund, and
(4) moneys received for the Fund from any other source.
The moneys in the Fund shall not be invested nor shall they be available for investment in any manner that would result in the substitution thereof, or in a corresponding reduction of the federal funds available to this Commonwealth under Title III of the Social Security Act and under the Act of June 6, 1933 (48 Stat. 113) amended, for the administration of the unemployment program established by this chapter and the employment service program established by the Puerto Rico Public Employment Service Act, §§ 551 et seq. of this title.
(b) Deposit and disbursement.— All moneys in the Employment Opportunities Development Fund shall be deposited, administered and disbursed in the same manner and under the same conditions and requirements provided by the act with respect to other special funds in the Department of the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, except that the moneys in this Fund shall not be consolidated with other funds of the Commonwealth, but shall be kept in a separate account in the books of the depository bank. The Secretary of the Treasury shall be the Treasurer and ex officio custodian of the Fund. He/she shall be accountable, under his/her official bond for the faithful compliance of his/her duties with respect to the Fund. Said accountability shall be effective January 1, 1991 and shall exist in addition to any other accountability under any separate bond existing on that date or subsequently.
The money in the Fund shall be continually at the disposal of the Secretary, solely and exclusively for activities coordinated by the Employment Services of the Department of Labor and Human Resources directed to:
(1) Promote employment opportunities in occupations with future possibilities as officially identified by the Department of Labor and Human Resources;
(2) promote jobs that are in demand in the present market;
(3) promote the creation of high productivity employment opportunities;
(4) promote employment and training opportunities for the elderly;
(5) promote the employment and training of young people between the ages of 16 and 24 and of those persons who regardless of their age seek employment for the first time, and
(6) promote employment opportunities for ex-convicts.
(c) Use of the Fund.— Given the nature and origin of the funds, their use and allocation shall be consistent with the statutory provisions of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. The moneys of the Fund shall be used for the creation of an employment and training opportunities program in the public and private sectors, as provided by the Secretary through regulations. The program thus established shall include elderly persons, as said term is defined in §§ 1976—1976m of Title 3, and shall provide for their training and re-training. Said moneys may also be used to keep existing jobs, extend the term thereof, and modify compensation as a provisional remedy in situations that may involve potential job loss, when warranted in the Secretary’s judgment.
The Secretary may also use said funds to subsidize the purchase and maintenance of equipment, machinery, air, land or sea transportation vehicles, tools and instruments needed for the creation or permanence of jobs.
The Secretary may also use said funds to bolster and improve the programs administered by the Employment Security Bureau and other necessary expenses related to the administration of the Fund.
An item for indirect costs chargeable to the Fund may be created to defray support services offered by the different administrative components of the Department of Labor and Human Resources to Employment Development Bureau.
For the aforementioned purposes, the Secretary is hereby authorized to establish and approve such regulations he/she deems necessary, without being subject to the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, better known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act”. The regulations promulgated shall provide for the granting of incentives to employers in industry, trade, banking, and others who offer employment and training to the elderly. The Secretary shall request assistance and collaboration from the Office for Elderly Affairs when adopting regulations with respect to the elderly.
In order to benefit from this fund, the participant shall register in an Employment Service Office of Puerto Rico.
The Secretary shall establish fiscal and evaluating mechanisms for the effective administration and use of the Fund established herein and shall promulgate the necessary regulations in order to grant incentives to employers in industry, trade, banking, and others who offer employment and training to elderly persons.
Provided, further, that when said funds are used to benefit the private sector, a reserve equal to sixty percent (60%) of the funds allocated to the private sector shall be created to fund proposals submitted by micro, small-, and medium-sized businesses as provided by the Secretary through regulations. For purposes of this section, micro, small-, and medium-sized businesses shall have the meaning established by the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company.
For the aforementioned purposes, the Secretary is hereby authorized to establish and approve any regulations he/she may deem necessary, without being subject to the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, for the effective granting of said funds to small- and medium-sized businesses.
History —June 21, 1956, No. 74, p. 328, added as § 12B on Aug. 9, 1991, No. 52, § 2; Nov. 17, 1993, No. 93, § 1; Sept. 28, 1994, No. 115, § 1; July 26, 1996, No. 76, § 1; Aug. 26, 2005, No. 81, § 1; Dec. 26, 2006, No. 285, § 1; June 11, 2014, No. 62, § 12.