Workforce Investment Implementation Act of 2000
Bill 13-552

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AN ACT IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

To establish an integrated workforce investment system that builds on the current best practices in workforce investment, protects the effective expenditure of federal and District funds and ensures compliance with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "Workforce Investment Implementation Act of 2000".

Sec. 2. The Council finds that:

(1) Many District workers need an integrated workforce investment system to help them assume responsibility for building a better future for themselves and their families.

(2) A workforce investment system should be consumer-driven, accountable and responsive to the needs of employers and job seekers.

(3) The goals of an integrated workforce development systems are to:

(A) Coordinate activities at the state and local levels to increase the occupational skills, employment, job retention and earnings of the workforce;

(B) Reduce welfare dependency by helping workers obtain employment that will assure self-sufficiency;

(C) Enhance the productivity and competitiveness of District business and industry;

(D) Encourage ongoing progress toward work preparation from kindergarten through adulthood;

(E) Encourage the attraction and retention of high skill and high wage employers; and

(F) Encourage cooperation among regional workforce development efforts to promote the participation of District residents in the regional economy.

(4) To implement the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 the District of Columbia must apply the necessary resources to carry out its assigned responsibilities and must delegate accountability and authority, as allowed under the federal law, to the governing entity of the workforce investment system.

(5) These objectives are to be accomplished under the direction of the District's Workforce Investment Board. This Board will enlist the views of a diverse group of business, labor, community, education and government leaders to develop a strategic plan for workforce development in the District of Columbia.

(6) The strategic plan should provide for the development of a comprehensive, consumer-driven employment and career development system that meets the needs of all members of the workforce, including those entering the workforce for the first. time, those in transition to employment and those currently employed who seek to enhance their skills for continued career advancement.

Sec. 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this act, the term:

(1) "Basic skills deficient" means reading, writing or computing on a level no higher than 8th grade.

(2) "Federal Act" means the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

(3) "Self-sufficiency" means employment that pays a wage equal to the wage calculated by The Self Sufficiency Standard for the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, for the appropriate family composition.

(4) "Service provider" and "provider" mean a provider of employment and training services including a private or public school or institution of higher education, a business, labor organization or a community-based organization.

Sec. 4. Workforce Investment Board.

(a) There is created a Workforce Investment Board ("Board") pursuant to section 111(b) and (c) and section 117(c)(4) of the Federal Act, to assist in the development of the State Unified Workforce Plan to carry out the functions described by the Federal Act.

(b) The Board shall assist the Mayor in:

(1) Developing the District's workforce investment system;

(2) Assigning duties and responsibilities to the Department of Human Services ("DHS") and the Department of Employment Services ("DOES") to implement the Federal Act, and to do so in a manner that avoids conflicts of interest and capitalizes on the experience developed by workforce partners who are efficient and effective at meeting the requirements of the Federal Act;

(3) Developing an employment statistics system, as described in section 15(e) of the Wagner-Peyser Act;

(4) Preparing an annual report and submitting it to the Council by September 30th of each year;

(5) Establishing performance standards for training and employment programs pursuant to section 7;

(6) Fostering and coordinating initiatives of the District of Columbia Public Schools and the University of the District of Columbia to enhance the contributions of public schools and institutions of higher education to the implementation of the District employment and training policy;

(7) Examining federal and local laws and regulations to assess whether those laws and regulations present barriers to achieving any of the goals of this act. The Board shall, as it deems appropriate, issue to the Mayor and the Council reports on its findings, including recommendations for changes in local and federal laws or regulations concerning employment and training programs or service; and

(8) Developing a wage progression strategy that includes mechanisms to help low-income workers upgrade skills to assist them in moving up the career ladder toward self-sufficiency.

Sec. 5. Unified workforce plan.

The Board shall develop and submit to the Mayor a single unified workplace plan that outlines a 5-year strategy, with quantitative goals, for the statewide workforce investment system for the District of Columbia in accordance with section 112 of the Federal Act. Upon the Mayor's approval of the state plan, the Mayor shall transmit the State Unified Workforce Plan to the Council for a 10-day period of review, excluding days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove the State Unified Workforce Plan by resolution within the 10-day review period, the State Unified Workforce Plan shall be deemed approved Within 2 years of the effective date of this act, the Unified Workforce Plan shall be amended to also encompass services provided to the Welfare to Work and TANF implementing laws.

Sec. 6. Labor market analysis.

The Board shall conduct a labor market analysis. The analysis shall:

(1) Identify industries or occupations that have or expect growth, the loss of skilled workers or that have a demand for a subset of workers;

(2) Create a profile and analyze the characteristics of the District's unemployed and underemployed residents, including educational attainment, barriers to employment, geographic concentrations, self-sufficiency needs and access to needed support services;

(3) Identify the entry-level education and skills requirements for the industries or ,occupations that have or expect a need for workers;

(4) Analyze the entry-level wages and benefits in identified industries or occupations;

(5) Develop a profile of the education, training and support services already in place to prepare workers for the identified industries or occupations;

(6) Identify the mismatch between job seekers and identified industries or occupations where wages and benefits match the needs of the unemployed, in terms of education and training resources; and

(7) Identify opportunities for collaboration with institutions of higher education community-based organizations and economic development and welfare agencies.

Sec. 7. Performance based accountability.

(a) Service providers shall be paid only for achieving positive outcomes for participants, such as job placement, job retention and earnings in accordance with the Core Indicators of Performance as described in section 136(b)(2)(A) of the Federal Act, except partial payment to a service provider is permissible when a participant meets the Core Indicator of attaining a recognized credential, pending further payment when the participant enters unsubsidized employment.

(b) The Board shall establish a performance report with quantifiable benchmarks to assess the full range of programs providing education and training services, including WIA, TANF, Welfare to Work, and Vocational Rehabilitation.

(c) The Board shall evaluate the workforce investment system by using the following factors as relevant for individual programs:

(1) The amount and source of funding;

(2) Program entrance and successful completion rates;

(3) Employment and wage information for 6 months and one year after completion of the training;

(4) The relationship of training to employment;

(5) Achievement of industry skill standard certification, where it exists;

(6) Return on public investment;

(7) Employment-related barriers of customers; and

(8) Any other indicators of performance required under the Federal Act.

Sec. 8. Employment and training services criteria.

(a) Employment and training services, including on-the-job training, shall not be obtained from a service provider with appropriated funds unless the provider is approved, pursuant to the procedures and criteria established by the Board, which are submitted to the Council for a 10-day period of review, excluding days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove the procedures and criteria by resolution within this 10-day period, the procedures and criteria shall be deemed approved.

(1) Each service provider shall certify that none of its officers or employees has, in the past 5 years, been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor, the underlying basis of which involved workplace safety and health or labor standards.

(2) The service provider shall also certify as to all violations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor and DOES within the past 5 years, and all judgements and settlements, the underlying basis of which involved workplace safety and health or labor standards.

(b) All participants who meet the requirements of an employee pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 in the on-the-job training program shall be compensated at no less than the minimum wage required by section 4 of the Minimum Wage Act Revision Act of 1992.

(c) Each service provider shall make appropriate records available upon request for monitoring or inspection by the Board, including a record:

(1) For each student enrolled, including the student's name and social security number; and

(2) Of all administrative and overhead expenses of the provider, except for employers providing on the job training, that derive from employment and training services funded by the program and the provider's direct expenses for providing the services.

(d) In the case of a provider of vocational training, the Board shall collect the information needed to effectively measure the long-term success of the former trainees of the provider in moving toward self-sufficiency, including obtaining permanent employment and increasing earnings over a period of not less than one year following the completion of training. The Board shall use the information obtained pursuant to subsection (c) of this section to assist in:

(1) Evaluating the performance of providers of vocational training services;

(2) Determining which providers of vocational training services to approve pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; and

(3) Evaluating the overall effectiveness of training funded by the program.

Sec. 9. Anti-displacement.

Participants shall not be assigned, placed or be permitted to work for any employer or worksite where:

(1) Any other individual is laid off from the same or substantially equivalent job;

(2) An employer has terminated a regular employee and filled the vacancy with a participant;

(3) An employer has caused an involuntary reduction in the workforce and filled the vacancy with a participant;

(4) An employer has caused an involuntary reduction below full-time hours of any employee in the same or substantially equivalent job;

(5) An employer has caused an involuntary reduction in wages or employment benefits;

(6) Placement of a recipient will violate an existing collective bargaining agreement, unless the labor organization and the employer provide a written concurrence;

(7) The job is created in a promotional line that will infringe in any way upon the promotional opportunities of currently employed individuals;

(8) The placement is the equivalent of filling an established unfilled position vacancy, or is the equivalent of performing a job that is substantially similar to the vacant position, unless the participant is given a bona fide opportunity to apply for the position as an unsubsidized employee after 18 weeks of satisfactory service in the position; or

(9) There is a hiring freeze for positions that are the same or substantially similar to the position performed by the participants.

Sec. 10. Grievance procedure.

The Mayor shall direct the Office of Human Rights to establish and maintain a procedure to receive grievances or complaints alleging violations of the Federal Act from participants and other interested or affected parties. The procedure shall be in accordance with section 181 (c) of the Federal Act.

Sec. 11. Use of funds for employment and training activities.

(a) The Board shall advise the Mayor as required pursuant to section 112 of the Federal Act and on matters pertaining to the use of funds pursuant to section 134 of the Federal Act.

(b) As a part of the core services required by section 134(d)(2)(E)(i) of the Federal Act, the one-stop delivery system, as described in section 134(c) of the Federal Act, shall provide timely listings of all job opportunities and supportive services providers, consistent with this act, to a participant immediately upon application by the participant for services offered by the onestop delivery system. In addition, core services shall include an initial assessment of aptitudes and abilities that is nongender biased using tools that assess women's interest in high-wage employment that is nontraditional for women.

(c) Intensive services offered by the one-stop delivery system may include addiction recovery. Consistent with this act, intensive services may also include short-term prevocational services that raise job seekers' basic reading, writing and computational skills to enable them to compete for jobs.

(d) The one stop delivery system shall provide a thorough assessment of job seekers' skills and employment barriers. If individuals are basic skills deficient or face other serious barriers to employment, such as a poor work history or long-term absence from the workforce, or TANF receipt, the one-stop operator shall determine that they are unable to obtain employment through core services.

(e) Consistent with this act, job seekers who are employed, but do not earn a self-sufficient wage, shall be eligible for intensive services.

(f) Any funds expended pursuant to this section shall be appropriated by the Council.

Sec. 12. One-stop partners.

(1) The Board shall ensure that the District's one-stop delivery system under the Federal Act is the foundation of local service delivery to employers and participants.

(2) One-stop partners shall include the Income Maintenance Administration, Office of Early Childhood Development, and the Medicaid program.

Sec. 13. Regional cooperation.

This act encourages the Board to work with its Maryland and Virginia counterparts to develop a regional information sharing system that allows one-stops and welfare agencies in the District and surrounding jurisdictions to access information regarding regional employment opportunities, job training providers, and support services.

Sec. 14. Disclosure of information by the Board.

The Board shall not withhold information from the public regarding its operations, procedures, and decisions that would otherwise be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 1976.

Sec. 15. Fiscal impact statement.

The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact statement required by section 602 (c)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code § 1-233(c)(3)).

Sec. 16. Effective date.

This act shall take effect upon its approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), approval by the Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority as provided in section 203(a) of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995, approved April 17, 1995 (109 Stat. 116; D.C. Code § 47-392.3(a)), a 30-day period of Congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code § 1-233(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia Register.

Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia

Mayor, District of Columbia