LABOR CODE
CHAPTER 308. TEXANS WORK PROGRAM
§ 308.001. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the
legislature that this chapter is enacted to enlist employers in a
partnership with this state to assist recipients of public
assistance in developing marketable work skills and obtaining
employment.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Division" means the division of workforce
development of the commission.
(2) "Employer" has the meaning assigned by Section
61.001.
(3) "JOBS training program" means the job
opportunities and basic skills (JOBS) training program under Part
F, Subchapter IV, Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 682).
(4) "Local workforce development board" means a board
created under Subchapter F, Chapter 2308, Government Code.
(5) "Program" means the Texans Work program
established under this chapter.
(6) "Trainee" means a recipient of food stamps under
the food stamp program administered under Chapter 33, Human
Resources Code, and financial assistance under Chapter 31, Human
Resources Code, who:
(A) is eligible to participate in the JOBS
training program; and
(B) receives on-the-job training through a
training course offered under the program.
(7) "Training course" means a course for the
development of practical employment skills that is:
(A) offered to trainees by an employer who
participates in the program; and
(B) approved as required by this chapter.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.003. TEXANS WORK PROGRAM. (a) The Texans Work
program is created as an integrated system of on-the-job training
for certain persons who receive food stamps under the food stamp
program administered under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, and
financial assistance under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, and
are eligible to participate in the JOBS training program. The
program shall be considered a means-tested program and shall be
operated through courses conducted by participating employers and
shall offer direct work experience and skills training.
(b) The program shall be offered in each area of this state
in which an employer is located who elects to participate and whose
participation is approved by the local workforce development board
or, if a local workforce development board does not exist in the
employer's area, by the division.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.004. TRAINING COURSES; APPROVAL. (a) Each
training course shall be designed by a local participating employer
to meet the needs of that employer. The training course must
instruct the trainee in a prearranged curriculum of skills that
uses systems specific to and produced by the employer's industry.
(b) The length of a training course may not be less than six
months or more than 12 months unless an exception is approved by the
division. The duration of a course shall be based on specific
training needs.
(c) An employer whose participation is approved under
Section 308.003 shall submit to the division in the manner
prescribed by the commission a description of the employer's
proposed training course. The employer shall work with the
division and the Texas Skill Standards Board to develop a training
course that incorporates instruction in the skill standards
applicable to that industry. A training course may not be used by
an employer participating in the plan until the course is approved
by the commission.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.005. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSION AND DIVISION;
GUIDELINES FOR TRAINING COURSE APPROVAL. (a) The commission
shall adopt rules as necessary to implement the program, including
establishing the criteria for determining which persons described
by Section 308.003(a) may be required to participate in the
program.
(b) With the cooperation of the Texas Skill Standards Board,
the commission shall develop guidelines for the approval of
employer training courses.
(c) In developing guidelines under Subsection (b), the
commission shall condition approval on the expectation that a
participating employer will develop job descriptions that are
relevant to regular paid positions in the employer's workplace or
that are available in the community in which the employer is
located. In determining whether to approve a particular training
course, the commission shall specifically consider:
(1) the administrative burden imposed by
participation in the program by the participating employer;
(2) whether the proposed training reasonably may be
expected to enhance the employability of individual trainees;
(3) whether the proposed training produces a realistic
and usable level of skills;
(4) whether the proposed training is composed of a
greater ratio of training-to-work than regular employees receive
under analogous conditions;
(5) whether the employer has any intention of
retaining successful trainees as regular employees;
(6) the extent to which the proposed training includes
nonspecific work skills; and
(7) if the employer has previously participated in the
program, the prior performance of the employer in meeting the
guidelines described by this subsection.
(d) The commission may develop incentives for employers who
have completed a training course offered through the program to
hire as a regular employee for a period of at least one year a
trainee who has successfully completed the training course.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.006. POWERS AND DUTIES OF TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF
HUMAN SERVICES. The Texas Department of Human Services shall
provide to the commission and a local workforce development board
information and technical assistance as necessary to implement the
program.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.007. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF PARTICIPATING
EMPLOYER. (a) Each employer who participates in the program
shall provide a work-training position for trainees under a
contract entered into with the local workforce development board or
with the commission.
(b) The employer shall interview and select the employer's
trainees from a list of eligible clients that is provided to the
employer by the local workforce development board or the
commission.
(c) In the operation of a training course, a participating
employer may use training methods selected by the employer as long
as those methods instruct the trainees in the applicable skill at
the applicable standards.
(d) An employer who participates in the program is not
liable for the payment of payroll taxes or contributions to the
unemployment compensation system for a trainee and is not obligated
to provide health insurance coverage or retirement or pension
benefits for the trainee. An employer is responsible to the JOBS
training program only for quality training, skills certification,
and reporting of attendance.
(e) During the training course, the employer shall pay $300
per month for each trainee to the commission in the manner
prescribed by the commission. The commission shall deposit the
amount in the general revenue fund to the credit of the Texas
employment and training account.
(f) A trainee is considered an employee of the employer for
purposes of Section 401.012.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.008. RIGHTS OF REGULAR EMPLOYEES. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), not more than 20 percent of an
employer's workforce may consist of trainees under the program.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to an employer who has
fewer than 50 employees.
(c) As a condition of participation in the program, an
employer whose regular employees are subject to a collective
bargaining agreement shall notify the applicable collective
bargaining agent of the employer's intent to participate in the
program. The employer shall provide the notice required under this
subsection before accepting trainees at the employer's workplace.
(d) A participating employer may not accept a trainee for
participation in a training course conducted under the program if
that participation will:
(1) result in:
(A) the displacement or partial displacement of a
regular employee from an existing position;
(B) the elimination of a vacant position created
by the laying off of a regular employee during the 90 days preceding
the employer's participation in the program;
(C) the elimination of a position that would
otherwise constitute a promotion for a regular employee; or
(D) a hiring freeze implemented by the employer;
or
(2) impair a collective bargaining agreement in effect
on the date that the employer proposes to begin participation in the
program.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.009. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF PARTICIPATING
TRAINEES. (a) Each trainee who participates in the program shall
work during the training course not less than the minimum number of
hours required under applicable federal law for work participation
for recipients of public assistance.
(b) Each trainee is entitled to:
(1) the rights provided under Chapters 21 and 101 as if
the trainee were a regular employee; and
(2) participation in an administrative dispute
resolution procedure conducted by the commission to resolve
grievances involving participation in the program.
(c) Each trainee shall receive a skill standards
certification on successful completion of a training course offered
under the program.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.010. ACCOUNT. (a) The Texas employment and
training account is established as a special account in the general
revenue fund. The account is composed of:
(1) employer contributions paid under Section
308.007; and
(2) state matching funds obtained through the block
grant received by this state under the JOBS training program.
(b) Money in the account may be used only for the payment of
training stipends and for other training activities authorized
under the program.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.011. TRAINING STIPEND. (a) The state shall pay
to each trainee who demonstrates satisfactory participation in a
training program approved under this chapter a monthly training
stipend in the manner prescribed by Subsection (c).
(b) The training stipend is composed of $600 paid to the
trainee from the Texas employment and training account. In
addition to the stipend, the trainee shall continue to receive the
amount of benefits that the trainee is eligible to receive under the
program of financial assistance under Chapter 31, Human Resources
Code, and the food stamp program administered under Chapter 33,
Human Resources Code.
(c) The state may transfer the monthly training stipend to a
trainee by electronic benefits transfer (EBT) to an account if that
method is determined by the Texas Department of Human Services to be
cost-effective.
(d) The training stipend does not constitute income to the
trainee for purposes of determining eligibility for and the amount
of benefits received under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code. A
trainee who participates in a training program in a satisfactory
manner is entitled to full JOBS benefits and benefits under the
financial assistance program and food stamp program during the
training program. A trainee who terminates participation in the
training program before the conclusion of the training loses
eligibility for the training stipend and the JOBS benefits but
remains eligible to receive benefits under the financial assistance
program and food stamp program.
(e) Excessive unexcused absences from participation
subjects a trainee to a reduction in the training stipend in an
amount set by the commission.
(f) The training stipend shall be paid on the first workday
of each month following the month in which the trainee participates
in the training program.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 308.012. REPORT; RECORDS. (a) The commission shall
collect information and maintain records regarding:
(1) the operation and outcome of the program;
(2) impediments identified by the commission that
affect the successful operation of the program; and
(3) complaints or other comments regarding the program
received by the commission from employers, trainees, regular
employees, and local workforce development boards.
(b) Information maintained by the commission under
Subsection (a) is a public record.
(c) Expired.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
