Bill Text: GA SB536 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: "Georgia Back to Work Program Act"; allow eligible participants receiving unemployment insurance benefits to receive workplace training

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-21 - Senate Read and Referred [SB536 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2011-SB536-Introduced.html

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12 LC 35 2688

Senate Bill 536

By: Senators Seay of the 34th and Carter of the 42nd

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To enact the "Georgia Back to Work Program Act"; to amend Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to employment security, so as to provide for a program to allow eligible participants who are receiving unemployment insurance benefits to receive workplace training; to provide for the implementation and administration of the Georgia Back to Work Program by the Georgia Department of Labor; to designate certain persons and employers as eligible to participate in such program; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Back to Work Program Act."

SECTION 2.

Chapter 8 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to employment security, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 11

34-8-300.

As used in this article:

(1) 'Department' means the Georgia Department of Labor.

(2) 'Eligible employer' means an employer who:

(A) Intends to immediately hire for a position in its company;

(B) Is deemed compatible with the program as evidenced by its ability to provide training that meets standards set by the department; and

(C) Is located in the State of Georgia.

(3) 'Eligible participant' means an individual who:

(A) Is currently unemployed and receiving unemployment insurance benefits pursuant to this chapter, including any state or federal extension of those benefits;

(B) Has at least six weeks of state unemployment insurance benefits remaining under current qualification or has at least six weeks of state or federal extensions of unemployment insurance benefits remaining under current qualification; and

(C) Currently resides in the State of Georgia.

(4) 'Program' means the Georgia Back to Work Program created pursuant to this article.

34-8-301.

(a) There is created within the Department of Labor the Georgia Back to Work Program to provide workplace training to eligible participants. The program shall be implemented and administered by the department. The department shall be authorized to adopt rules and regulations for the implementation and administration of the program. The department shall establish the program to allow eligible participants to receive workplace training from an eligible employer.

(b) The program shall require that:

(1) An eligible participant may receive workplace training from an eligible employer for a maximum of 24 hours per week for up to six weeks;

(2) An eligible participant, based upon his or her needs, may receive up to $100.00 per week to help defray training related costs, including, but not limited to, transportation, clothing, and child care; and

(3) Participation in the program shall be voluntary for all eligible participants and eligible employers, and nonparticipation in the program shall not disqualify eligible participants for unemployment insurance benefits for failure, without good cause, either to apply for available, suitable work or to accept suitable work when it is offered.

(c) In implementing the program, the department shall treat every eligible participant as a bona fide trainee, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. Section 201, et seq., as amended, and certify that the following conditions are met to ensure that an eligible participant is engaged in training:

(1) The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to what would be given in a vocational school or academic educational instruction;

(2) The training is for the benefit of the trainee;

(3) The trainee does not displace regular employees and works under their close observation;

(4) The eligible employer providing the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainee, and on occasion the employer's operations may actually be impeded;

(5) The trainee is not entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and

(6) The employer and the trainee understand that the trainee is not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

(d) The program shall be consistent with, and eligible participants shall be afforded the protections provided by, all applicable state and federal antidiscrimination laws, rules, and regulations.

34-8-302.

The department shall monitor eligible participants and eligible employers who participate in the program to ascertain whether the training provided by the program complies with the requirements of this article and the rules and regulations of the department. The monitoring shall include site visits at participating workplaces and the compilation of data regarding the numbers and percentages of trainees hired into employment with participating employers or other employers and the industries in which the training and hiring occur. The department's findings shall be made available to the public in biennial reports beginning December 31, 2014. If the department determines that an employer has a repeated pattern of using eligible participants as unpaid labor without hiring them as employees, or otherwise fails to comply with the requirements of this article or the rules and regulations of the department, the department may impose any penalties applicable to the employer for false representation as provided for in this article and shall disqualify the employer from further participation in the program.

34-8-303.

An eligible participant who receives workplace training pursuant to the program shall not be considered an employee of the eligible employer providing the training for any purpose, except that he or she shall be treated as if the eligible participant is a part-time employee of the state. When determining the amount of any compensation provided, the amount of compensation shall be calculated as if the eligible participant's weekly wage was 60 percent of the state-wide average weekly wages earned by all employees eligible for unemployment compensation pursuant to this chapter.

34-8-304.

(a) A program participant may be excluded from reporting requirements, including requirements to report at an employment service office or unemployment insurance claims office, in the same manner as other benefit recipients. The department is authorized by regulation to waive or alter such reporting as to individuals attached to regular jobs and as to such other types of cases or situations with respect to which the department finds that compliance with such requirements would be oppressive or would be inconsistent with the purpose of this article.

(b) A program participant may be excluded from other requirements, permanently or temporarily, including requirements involving the need to demonstrate the individual is actively seeking work, except as otherwise provided in this subsection. A participant in the program shall not be deemed unavailable or ineligible for work because the individual is attending a training program approved for the individual by the department to enhance the individual's employment opportunities or because the individual failed or refused to accept work while attending such program.

34-8-305.

The provisions of this article shall be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Such amount appropriated shall include funds for costs associated with the administration of the program, subject to the approval of the commissioner."

SECTION 2.

This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2013.

SECTION 3.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.