PRINTER'S NO. 1564
No. 1312 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY WACHOB, COHEN, MICHLOVIC, WILLIAMS, LAUGHLIN,
MANDERINO, STEIGHNER, EVANS, KASUNIC, JAROLIN, F. E. TAYLOR,
MAYERNIK, STEWART, O'DONNELL, FREEMAN, WOZNIAK, WAMBACH,
MURPHY, PRATT, IRVIS, SWEET, AFFLERBACH, McHALE, GRUITZA,
DeWEESE, CAWLEY, HOEFFEL, FEE, GEORGE, CARN, LINTON, FATTAH,
KOSINSKI, OLIVER AND OLASZ, JUNE 30, 1983
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, JUNE 30, 1983
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Pennsylvania Partnership for Retraining,
2 Employment and Productivity; and providing for the training
3 and employment of dislocated workers in order to expand
4 production capabilities within this Commonwealth.
5 The General Assembly of this Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Pennsylvania
9 Partnership for Retraining, Employment and Productivity Act.
10 Section 2. Legislative intent.
11 The General Assembly finds that the long term stability of
12 this Commonwealth is threatened by certain adverse economic
13 conditions which have created within this Commonwealth a
14 significant class of dislocated workers who are experiencing
15 prolonged unemployment and underemployment and that among these
16 adverse economic conditions are recession in the national
17 economy, unfavorable competitive conditions in the international
1 economy and trends of mechanization, capital intensification and
2 technological change in production methods by private commercial
3 and industrial companies, all leading to reductions in the
4 private sector workforce. Further, the General Assembly finds
5 that the Federal Job Training and Partnership Act and other
6 existing and proposed programs of the Federal Government which
7 are intended to address the problem of the dislocated worker are
8 not adequate to deal with the severity of the problem as it is
9 being experienced and is likely to be experienced by this
10 Commonwealth. Accordingly, it is the intent of the General
11 Assembly to provide a means for assisting dislocated workers to
12 find employment and reemployment through training and retraining
13 by making grants from the PennPRIDE fund through the
14 Pennsylvania Partnership for Retraining, Employment and
15 Productivity, or PPREP, providing for contractural arrangements
16 through nonprofit organizations and with private sector
17 employers.
18 Section 3. Definitions.
19 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
20 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
21 context clearly indicates otherwise:
22 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Partnership for Retraining,
23 Employment and Productivity established by this act.
24 "Board." The Pennsylvania Economic Development Board as
25 established by an act of the General Assembly.
26 "Dislocated worker." A person who has become unemployed or
27 underemployed substantially due to adverse economic conditions
28 stemming from recession in the national economy, or adverse
29 competitive conditions in the international economy, or other
30 economic trends that have caused private sector employers to
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1 initiate layoffs, plant shutdowns and plant relocations or to
2 initiate further mechanizations, capital intensification or
3 other technological changes in production methods which caused
4 or are likely to continue to cause reductions in the workforce
5 of certain commercial and industrial enterprises.
6 "Employer." A private commercial or industrial company,
7 whether large or small in its capitalization or workforce, and
8 which is located in or agrees to locate in this Commonwealth for
9 the purposes of this act and also agrees to take assignment of
10 workers provided by and through a contract with an independent
11 organization for the purpose of on-the-job training of
12 dislocated workers, which training will have the presumptive
13 likelihood of leading to long term gainful employment of such
14 dislocated workers by the employer and within this Commonwealth.
15 "Independent organization" or "IO's." A nonprofit group or
16 organization that assumes or specifically organizes to assume
17 the responsibilities and functions under this act with respect
18 to providing intermediary services to assist dislocated workers
19 by employing dislocated workers on an interim basis while such
20 persons are involved in on-the-job training programs with
21 private industrial and commercial companies.
22 "PennPRIDE." The Pennsylvania Program for Recovery,
23 Investment, Development and Education.
24 "PPREP." The acronym formed for the words Pennsylvania
25 Partnership for Retraining, Employment and Productivity.
26 Section 4. Creation of the program.
27 (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established under the
28 direction of the Pennsylvania Economic Development Board a
29 program to the known as the Pennsylvania Partnership for
30 Retraining, Employment and Productivity, or PPREP.
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1 (b) Grants.--The board shall, upon application from the
2 independent organizations, at its discretion make grants for
3 administrative costs of the independent organizations and for
4 wages and benefits of dislocated workers, to nonprofit
5 independent organizations in order to provide for employment and
6 reemployment, training and retraining of dislocated workers.
7 (c) Application.--The board shall require that grant
8 applications from independent organizations be based upon
9 contracts and letters of intent with private commercial and
10 industrial companies who have committed to provide on-the-job
11 training to dislocated workers supplied by the independent
12 organization and under such terms and conditions where the on-
13 the-job training will have the presumptive likelihood of leading
14 to long term employment of the dislocated workers by the
15 employer within this Commonwealth.
16 (d) Payment of wages.--The board shall require that
17 applicant independent organizations pay the wages and limited
18 benefits for every dislocated worker employed under this
19 program. The wage to be paid shall be equivalent to the current
20 minimum wage required by Federal and State law and may, if it is
21 reasonable to do so, be equal to the prevailing wages paid to
22 workers in comparable apprenticeship or training categories.
23 Section 5. Duties of the independent organization.
24 To qualify for grants under this act the independent
25 organizations seeking to provide training and reemployment for
26 dislocated workers through contracts with private employers
27 shall have such skilled, professional employees to be able to
28 evaluate requests of employers with respect to the general
29 purposes of this act and to determine specifically:
30 (1) The skills to be learned by the worker participants
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1 in the on-the-job training or apprenticeships offered by the
2 private company.
3 (2) How the apprenticeships will be supervised.
4 (3) The potential for continued employment following
5 successful completion of the on-the-job training program or
6 apprenticeship.
7 (4) The costs of the training or apprenticeship,
8 including the private employers' contribution.
9 (5) The appropriate durations of the on-the-job training
10 or apprenticeship program, leading to acquisition of enhanced
11 skills by the dislocated worker and the approximate point at
12 which greater productivity by such worker or workers brings
13 about an improved competitive position and greater profit
14 potential for the private employer.
15 Section 6. Powers and duties of the board.
16 The board shall have the power and duty to:
17 (1) Make grants to independent organizations under
18 contracts that will bind the independent organization to meet
19 the requirements of this act.
20 (2) Make grants to independent organizations based on
21 the criteria set forth by the board with respect to an
22 economic development strategy for this Commonwealth and the
23 encouragement of certain kinds of economic development by
24 certain types of commercial and industrial firms.
25 (3) Require that each independent organization as
26 defined in section 3 specifically provide in each contract
27 with a private employer that the private employer shall:
28 (i) pay a service fee to the independent
29 organization if the costs of the private employer's
30 supervision and training of assigned dislocated workers
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1 is less than the value of the worker's performance and
2 contribution to the private employer; and
3 (ii) comply with the quarterly audit and reporting
4 requirements on workers being trained.
5 (4) Appoint the State director and staff for the
6 program.
7 (5) Fix the wages, benefits and incentive pay or such
8 other emoluments as the board may be empowered to provide by
9 this or any other act.
10 (6) Promulgate such rules and regulations, prescribe
11 such application forms or establish such guidelines as it may
12 find necessary to carry out the specific purposes and
13 requirements of the program authorized by this act, including
14 the setting of maximum limits on any one grant or types of
15 grants to any independent organization and on behalf of any
16 company or type of commercial or business enterprise.
17 Section 7. Effective date.
18 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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