I.Purpose

Ohio is committed to providing workforce solutions throughout the business cycle to all of its customers and can do so when delivery of rapid response (RR) is intended to avert or mitigate employer layoffs and closure. The purpose of this policy is to outline RR program requirements when funding is being used to support layoff aversion activities.

II.Effective Date

July 1, 2015

III.Background

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) RR program is designed to be proactive by providing layoff aversion services. Layoff aversion is one of the required early intervention services that the local area RR service delivery system must make available; and it is conducted during times when local businesses and economies are both contracting and expanding. Layoff aversion saves jobs, increases economic productivity, decreases negative impacts of unemployment, and ensures more resources are available to provide comprehensive services to those individuals with greater needs. This concept is critical in creating and sustaining high-performing RR systems. RR benefits employers by helping them prepare for and manage economic transition and related workforce challenges. Ohio's RR program is committed to the development of Ohio's workforce by investing resources in the continual development of employee skills.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Office of Workforce Development (OWD) is the agency responsible for the administration of WIOA and RR programs. The OWD RR Unit will oversee Ohio's RR program to ensure compliance with federal and state requirements. Detailed operation descriptions and procedural guidelines are found in the Ohio Rapid Response Procedures Manual. This manual is updated as needed to reflect any necessary changes in implementation of the program. Copies are available online at http://www.ohiored.gov/misc/RRProcedureManual.pdf.

IV.Definitions

Early intervention services: Customized services provided in a rapid and efficient manner and delivered prior to or within a reasonable time of the layoff date.

Incumbent worker: Pursuant to the proposed final version of 20 C.F.R. 680.780, an employed individual who meets the Fair Labor Standards Act requirements for an employer-employee relationship and has an established employment history with the employer for six months or more.

Incumbent worker training (IWT): Training designed to meet the special requirements of an employer (including a group of employers) to retain a skilled workforce or avert the need to lay off employees by assisting the workers in obtaining the skills necessary to retain employment. IWT is conducted with the commitment of the employer to retain or avert the layoffs of the incumbent workers trained. IWT may be funded with adult or dislocated worker formula dollars or with statewide rapid response funds.

Layoff aversion: A strategy that prevents and/or minimizes unemployment for employees of companies that have either announced layoffs, or are struggling and at risk of downsizing.

Local area rapid response coordinator (LC): An individual representing the local workforce development board (WDB), workforce development area, and OhioMeansJobs Centers on the RR team.

ODJFS regional rapid response coordinator (RC): An ODJFS staff member assigned to a specific area of Ohio representing ODJFS and leading the activities of the local RR team.

Ohio Rapid Event Data (OhioRED): An information tracking system that records all employer event information and data on the delivery of RR services.

Ohio Workforce Case Management System (OWCMS): A system used by workforce professionals to gather and report program data and information for the following programs: WIOA, Wagner-Peyser, Veteran, Apprenticeship, Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker, Foreign Labor Certification, and Trade.

Rapid response (RR) team: Individuals from state and local workforce entities who respond collectively to layoffs and closures that occur in their area and assist in providing RR services to employers and affected workers.

V.Layoff Aversion Strategies

The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Employment and Training Administration considers a layoff averted when:

1.A worker's job is saved with an existing employer that is at risk of downsizing or closing;

2.A worker at risk of dislocation transitions to a different job with the same employer; or

3.A worker at risk of dislocation transitions to a new job with a different employer and experiences no or a minimal period of unemployment.

The RC coordinates with community partners, in the local workforce development area and economic development area, to identify at-risk companies and develop a customized plan to address each company's unique set of circumstances. Layoff aversion strategies can be effective tools to assist employers in developing the skilled workforce necessary to adapt to the changing economy, to stay in business, and to retain employees.

Therefore, the benefits of layoff aversion include retaining jobs in the economy and critical industries in the region, promoting new industry-sector growth strategies and new jobs in the economy, and providing improved coordination between partners. These strategies, as outlined in the proposed final version of 20 CFR 682.320, include, but are not limited to:

1.Providing assistance to employers in managing reductions in force, which may include:

a.Early identification of firms at risk of layoffs (e.g., early warning networks or trend monitoring);

b.Assessment of the needs of and options for at-risk firms (e.g., asset mapping, employee buy-outs, or succession planning); and

c.The delivery of services to address these needs, as provided by section 134(d)(1)(A)(ix)(II)(cc);

2.Ongoing engagement, partnership, and relationship building activities with businesses in the community, in order to create an environment for successful layoff aversion efforts and to enable the provision of assistance to dislocated workers in obtaining reemployment as soon as possible;

3.Funding feasibility studies to determine if a company's operations may be sustained through a buyout or other means to avoid or minimize layoffs;

4.Developing and managing rapid response incumbent worker training (RRIWT) programs or other worker skills upgrading approaches;

5.Connecting companies to:

a.Short-time compensation (e.g., SharedWorks Ohio) or other programs designed to prevent layoffs or to quickly reemploy dislocated workers, available under Unemployment Insurance programs;

b.Employer loan programs for employee skill upgrading; and

c.Other Federal, State, or local resources as necessary to address other business needs that cannot be funded with resources provided under this title;

6.Establishing linkages with economic development activities at the Federal, State, and local levels, including Federal Department of Commerce programs and available State and local business retention and expansion activities;

7.Partnering or contracting with business-focused organizations to assess risks to companies, propose strategies to address those risks, implement services, and measure impacts of services delivered;

8.Conducting analyses of the suppliers of an affected company to assess their risks and vulnerabilities from a potential closing or shift in production of their major customer;

9.Engaging in proactive measures to identify opportunities for potential economic transition and training needs in growing industry sectors or expanding businesses; and

10.Connecting businesses and workers to short-term, on-the-job, or customized training programs and apprenticeships before or after layoff to help facilitate rapid reemployment.

Employers may benefit from the following types of training for incumbent workers:

1.Skills upgrade training;

2.Customized training;

3.Occupational skills training.

Detailed descriptions of allowable costs for IWTs as well as the listing of qualifying criteria for employers to participate in IWTs are found in the Ohio Rapid Response Procedures Manual.

Based upon a thorough assessment, it may be determined that an employer could be better served through a program not funded by RR. Therefore, it is important to gather sufficient information and work with the RC, LC, and OWD RR Unit to determine the appropriate mix of services to meet the employers' needs. Furthermore, RR funds for layoff aversion activities should be used to establish or develop layoff aversion strategies; but the funds are not to be used for the maintenance of such strategies. The goal is to develop a layoff aversion strategy that will become self-sustaining. Therefore, RR layoff aversion dollars will not fund activities beyond initial development, such as ongoing staff costs or system enhancements.

VI.Requirements

A.Identification, Roles and Expectations of the Rapid Response Team for Layoff Aversion Activities

The local workforce development boards (WDB) have the unique opportunity to implement proactive programs, thereby saving jobs and helping their communities grow and prosper. Each workforce area must have an RR team consisting of the following partners and fulfilling the following roles when coordinating layoff aversion activities:

1.RC: The RC will:

a.Lead team members to effectively deliver services to employers throughout the business cycle (normal expansions and contractions of economic cycle);

b.Direct team members in the development of an operations protocol;

c.Identify the opportunity to conduct layoff aversion activities to the local WDB;

d.Determine the layoff aversion strategy that best fits the opportunity;

e.Guide teams through employer and worker assessments in use of IWT for layoff aversion; and

f.Review the RR funding application prior to submission to ODJFS Rapid Response Unit and recommend revisions as necessary.

2.LC: The LC will coordinate and facilitate the following activities:

a.Develop project plan and proposed funding needed;

b.Guide the team through the funding application process, including applying for funds and submitting the form to RC for review;

c.Assist in the implementation of the layoff aversion activity; and

d.Capture the data associated with layoff aversion.

3.Back-up LC: The back-up LC is an individual serving back-up to the local area rapid response coordinator on the RR team to ensure responsibilities are fulfilled whenever the assigned LC is unable to fulfill duties.

The RC and the LC are in the best position to identify potential layoff situations and may establish and utilize additional indicators for identifying employers at risk of layoff.

B.Reporting Requirements

Rapid Response Incumbent Worker Training

Local WDBs are required to report RRIWT activities via the mini-incumbent worker registration in OWCMS. The reporting of outcomes is also required.

Each layoff aversion strategy must be entered into OhioRED, creating a rapid response identification (RRID) number for the employer, which will be used with every mini-incumbent worker registration when recorded in OWCMS. Detailed descriptions of required data elements, the type of training provided, and the worker outcomes are found in the Ohio Rapid Response Procedures Manual.

Local WDBs may choose to collect more information if necessary to conduct successful RRIWT programs. Local WDBs choosing to collect and document data elements over and beyond the requirements must ensure that every RRIWT program is compliant with reporting requirements. Given the sensitive nature of a layoff aversion activity for an employer, the local WDBs should be cognizant of what confidential information is gathered beyond the requirements of this policy.

C.Funding for Rapid Response Layoff Aversion Strategies

Rapid response emergency assistance funds (RREAF) are available to local areas allowing flexibility in serving potentially affected workers and at-risk employers. RREAF are intended to supplement the local Dislocated Worker formula-funded program, not to supplant these funds.

If the local RR team determines that RR funds are needed to conduct layoff aversion strategies, the local area WDBs must apply using the Application for Rapid Response Emergency Assistance Funds-Layoff Aversion, which is attached to this policy and is maintained on the ODJFS OWD website The OWD Rapid Response Unit will review and determine whether or not to approve the application. Layoff aversion strategies will be funded incrementally based upon the project's budget, implementation, and need.

Applications and the approval of funds must be for a particular program year. If the development of a layoff aversion strategy or the continuation of RRIWT goes beyond the program year, a new application must be completed for the next program year and submitted for approval.

Upon receipt of RR funds for approved layoff aversion strategies, local WDBs must ensure that impacted workers are not turned away from services based upon residency.

Depending on the RR funded layoff aversion strategy, the local area may be required to enter information on individuals receiving layoff aversion services into OWCMS under Special Grants. By reporting information into OWCMS, the local area may report outcomes.

VII.Monitoring

Local area monitoring must include an evaluation of the effectiveness of the area's implementation of layoff aversion activities. This must include an assessment of collaboration among RR teams and members, the efficiency of service delivery to employers and affected workers, timeliness and completeness of data entry into OhioRED and/or OWCMS, and use of funds in a manner that is consistent with the funding application and federal and state laws and local procedures.

Through the state's monitoring system, program and fiscal monitors will review the area's implementation of RR activities during the annual onsite monitoring review for compliance with local procedures, the funding application, as well as federal laws and regulations. Any issues will be handled through the state's resolution process.

VIII.Technical Assistance

The OWD Rapid Response Unit will identify best practices and document RR activity throughout the state. The OWD Rapid Response Unit will also provide oversight of the activities of the local RR teams. The unit will provide support, guidance, training, and technical assistance to local teams; review, manage, and report out on data deriving from local activity; and provide financial resources to the local RR teams and stakeholders. Ongoing technical assistance to local WDBs and OhioMeansJobs Centers is available through the OWD Rapid Response Unit.

For additional information, questions may be sent to the OWD Rapid Response Unit: RAPDRESP@jfs.ohio.gov.

IX.References

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act § 134, Pub. L. 113-128.

The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-96.

20 C.F.R. §§ 682.300-682.370.

USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter WIOA N0. 3-15 Operating Guidance for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Guidance on Services Provided through the Adult and Dislocated Worker Program under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA or Opportunity Act) and Wagner-Peyser, as Amended by WIOA, and Guidance for the Transition to WIOA Services (July 1, 2015).

ETA, Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 03-13, Financing of Temporary Federal Short-Time Compensation Programs under Section 2163 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (December 4, 2012).

Ohio Rev. Code §§ 4141.09, 4141.50, as amended by 130th General Assembly, Substitute H.B. 37.

ODJFS, Ohio Rapid Response Procedure Manual, (October 1, 2014).

Rescission

ODJFS, Workforce Investment Act Policy Letter No. 14-01, Rapid Response Program Requirements - Layoff Aversion (August 20, 2014).