I.Purpose

To outline the policy parameters and provide direction to local areas for providing classroom and on-the-job training to participants under the 2013 DWT NEG.

II.Effective Date

July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2015

III.Background

The DWT NEG is a two-year, statewide grant providing classroom training and on-the-job training (OJT) to Ohio's dislocated workers.

As part of the NEG request, the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) approved a sliding scale for employer reimbursement based on employer size. However, the state is not mandating the use of the sliding scale and local areas can continue using the standard 50 percent wage reimbursement rate if they choose to do so. Alternatively, local areas are encouraged to revise existing local OJT policy to utilize the optional sliding scale or develop new OJT policy to implement the sliding scale under certain specific situations. Possible situations that could warrant the use of the sliding scale may include:

• For individuals facing significant barriers to employment;
• For small and mid-sized businesses that would qualify for a higher reimbursement rate;
• Local areas with higher than average unemployment rate;
• For small and mid-sized businesses offering an exceptional level of training;
• For small and mid-sized businesses providing benefits and a higher wage rate;
• In case of small and mid-sized businesses using expensive tools or equipment to provide training;
• For small and mid-sized businesses providing significant workplace safety precautions and safety training; and/or
• The availability of OJT funding in the local area.

IV.Requirements

A.Funding/ Expenditures

ODJFS will allocate DWT NEG funds to local workforce investment areas to cover allowable costs of training for eligible NEG participants. The DWT NEG funds will pay for classroom and On-the-Job Training (OJT). Between 25 and 60 percent of the funding allocated to the local area must be spent on OJT.

The DWT NEG also allows for training-related costs, which are activities related to the arrangement, approval, and monitoring of classroom training or OJT for eligible NEG participants including preparing Individual Training Account (ITA) paperwork and writing OJT plans. However, the DWT NEG cannot pay for core, intensive and supportive services, including needs-related payments and case management. Local areas will need to co-enroll NEG participants in their local WIA formula program or to leverage other funding in order to provide the full array of WIA services to eligible DWT NEG participants.

Local areas may also charge local administrative costs as defined in 20 CFR 667.220 to the NEG. Local administrative costs cannot exceed 8 percent of the total NEG allocation issued to the area.

Funds will be distributed among the local Workforce Investment Areas according to a ratio of total unemployed individuals and Workforce Investment Act Dislocated Worker participants enrolled in training in each county within the area. ODJFS will issue the funds incrementally to each area for a period of 12 months. Due to NEG rules and regulations, allocations can and will be de-obligated based upon monthly expenditure reports. If local areas have not spent or obligated 50 percent of their initial, first-year allocation by Dec. 31, 2013, they may be subject to redistribution of their unallocated commitment.

B.Participant Eligibility

Each DWT NEG participant must document some connection to Ohio by meeting one of the following criteria:

1.Lives within Ohio; or

2.If applicable, the OJT placement is at a business establishment in Ohio.

Eligibility under the DWT-funded training is limited to dislocated workers (as defined in WIA section 101(9)) with a priority of service on the long-term unemployed and those who have been profiled as likely to exhaust UI benefits. For the purposes of the DWT NEG, ODJFS' definition of long-term unemployed will be those individuals who have been unemployed for a minimum of 27 weeks.

The period of long-term unemployment does not need to be consecutive. Dislocated workers are permitted to secure interim employment and, when that employment ends, to rejoin the period of long-term unemployed at the point they left off.

Veterans are also given priority of service for training. As clarified in TEGL No. 22-04, returning service members would generally be eligible dislocated workers under the DWT NEG.

Participants who began services under the local WIA program may be enrolled into the DWT NEG if otherwise eligible and costs of services provided during the effective dates of NEG funding may be charged to the NEG to preserve local formula funding.

Trade participants: Participants who are eligible for training funds under TAA (trade adjustment assistance) are not eligible to receive funding under the DWT NEG.

If a participant is already enrolled in classroom training and subsequently becomes eligible for funding through TAA, then the remaining costs of the training must be funded by TAA at the next payment point.

If a participant is already enrolled in a NEG-funded OJT and subsequently becomes eligible for funding through TAA, the local area must determine whether to continue funding the OJT with NEG dollars or to fund the remainder of the training with TAA funds based on the following criteria:

1.If the NEG-funded OJT uses a different wage reimbursement rate than the Trade program's OJT policy allows, the participant's OJT may continue to be funded by the NEG until completion;

2.If the NEG-funded OJT uses a different payment point than the Trade program's required OJT payment point, the participant's OJT may continue to be funded by the NEG until completion;

3.If the NEG-funded OJT uses the same wage reimbursement rate and payment point as the Trade program OJT, the local area must make arrangements for the remainder of the OJT to be funded by TAA beginning at the next payment point. Local areas must coordinate with Trade staff to develop a plan for transitioning participants from one funding stream to another without negatively affecting the employer.

Regardless of whether participants remain in the NEG-funded OJT or transition to TAA funding, it is required that the participant be co-enrolled in both the NEG and Trade programs and that the OJT be approved under both programs (even if it is being fully funded by NEG dollars) to ensure the participant may qualify for other associated Trade benefits and services.

C.Classroom Training

Classroom training will be short-term training (no longer than nine months) or completion of long-term training if training is completed within nine months. Training must result in an industry-recognized credential in high-demand occupations. Local areas will issue Individual Training Accounts (ITA) in the same manner as used for the WIA program to fund the classroom training under this NEG.

DWT NEG funds cannot be used for mileage, lodging or per diems; those are considered supportive services, which are unallowable with DWT NEG funds.

ITA costs required to complete the training may include:

• Tuition and fees
• Books
• Tools
• Uniforms
• Tests
• Medical immunizations/tests
• License fees related to the training

The maximum amount for an ITA does not include any supportive services' costs related to the ITA (e.g. transportation or child care). Costs must be reasonable and necessary pursuant to 29 CFR, part 97.22 and must represent a sound investment of public funds. The local area should utilize all DWT NEG funds available to minimize any out-of-pocket expense to the participant.

Local workforce investment areas will use their local ITA policies for any other policy provisions related to classroom training not specified in this policy, such as local training caps and definition of high-demand occupations.

D.On-the-Job Training

Employer Eligibility

Eligible employers include only those in the private-for-profit and non-profit sectors; public sector employers are not considered eligible employers under the DWT NEG (i.e. not a governmental agency, unit or department). In addition, OJT positions cannot be developed with the following types of employers: casinos and gaming establishments, swimming pools, aquariums, zoos, and golf courses. OJT positions may not be developed that will or may result in worker displacement (see 20 CFR Sec. 667.270); with companies that have relocated all or part of their business within the previous 120 days where the relocation action has resulted in the loss of employment of any employee at the original location; or with businesses who have been convicted of violating federal laws and regulations.

The employer providing the OJT and/or the OJT worksite does not have to be located within Ohio's borders. Unless prohibited by the local area's OJT policy, an area may negotiate OJT agreements and issue NEG funding to employers outside Ohio's borders.

Private placement agencies cannot receive OJT funding under the NEG. The DWT NEG is intended to benefit dislocated workers by utilizing employers who are:

1.Willing to train participants who are in need of upgrading their skills; and

2.Willing to permanently hire trainees at the end of the training period.

OJT contracts should be written with the employers who are actually employing participants and assuming the costs and benefits of the OJT. For these reasons, OJT contracts should not be written with employment brokers such as hiring agencies, temporary placement agencies or other third party entities. The DWT NEG also prohibits OJT agreements with employers who train a participant employed by a third party staffing agency.

Employer Reimbursement

Wage cap: Under the DWT NEG, the employer reimbursement for OJT is capped so as not to exceed the state's average hourly wage rate, up to a maximum of $8,000 per participant. The participant's wage rate will at least equal the state's current minimum wage rate and can exceed the state's average wage rate ($20.52 per hour); however, the reimbursement to employers is capped at the state's average wage rate. Thus, although employers may pay participants over $20.52 per hour, OJT wages to be reimbursed cannot exceed $20.52 per hour.

For instance, a participant in Ohio may enter OJT as an insurance cost estimator at an hourly wage of $28.50 (above the wage cap). Since the average hourly wage for Ohio is $20.52, the employer may only be reimbursed at some percentage of this wage cap determined by the employer's size for areas using the sliding scale. However, the employer must compensate the participant at the same rate as other workers performing the same job with similar levels of training, experience, and skills.

Reimbursement rate/ Sliding Scale: The USDOL sliding scale uses the following considerations to determine reimbursement rate:

• Up to 90 percent for employers with 50 or fewer employees;
• Up to 75 percent for employers with 51-250 employees; and
• For employers with more than 250 employees, the existing 50 percent reimbursement rate will continue to apply.

Employer size is based on the size of the company's local operation where the OJT placements will be made, and not on the total nationwide employment. For further information on employer size, reference the OJT Procedures Manual.

Payment points: Local areas can develop their own procedure regarding when to reimburse training costs so long as the reimbursement does not exceed 50 percent of wages or the higher rate based on the sliding scale if appropriate. Local areas also have discretion in determining if they wish to withhold employer reimbursement for 30, 60 or 90 days to ensure retention after the end of training. However, local areas must ensure that this information is reflected in their local policy, the OJT agreement and OJT plan.

Invoice: Payments to employers should be managed by an invoice system that documents the number of hours worked by the OJT participant and the hourly rate of pay. Local areas can develop their own invoice forms and are not mandated to follow state templates.

OJT providers may base the identification of skills needed and justification of training duration upon O-NET and SVP (specific vocational preparation), company job description, input from the employer/supervisor, and/or other appropriate data sources.

At the end of the OJT period, local areas must document "ending capability" for each skill to be learned on the OJT plan.

Duration

The OJT duration under the NEG is limited to six (6) months (1,040 hours), with all money required to be spent by June 30, 2015. Co-enrollment is not allowed to expand the training duration beyond the six-month period. No provision exists to offer additional training time to participants with significant barriers. If there is a break in employment, the duration of the OJT plan can extend beyond the allowed six-month period but cannot exceed the 1,040 hours or the June 30, 2015, end date.

OJT Forms

The following forms must be completed. For more information, refer to the OJT Procedures Manual.

• Employer Information Form
• OJT Agreement
• OJT Plan

Monitoring

Local areas are encouraged to develop their own monitoring policies to outline the procedures, frequency and manner in which OJTs will be monitored and how staff persons/monitors will resolve any findings of non-compliance.

At a minimum, monitors should:

• Document information received directly from the OJT participants;
• Obtain the trainee supervisor's perspective about the training progress;
• Review the employer payroll records.

The key monitoring issues include verifying and documenting:

• The need for training;
• Training was provided to the participant;
• The length of OJT training was reasonable;
• The employer reimbursement rate complied with policy;
• Other applicable OJT rules and requirements were followed.

E.Reporting

All participants served under the NEG will be counted in statewide performance and must be entered in Ohio's Workforce Case Management System (OWCMS) WIA, Special Grants. Participants may be co-enrolled in local formula-funded WIA programs. Co-enrolled participants will be counted in both statewide and local performance.

Reporting of Participants Not Hired By the Employer Who Provided OJT: Local areas are required to follow up with employers to determine the employment outcome of participants. Upon completion or early termination of the NEG-funded OJT, local areas must identify and report all participants who were not hired by the employer that provided the training. Further, they must also identify if the participant was placed in OJT-related employment (i.e. unsubsidized employment within an industry or occupation in which the individual uses a substantial portion of the skills acquired in the OJT, but where hiring by the employer that provided the OJT did not occur.)

For all NEG-funded OJT participants not hired by the employer that provided OJT, the local area must e-mail the participant's name to NEG@jfs.ohio.gov and also identify whether the participant was placed in OJT-related employment within thirty (30) days of OJT completion.

V.Technical Assistance

For additional information, you may send your questions to the Office of Workforce Development: WIAQNA@JFS.OHIO.GOV.

VI.References

USDOL waiver letter dated Dec. 10, 2012

Workforce Investment Act Final Rules, 20 CFR Part 652, Section § 663.700-710, 667.20, and 667.268

WIAPL 10-08.1: WIA Policy Letter 10-08: On-the-Job Training (OJT) Comprehensive Policy

OWD OJT Website: https://jfs.ohio.gov/owd/WorkforceProf/OJT.stm

OJT Guidance Manual: https://jfs.ohio.gov/owd/WorkforceProf/OJT.stm

USDOL TEN 38-12: Dislocated Worker Training National Emergency Grants

USDOL's OJT Toolkit: https://ojttoolkit.workforce3one.org/