§ 23:1514 — Worker training fund; purpose; training programs; eligibility criteria; program

§1514. Worker training fund; purpose; training programs; eligibility criteria; program
administration
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 23:1511, there is hereby established a
special account in the Employment Security Administration Fund to be known as the
Incumbent Worker Training Account. Amounts from this account shall be pledged and
dedicated exclusively to fund training for businesses operating in Louisiana that incur a state
unemployment insurance tax liability. This program shall be known as the Incumbent
Worker Training Program. The purpose of this program is to upgrade job skills through
training. Additional emphasis shall be placed on preventing job loss caused by obsolete
skills, technological change, or national or global competition; retaining jobs; and creating
jobs in labor demand occupations.
B. Incumbent Worker Training Account funds shall be used only for the following
types of training:
(1) Customized training. Designed to meet the special need and skill requirements
of business and industry, customized training programs may include specialized curriculums,
instructional materials, training delivery methods, and training locations. Customized
training may also include standardized courses.
(2) Small business employee training. This type of training is individual
standardized (off-the-shelf) training and shall be available to businesses having fifty or fewer
employees.
(3) Preemployment training. This type of training shall be provided for
nonincumbent workers for expanding businesses. This training may include screening, skills
assessment, testing, remediation, and occupational and technical training.
C. An applicant is eligible to participate in the Incumbent Worker Training Program
if it meets the following criteria:
(1) Is an individual employer or a consortium made up of two or more eligible
employers that meets all of the following requirements:
(a) Has been operating in Louisiana for not less than three years.
(b) Is contributing to the Incumbent Worker Training Account for which liability is
incurred under this Chapter.
(c) Is current on the payment of its state unemployment taxes.
(2) Is a labor or community-based organization, or a consortium made up of any
combination of educational institutions, eligible individual employers, or labor or
community-based organizations, that seek to provide customized or preemployment training
for workers who meet all of the following:
(a) Are in a demand occupation.
(b) Are incumbent to an industry.
(c) Were attached to a contributing employer within the last twelve months.
(d) Are not receiving unemployment insurance benefits at the time of training.
D.(1)(a) Training shall be done by a third-party training provider selected by the
applicants. The training provider selected by an applicant must have a demonstrated history
of successful training through its replacement, retention, and satisfaction rates; show
collaboration with regard to industry in the development of customized training; and use
current industry standards as the basis for programs utilized to train individuals in a targeted
industry. Training may be provided by the applicant's employees under limited circumstances
as permitted by duly promulgated rules and regulations. Third-party training providers must
have a demonstrated history of successful training. No third-party training provider may be
an entity whose principal owner is an immediate family member, as defined by the Code of
Governmental Ethics, of an individual in a management position with the applicant who has
the authority to make decisions regarding a training grant or a business related to the
applicant, such as a parent, subsidiary, or partner of the applicant.
(b) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a Louisiana college or university
from acting as a third-party training provider.
(c) Subject to the provisions of Subparagraph (d) of this Paragraph, a Louisiana
college or university may subcontract with an out-of-state college or university to provide
the actual training pursuant to this Section provided the training takes place on the campus
of a Louisiana college or university or on a Louisiana job site.
(d)(i) Prior to entering into an agreement with an out-of-state college or university
as provided for in Subparagraph (c) of this Paragraph, the Louisiana college or university
shall make an inquiry, in writing, to the commissioner of higher education to determine if
such third-party training already exists at another Louisiana college or university.
(ii) If the commissioner of higher education advises the inquiring Louisiana college
or university within fifteen days that another Louisiana college or university provides such
third-party training, the inquiring college or university may contract with the college or
university that provides such third-party training.
(iii) If the commissioner of higher education fails to advise the inquiring Louisiana
college or university within fifteen days that another Louisiana college or university provides
such third-party training, the inquiring college or university may contract with an out-of-state
college or university to provide the actual training as provided for in Subparagraph (c) of this
Paragraph.
(2) All disbursements of funds for training shall be made to the training provider,
except that payments shall be made directly to the applicant if the applicant's employees
perform all training.
(3) No single grant award may exceed ten percent of the amount appropriated to the
fund by the state legislature for the program year. For the purposes of this Section, the
program year is defined as the state fiscal year.
(4) No more than ten percent of such amounts appropriated to the fund by the state
legislature shall be used for the payment of expenses incurred for the administration of this
account.
(5) The administrator may annually set aside an amount up to ten percent of the
amount appropriated to the fund by the state legislature for preemployment training in any
year in which the legislature appropriates funds for training equal to or exceeding those funds
appropriated in the previous year to the Rapid Response Fund created by R.S. 51:2361 or to
the Louisiana Economic Development Fund created by R.S. 51:2315 to be used exclusively
for Louisiana Economic Development - Debt Service and State Commitments. All
preemployment training shall require an employer matching contribution of not more than
fifty percent, and job placement outcomes at wage rates commensurate with training, as
determined by the administrator pursuant to duly promulgated rules and regulations.
(6) At no time shall the outstanding contractual obligations of the account exceed the
balance of the account.
(7) Training shall, at a minimum, meet Occupational Safety and Health
Administration standards, when applicable.
(8) Funds awarded pursuant to this Section shall not be expended or be available for
expenditure in any manner which would permit their substitution for, or a corresponding
reduction in, any state or federal appropriation to any public postsecondary institution of
higher education.
(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in order to receive
monies from the Incumbent Worker Training Account to upgrade job skills, an employer or
consortium of employers, except an applicant for small business employee training under
Paragraph (B)(2) of this Section, shall agree to one of the following requirements:
(a) Increase the wages of those persons who complete the training funded with such
monies.
(b) Create new jobs.
(c) Give preference to those currently unemployed when hiring new employees.
(d) Provide an in-kind match as a component of the training program.
(10) Qualified applicants may not have more than one training contract in effect at
any time.
(11) The administrator shall administer the account and shall promulgate rules and
regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act for the administration of
this Section, including the procedures for applying for funds, distribution of funds,
monitoring of and auditing of training conducted with funds, reimbursement of costs, and
any additional requirements he deems appropriate and necessary to carry out the provisions
of this Section.
(12) The administrator shall, not less than sixty days before the legislature convenes
for its regular session, submit an annual report to the Joint Legislative Committee on the
Budget, the House and Senate committees on labor and industrial relations, and the Louisiana
Workforce Investment Council. This report shall detail the number of applications received,
number of applications approved, contract obligations, funds expended, employers and
training entities participating, number of persons trained, number of jobs created and
retained, and training impact on wages.
(13) The administrator shall present fiscal reports to the legislative auditor as often
as the legislative auditor finds appropriate.
E. The provisions of this Section are subject to reauthorization as provided in R.S.
23:1553(G).

Legislative History

Acts 1997, No. 1053, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 197, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2003, No. 516, §1; Acts 2003, No. 669, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; Acts 2007, No. 59, §1; Acts 2008, No. 743, §7, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2014, No. 283, §1, eff. May 28, 2014; Acts 2018, No. 612, §7, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2019, No. 404, §§1, 6, eff. July 1, 2020.