§ 336-C — Work experience

§ 336-c. Work experience. 1. (a) Work experience programs meeting\nstate and federal requirements may be established by social services\ndistricts.\n (b) Work experience programs may include the performance of work for a\nfederal office or agency, county, city, village or town or for the state\nor in the operation of or in an activity of a nonprofit agency or\ninstitution, in accordance with the regulations of the department.\n 2. A recipient may be assigned to participate in such work experience\nprogram only if:\n (a) appropriate federal and state standards of health, safety and\nother work conditions are maintained;\n (b) The number of hours a participant in work experience activities\nauthorized pursuant to this section shall be required to work in such\nassignment shall not exceed a number which equals the amount of\nassistance payable with respect to such individual (inclusive of the\nvalue of food stamps received by such individual, if any) divided by the\nhigher of (a) the federal minimum wage provided that such hours shall be\nlimited as set forth in subdivision four of section three hundred\nthirty-six of this title, or (b) the state minimum wage;\n (c) such recipients are provided appropriate workers' compensation or\nequivalent protection for on-the-job injuries and tort claims protection\non the same basis, but not necessarily at the same benefit level, as\nthey are provided to other persons in the same or similar positions,\nwhile participating in work experience activities under this section;\n (d) the project to which the participant is assigned serves a useful\npublic purpose in fields such as health, social services, environmental\nprotection, education, urban and rural development and redevelopment,\nwelfare, recreation, operation of public facilities, public safety, and\nchild day care;\n (e) such assignment would not result in (i) the displacement of any\ncurrently employed worker or loss of position (including partial\ndisplacement such as reduction in the hours of non-overtime work, wages\nor employment benefits) or result in the impairment of existing\ncontracts for services or collective bargaining agreements; (ii) the\nemployment or assignment of a participant or the filling of a position\nwhen any other person is on layoff from the same or any equivalent\nposition or the employer has terminated the employment of any regular\nemployee or otherwise reduced its workforce with the effect of filling\nthe vacancy so created with a participant assigned pursuant to this\nsection; (iii) any infringement of the promotional opportunities of any\ncurrent employed person; or (iv) the performance, by such participant,\nof a substantial portion of the work ordinarily and actually performed\nby regular employees; or (v) the loss of a bargaining unit position as a\nresult of work experience participants performing, in part or in whole,\nthe work normally performed by the employee in such position;\n (f) such assignment is not at any work site at which the regular\nemployees are on a legal strike against the employer or are being\nsubjected to lock out by the employer.\n 3. The public employer shall publish on a monthly basis a report\nsummarizing the employer's work experience program for the month. Such\nmonthly report shall include, at a minimum, summary information\nregarding the agencies or departments where participants are assigned,\nwork locations, job duties and assignments, hours worked and period\nworked and shall be provided to the certified collective bargaining\nrepresentative and may not be disclosed to any other party. Such\ncertified collective bargaining representative shall take reasonable\nsteps to protect the confidentiality of such information and shall take\nreasonable steps to prevent disclosure of same to non-authorized\npersons. Every report provided pursuant to this section shall contain a\nwarning against re-disclosure and asserting the confidentiality of the\ninformation therein provided.\n 4. In assigning a recipient who is a non-graduate student attending\nCUNY, SUNY or other approved non-profit education, training or\nvocational rehabilitation agency, the social services district must,\nafter consultation with officials of CUNY, SUNY or other non-profit\neducation, training or vocational rehabilitation agency, assign the\nstudent to a work site on campus, where the recipient is enrolled, and\nshall not unreasonably assign the student to hours that conflict with\nthe student's academic schedule, if an approved work experience\nassignment is available. Where such work experience assignment is not\navailable, the social services district shall, to the extent possible,\nassign the student to a work site within reasonable proximity to the\ncampus where the recipient is enrolled and shall not unreasonably assign\nthe student to hours that conflict with the student's academic schedule.\nProvided, however, in order to qualify for a work experience assignment\non-campus, or in close proximity to campus, a student must have a\ncumulative C average, or its equivalent. The district may waive the\nrequirement that the student have a cumulative C average or its\nequivalent for undue hardship based on: (i) the death of a relative of\nthe student; (ii) the personal injury or illness of the student; or\n(iii) other extenuating circumstances.\n