(a) Approval of training; limitation on expenditures; reasonable expectation of employment; payment of costs; approved training programs; nonduplication of payments from other sources; disapproval of certain programs; exhaustion of unemployment benefits; promulgation of regulations

(1) If the Secretary determines that—

(A) there is no suitable employment (which may include technical and professional employment) available for an adversely affected worker,

(B) the worker would benefit from appropriate training,

(C) there is a reasonable expectation of employment following completion of such training,

(D) training approved by the Secretary is reasonably available to the worker from either governmental agencies or private sources (which may include area career and technical education schools, as defined in section 2302 of title 20, and employers) ¹

(E) the worker is qualified to undertake and complete such training, and

(F) such training is suitable for the worker and available at a reasonable cost,

the Secretary shall approve such training for the worker. Upon such approval, the worker shall be entitled to have payment of the costs of such training (subject to the limitations imposed by this section) paid on his behalf by the Secretary directly or through a voucher system. Insofar as possible, the Secretary shall provide or assure the provision of such training on the job, which shall include related education necessary for the acquisition of skills needed for a position within a particular occupation.

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(2)(A) The total amount of payments that may be made under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year shall not exceed $220,000,000.

(B) If, during any fiscal year, the Secretary estimates that the amount of funds necessary to pay the costs of training approved under this section will exceed the amount of the limitation imposed under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall decide how the portion of such limitation that has not been expended at the time of such estimate is to be apportioned among the States for the remainder of such fiscal year.

(3) For purposes of applying paragraph (1)(C), a reasonable expectation of employment does not require that employment opportunities for a worker be available, or offered, immediately upon the completion of training approved under this paragraph (1).

(4)(A) If the costs of training an adversely affected worker are paid by the Secretary under paragraph (1), no other payment for such costs may be made under any other provision of Federal law.

(B) No payment may be made under paragraph (1) of the costs of training an adversely affected worker if such costs—

(i) have already been paid under any other provision of Federal law, or

(ii) are reimbursable under any other provision of Federal law and a portion of such costs have already been paid under such other provision of Federal law.

(C) The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to, or take into account, any funds provided under any other provision of Federal law which are used for any purpose other than the direct payment of the costs incurred in training a particular adversely affected worker, even if such use has the effect of indirectly paying or reducing any portion of the costs involved in training the adversely affected worker.

(5) The training programs that may be approved under paragraph (1) include, but are not limited to—

(A) employer-based training, including—

(i) on-the-job training, and

(ii) customized training,

(B) any training program provided by a State pursuant to title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998,²

(C) any training program approved by a private industry council established under section 102 of such Act,²

(D) any program of remedial education,

(E) any training program (other than a training program described in paragraph (7)) for which all, or any portion, of the costs of training the worker are paid—

(i) under any Federal or State program other than this chapter, or

(ii) from any source other than this section, and

(F) any other training program approved by the Secretary.

(6)(A) The Secretary is not required under paragraph (1) to pay the costs of any training approved under paragraph (1) to the extent that such costs are paid—

(i) under any Federal or State program other than this part, or

(ii) from any source other than this section.

(B) Before approving any training to which subparagraph (A) may apply, the Secretary may require that the adversely affected worker enter into an agreement with the Secretary under which the Secretary will not be required to pay under this section the portion of the costs of such training that the worker has reason to believe will be paid under the program, or by the source, described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A).

(7) The Secretary shall not approve a training program if—

(A) all or a portion of the costs of such training program are paid under any nongovernmental plan or program,

(B) the adversely affected worker has a right to obtain training or funds for training under such plan or program, and

(C) such plan or program requires the worker to reimburse the plan or program from funds provided under this part, or from wages paid under such training program, for any portion of the costs of such training program paid under the plan or program.

(8) The Secretary may approve training for any adversely affected worker who is a member of a group certified under subpart A at any time after the date on which the group is certified under subpart A, without regard to whether such worker has exhausted all rights to any unemployment insurance to which the worker is entitled.

(9) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations which set forth the criteria under each of the subparagraphs of paragraph (1) that will be used as the basis for making determinations under paragraph (1).

(b) Supplemental assistance

The Secretary may, where appropriate, authorize supplemental assistance necessary to defray reasonable transportation and subsistence expenses for separate maintenance when training is provided in facilities which are not within commuting distance of a worker’s regular place of residence. The Secretary may not authorize—

(1) payments for subsistence that exceed whichever is the lesser of (A) the actual per diem expenses for subsistence, or (B) payments at 50 percent of the prevailing per diem allowance rate authorized under the Federal travel regulations, or

(2) payments for travel expenses exceeding the prevailing mileage rate authorized under the Federal travel regulations.

(c) Payment of costs of on-the-job training

The Secretary shall pay the costs of any on-the-job training of an adversely affected worker that is approved under subsection (a)(1) in equal monthly installments, but the Secretary may pay such costs, notwithstanding any other provision of this section, only if—

(1) no currently employed worker is displaced by such adversely affected worker (including partial displacement such as a reduction in the hours of nonovertime work, wages, or employment benefits),

(2) such training does not impair existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements,

(3) in the case of training which would be inconsistent with the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, the written concurrence of the labor organization concerned has been obtained,

(4) no other individual is on layoff from the same, or any substantially equivalent, job for which such adversely affected worker is being trained,

(5) the employer has not terminated the employment of any regular employee or otherwise reduced the workforce of the employer with the intention of filling the vacancy so created by hiring such adversely affected worker,

(6) the job for which such adversely affected worker is being trained is not being created in a promotional line that will infringe in any way upon the promotional opportunities of currently employed individuals,

(7) such training is not for the same occupation from which the worker was separated and with respect to which such worker’s group was certified pursuant to section 2272 of this title,

(8) the employer is provided reimbursement of not more than 50 percent of the wage rate of the participant, for the cost of providing the training and additional supervision related to the training,

(9) the employer has not received payment under subsection (a)(1) of this section with respect to any other on-the-job training provided by such employer which failed to meet the requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6), and

(10) the employer has not taken, at any time, any action which violated the terms of any certification described in paragraph (8) made by such employer with respect to any other on-the-job training provided by such employer for which the Secretary has made a payment under subsection (a)(1) of this section.

(d) Eligibility for unemployment insurance

A worker may not be determined to be ineligible or disqualified for unemployment insurance or program benefits under this subpart because the individual is in training approved under subsection (a), because of leaving work which is not suitable employment to enter such training, or because of the application to any such week in training of provisions of State law or Federal unemployment insurance law relating to availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work. The Secretary shall submit to the Congress a quarterly report regarding the amount of funds expended during the quarter concerned to provide training under subsection (a) and the anticipated demand for such funds for any remaining quarters in the fiscal year concerned.

(e) “Suitable employment” defined

For purposes of this section the term “suitable employment” means, with respect to a worker, work of a substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker’s past adversely affected employment, and wages for such work at not less than 80 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage.

(f) “Customized training” defined

For purposes of this section, the term “customized training” means training that is—

(1) designed to meet the special requirements of an employer or group of employers;

(2) conducted with a commitment by the employer or group of employers to employ an individual upon successful completion of the training; and

(3) for which the employer pays for a significant portion (but in no case less than 50 percent) of the cost of such training, as determined by the Secretary.