ACTION BULLETINS (PY 2000)

AB 12 WIA ADULT & DISLOCATED WORKER DEFINITIONS

AB – #12
Effective Date: 3/8/01

ACTION BULLETIN


TO: ONE STOP CAREER CENTER SITE MANAGERS
WIA MANDATED PARTNERS
YOUTH COLLABORATIVES

DATE: April 9, 2001

SUBJ: WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Eligibility Definitions
Alameda County Workforce Investment Area

Purpose of Bulletin

To provide the local definitions for the following terms:

1. Sufficient to Demonstrate Attachment to the Workforce
2. Unlikely to Return to Previous Industry or Occupation
3. Substantial Layoff
4. General Announcement of Facility Closure
5. General Economic Conditions
6. Underemployed
7. Experiencing Difficulty in Obtaining or Upgrading Employment

On March 8, 2001, the Alameda County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) approved the eligibility definitions for the WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker program.

The purpose of this bulletin is to relay the definitions to program operators and the One Stop Career Centers responsible for implementing the WIA Adult and Dislocated
Worker Programs. As part of an approved development process, staff facilitated a focus group on February 8, 2001, of WIB members, Youth Policy Council members, partner agencies, One Stop Career Center site managers, and community representatives. The information to preface the discussion was presented in three (3) parts:

1. The official wording of the eligibility criteria from the Workforce Investment Act.
2. Items for discussion outlined the pertinent issues for defining a term related to eligibility.
3. Example definitions were provided as a springboard for the focus group discussion.

The focus group recommendations were presented to the Operations Committee on February 22, 2001. The Committee initiated some changes and forwarded the recommendations to the WIB for final approval and implementation.

Citation

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Sections 101(9); 101(10); 134(d)(3-4)
Congressional Federal Register 20 CFR Part 664.205; 210
Preamble, Subpart A—One-Stop System, p. 49316

Policy

The eligibility definitions for the WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Program will apply in the determination of eligibility for registrants requesting services under Title IB of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

Approved Definitions

1. Sufficient to demonstrate attachment to the workforce shall be defined as an individual who, at time of application has:
(a) been employed 15 out of the last 26 weeks, or
(b) if a seasonal worker, have been employed 30 out of the last 52 weeks.

2. Individuals referred through the Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services
System (WPRS) shall be identified as eligible dislocated workers who are unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation.

3. Substantial Layoff shall be defined as:
(a) reduction in workforce of 50% or more of the permanent employees; or
(b) the layoff of 51-499 employees who comprised at least one third of the active workforce; or
(c) the layoff of 500 or more employees at a single site.

4. A General Announcement of Facility Closure shall be defined as:
(a) A media article or public notice documenting an employer's intent to close.

5. Unemployed as a result of General Economic Conditions shall be defined as:
(a) a business lost due to the closure or substantial layoff of a primary supplier or primary customer affecting the self-employed applicant's products or services;
(b) a business lost because the product/occupation has little demand within the community or has been declining; or
(c) due to natural disasters as defined in the Federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance program or by State declaration.



6. An individual is considered Underemployed when they are:
(a) employed but working part time and desires full time employment, or
(b) is employed full-time but their per hour earned wages, including regular overtime, is at or below the self-sufficiency threshold of $21.24 per hour as established for the Alameda County Service Delivery Area (SDA).

7. Experiencing Difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment shall be defined as:
(a) an underemployed individual in a job limited to one or more part-time jobs, or
(b) short-term (four months or less) jobs within the year prior to application which were for the purpose of income maintenance rather than a career path, or
(c) an unemployed individual who has one or more substantial barriers to employment.

Procedure

The WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker employment and training program operators and One Stop Career Centers will use the approved definitions to identify customers that are eligible to receive employment and training services.

Acceptable documentation to substantiate the eligibility definitions are outlined in the Eligibility Technical Assistance Guide (TAG) provided to the program operators and One Stop Career Centers. Technical assistance and training, provided by the Certification and Information Processing Unit of the WIB, is available to staff on the collection of documentation, completion and submittal of a case file, and the enrollment and exit of participants.

Action

The Program Operators and the One Stop Career Centers must use the approved definitions and maintain WIA eligibility documentation and verification for Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs in the case file that is sufficient to guard against serving ineligible applicants.

Information & Inquiries

Please contact Linda Slater, MIS Manager, at (510) 728-7905 or "lslater@alcopic.com"lslater@alcopic.com lslater@alcopic.com with any questions regarding the bulletin.


cc: WRS