Article 24. Worker Adjustment Act

Section 835. Definitions.

For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

1. "Additional dislocated workers" means a displaced homemaker who is an individual who:

(a) was a full-time homemaker for a substantial number of years; and

(b) derived the substantial share of his or her support from:

(i) a spouse and no longer receives such support due to the death, divorce, permanent separation from the spouse, or

(ii) public assistance on account of dependents in the home and no longer receives such support.

2. "Administrative entity" means the entity designated to administer a job training plan pursuant to section one hundred three (b) (1) (B) of the federal Job Training Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300).

3. "Basic readjustment services" means services including, but not limited to:

(a) development of individual readjustment plans for participants in programs under this article;

(b) outreach and intake;

(d) job or career counseling;

(e) testing;

(f) orientation;

(g) assessment, including evaluation of educational attainment and participant interests and aptitudes;

(h) determination of occupational skills;

(i) provision of future world-of-work and occupational information;

(j) job placement assistance;

(k) labor market information;

(l) job clubs;

(m) job search;

(n) job development;

(o) supportive services, including child care, commuting assistance, and financial and personal counseling which shall terminate not later than the ninetieth day after the participant has completed other services under this subdivision, except that counseling necessary to assist participants to retain employment shall terminate not later than six months following the completion of training;

(p) prelayoff assistance;

(q) relocation assistance; and

(r) programs conducted in cooperation with employers or labor organizations to provide early intervention in the event of closures of plants or facilities.

4. "Dislocated workers" means individuals who: (a) have been terminated or laid off or who have received a notice of termination or layoff from employment, are eligible for or have exhausted their entitlement to unemployment compensation, and are unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation;

(b) have been terminated or have received a notice of termination of employment, as a result of any permanent closure of or any substantial layoff at a plant, facility, or enterprise;

(c) are long-term unemployed and have limited opportunities for employment or reemployment in the same or a similar occupation in the area in which such individuals reside, including older individuals who may have substantial barriers to employment by reason of age; or

(d) were self-employed (including farmers and ranchers) and are unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in the community in which they reside or because of natural disasters, subject to regulations prescribed by the federal Secretary of Labor.

5. "Employer specific skill training" shall mean programs administered by the state education department designed to support, supplement and contribute to the economic development activities of the department of economic development and regional and local efforts to maintain the economy of the state by providing skills training programs for companies which want to locate or expand in the state, including support to small business and cottage industries, special training for new and expanding industries in urban and rural areas and other training programs to meet the needs of dislocated workers and the state's business and industry.

6. "Grant recipient" means the entity chosen within a service delivery area to receive funds from the state pursuant to section one hundred four (b) (2) of the federal Job Training Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300).

7."Labor-management committees" means committees voluntarily established to respond to actual or prospective worker dislocation, which ordinarily include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) shared and equal participation by workers and management;

(b) shared financial participation between the company and the state, using funds provided under this article, in paying for the operating expenses of the committee;

(c) a chairperson, to oversee and guide the activities of the committee, (i) who shall be jointly selected by the labor and management members of the committee, (ii) who is not employed by or under contract with labor or management at the site, and (iii) who shall provide advice and leadership to the committee and prepare a report on its activities;

(d) the ability to respond flexibly to the needs of affected workers by devising and implementing a strategy for assessing the employment and training needs of each dislocated worker and for obtaining the services and assistance necessary to meet those needs;

(e) a formal agreement, terminable at will by the workers or the company management, and terminable for cause by the governor; and

(f) local job identification activities by the chairperson and members of the committee on behalf of the affected workers.

8. "Local elected official" means the chief elected executive officer of a unit of general local government in a substate area.

9. "On-the-job training" means training which is specified in an agreement between the grantee and the employer and includes both work experience and training, formalized in an outline defining each training component and outcomes of the training process.

10. "Plant closing" means the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment, or one or more facilities or operating units within a single site of employment, if the shutdown results in an employment loss at a single site of employment during any thirty day period for twenty-five or more employees excluding any part-time employees. In addition, should the shutdown directly cause an employment loss at any additional site, all such employees at the additional site or sites shall be counted toward the twenty-five required to meet this definition.

11. "Private industry council" means local private industry council as defined in section one hundred two of the federal Job Training Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300).

12. "Region" means the economic development regions as defined by the department of economic development.

13. "Retraining services" means services which may include, but are not limited to:

(a) classroom training;

(b) occupational skill training;

(d) out-of-area job search;

(e) relocation;

(f) basic and remedial education;

(g) literacy and English for non-English-speaker training;

(h) entrepreneurial training; and

(i) other appropriate training activities directly related to appropriate employment opportunities within the substate area.

14. "Service delivery area" means a local service delivery area as defined in section one hundred one of the federal Job Training Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300).

15. "Service provider" means a public agency, private nonprofit organization, or private for-profit entity that delivers educational, training, or employment services.

16. "Substantial layoff" means any reduction-in-force which is not the result of a plant closing and which results in an employment loss at a single site of employment during any thirty day period for:

(a) (i) at least thirty-three percent of the employees (excluding employees regularly working less than twenty hours per week); and

(ii) at least fifty employees (excluding employees regularly working less than twenty hours per week); or

(b) at least five hundred employees (excluding employees regularly working less than twenty hours per week).

17. "Substate areas" means that geographic area in a state established by the governor pursuant to section three hundred twelve (a) of the federal Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance Act (P.L. 100-418), provided that the governor shall notify in writing the president pro tempore of the senate, speaker of the assembly, minority leader of the senate and minority leader of the assembly not less than sixty days prior to any change in the designation of such area.

18. "Substate grantees" means that agency or organization selected to administer programs pursuant to section three hundred twelve (b) of the federal Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance Act (P.L. 100-418) and section eight hundred thirty-six of this article.

Section 836. Administration.

Except as is otherwise provided herein, the administration of the worker adjustment program shall be carried out by the department in consultation with the department of economic development, state education department, state university of New York, city university of New York, and the state job training coordinating council, hereinafter referred to as the "council", in a manner consistent with the federal Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance Act (P.L. 100-418), hereinafter referred to as "the act".

Section 837. State plan.

1. The governor shall be responsible for preparation and submission of a biennial plan. The plan shall be prepared with input from the department, the department of economic development, state education department, state university of New York and the state job training coordinating council. The plan shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) a description of services to be provided to dislocated workers and additional dislocated workers as defined in section eight hundred thirty-five of this article;

(b) the identification of the state dislocated worker unit within the department, and the activities such unit will carry out;

(i) the department of economic development for the purposes of developing strategies to avert plant closings or substantial layoffs which would include the participation of the department of economic development in the establishment of labor-management committees, the provision of resources and technical assistance for a preliminary assessment of the advisability of conducting a comprehensive study exploring the feasibility of having a company or group, including the workers, purchase the plant and continue it in operation, and the provision of appropriate financial and technical advice to assist in efforts to avert worker dislocation;

(ii) the state education department for the purposes of identifying and approving training/retraining activities that meet standards of instructional quality pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision four of section eight hundred forty-six of this article;

(d) an explanation of the extent to which additional dislocated workers will be served under this plan and, if such workers will not be served, a statement of justification for their exclusion; and (e) a detailed description of reporting and evaluation activity relating to outcomes achieved.

2. The biennial plan developed pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall be submitted to the council for review and comment and to the governor for approval. Copies shall also be submitted to the president pro-tempore of the senate and the speaker of the assembly simultaneous to its submission to the council.

3. The state plan submitted under this section may be modified to describe changes in or additions to programs and activities set forth in the plan and shall be reviewed and approved in the same manner as the state plan originally submitted.

Section 838. Substate grantees.

1. Substate grantees shall be designated on a biennial basis through agreement between the governor, local elected officials and private industry councils pursuant to the act.

(a) preference for selection shall be given to those entities which have demonstrated fiscal and administrative capability to directly administer basic readjustment and retraining services and provide support services or have demonstrated the administrative capacity to contract out for such services.

(b) entities eligible for selection as substate grantees must demonstrate the capacity to administer the required services either directly or by contract continuously through the period covered by the substate plan, and include:

(i) private industry councils in the substate area;

(ii) service delivery area grant recipients or administrative entities;

(iii) private nonprofit organizations;

(iv) units of general local government in the substate area or agencies thereof;

(v) local offices of state agencies; and

(vi) other public agencies, such as community colleges and area vocational schools.

2. Substate grantees shall administer substate activities as defined in subdivision two of section eight hundred thirty-nine of this article.

3. The state shall establish procedures to review the designation of substate grantees on a biennial basis. Such procedures shall include the use of evaluation data defined in section eight hundred forty-nine of this article.

Section 839. Substate plans.

1. Substate grantees are required to submit a substate plan for review and comment to the local elected officials and the private industry council and to the governor for approval. Upon approval of the plan, grantees shall implement all procedures described pursuant to the requirements of this section.

2. The substate plan shall include statements describing:

(a) basic readjustment, retraining and supportive services and the method for providing such services;

(b) outreach and intake procedures and the method used to verify program participant eligibility;

(d) means for involving labor organizations representing individuals affected by dislocation within the substate area in the development and implementation of services;

(e) performance goals;

(f) procedures for selecting service providers consistent with section one hundred seven of the federal Job Training Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300);

(g) procedures for responding expeditiously to worker dislocation where the rapid response assistance required by section eight hundred forty of this article is inappropriate, of which methods may include but are not limited to:

(i) development and delivery of widespread outreach mechanisms;

(ii) provision of financial evaluation and counseling (where appropriate) to assist in determining eligibility for services and the type of services needed;

(iii) initial assessment and referral for further basic readjustment and retraining services; and

(iv) establishment of centers within each substate area for the purpose of providing such outreach, assessment and early readjustment assistance.

(h) the involvement of the governor, local elected officials and private industry council in the activities of the substate grantee;

(i) the training services to be provided including:

(i) assessment of participants' skill levels and occupational abilities;

(ii) assessment of participants' needs including educational, training, employment and supportive services;

(iii) methods for allocating resources to provide the services recommended by rapid response teams; and

(iv) a description of services and activities to be provided in the substate area;

(j) the means to achieve coordination with other appropriate programs, services and systems for the purpose of avoiding duplicating services available through existing services;

(k) a detailed budget; and

(l) an evaluation design consistent with criteria set forth in regulations by the commissioner.

3. The governor shall approve the plan submitted by a substate grantee, or the modification thereof, unless he finds that:

(a) corrective measures for deficiencies found in audits or in meeting performance standards from previous years have not been taken or are not acceptably underway;

(b) the entity proposed to administer the program does not have the capacity to administer the funds;

(d) the plan or modification does not comply with a particular provision of the federal job training partnership act (P.L. 97-300) or of regulations of the United States secretary of labor; or

(e) the plan or modification does not comply with the requirements of this article.

4. The governor shall approve or disapprove a plan submitted by a substate grantee or modification thereof within thirty days after the date that the plan or modification is submitted, except that if a petition is filed under subdivision five of this section, such period shall be extended to forty-five days. Any disapproval by the governor may be appealed to the United States secretary of labor.

5. Interested parties may petition the governor within fifteen days of the date of submission for disapproval of the plan or modification thereof if:

(a) the party can demonstrate that it represents a substantial client interest;

(b) the party took appropriate steps to present its views and seek resolution of disputed issues prior to submission of the plan to the governor; and

6. If a substate grantee fails to submit a plan, or submits a plan that is not approved by the governor, the governor may direct the expenditure of funds allocated to the substate area until such time as a plan is submitted and approved or a new substate grantee is designated under this article.

7. If a substate grantee fails to expend funds allocated to it in accordance with its plan, the governor may, subject to appropriate notice and opportunity for comment in the manner required for approval of the substate plan, direct the expenditure of funds in accordance with the substate plan until the substate grantee corrects the failure, the substate grantee submits an acceptable modification to its plan, or a new substate grantee is designated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section eight hundred thirty-eight of this article.

Section 840. State level activities, rapid response.

1. The state shall be responsible for rapid response activities pursuant to section 312.1 of the federal Job Training Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300), coordination of title III activity and the state unemployment insurance program, state and regional projects and demonstrations, and the discretionary allocation of additional funds to substate areas based on determination of need.

2. The state's designated dislocated worker unit shall have the capability to provide rapid response services to dislocated workers affected by a substantial layoff or a plant closing. Such services shall include:

(a) on site intervention within forty-eight hours of notification of either a plant closing or a substantial layoff;

(b) provision of emergency basic readjustment services as needed;

(c) promotion of labor-management cooperation through the initiation, with the department of economic development, where appropriate, of labor-management committees;

(d) development, with the department of economic development, of an early warning system;

(e) dissemination of information on dislocated worker services available under title III of the federal Job Training Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300) and other appropriate services funded by the federal, state, and local governments;

(f) provision of technical assistance to substate grantees;

(g) receipt of notifications of layoffs and closings and provision to substate grantees of such information as soon as possible to assure the maximum local response;

(h) coordination between rapid response activities and the unemployment insurance system and the job training partnership system, state and local economic development activities and the regional education centers of the state education department; and

(i) notification of appropriate state agency staff and coordination with the activities of central, local or regional staff of the departments of labor, economic development and education to facilitate additional on-site contact with employer and employee representatives within a short period of time, preferably forty-eight hours, after becoming aware of a current or projected permanent closure or substantial layoff in order to provide information on and facilitate access to available public programs and services.

3. The commissioner may, under exceptional circumstances, authorize the designated dislocated worker unit to provide rapid response services when the employment loss is for less than twenty-five employees, is not at a single site of employment or does not take place during a single thirty day period. For purposes of this subdivision, exceptional circumstances include those situations which would have a major impact on the community or communities in which they occur.

Section 841. Regional and demonstration projects.

1. Demonstration projects. (a) The state unit shall conduct statewide projects and demonstration programs to address the needs of distressed industries and to provide for projects that would lead to the development of innovative strategies to meet the needs of dislocated workers.

(b) Such projects shall emphasize retraining, and include counseling and assessment components.

(c) Funding for such projects shall be allocated through a contract process subject to the state plan and in coordination with the substate grantees affected.

(d) Funding for projects and programs shall be made available in annual rounds, by December thirty-first of each fiscal year beginning in nineteen hundred eighty-nine. The department shall, by rule, establish a solicitation and award evaluation process for funds made available for this purpose. Such rules shall specify the criteria by which the department shall evaluate proposals and determine which shall receive funding. The evaluation process shall consider the ability of the provider to accomplish the proposal based on past performance, administrative capability and fiscal responsibility, the innovativeness of the proposal, the expected improvement in the delivery of services within the area served by the substate grantee, the extent to which elements of the proposal may be replicated in other service areas within the state, and such other factors as the commissioner shall, by rule, prescribe.

2. Regional projects. The state unit shall provide extended retraining and basic readjustment services directly through the department, through awards to substate grantees or through awards by the department to service providers. Substate grantees shall have preference in receiving such grants. Such grants shall be made available from funds allocated to the state pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision four of section eight hundred forty-seven of this article and shall be subject to such requirements as are imposed by section eight hundred forty-seven of this article.

Section 842. Monitoring.

The state unit will monitor the implementation of substate plans and, as needed, shall make additional funds available to the substate grantees, pursuant to subdivision two of section eight hundred forty-eight of this article, to assure that the substate plan is fully implemented regardless of economic changes in the substate area that could influence the number of dislocated workers to be served.

Section 843. Employer specific skills training.

1. The department shall enter into agreements with the commissioner of education to pay for the participation of dislocated workers in employer specific short-term skill training provided by the commissioner of education under the provisions of the federal Vocational Education Act of 1963.

2. Employers seeking assistance. Employers seeking assistance in locating the availability of employer specific skills training programs, or seeking to have such a program developed may apply for assistance by contacting a regional educational center for economic development. Such center shall survey existing programs offered by it or through appropriate substate grantees to identify any which may be suitable to meet the needs of the applicant. If none is available, the department of education shall contact local education agencies within the substate area, and adjacent substate areas, to promote the development of proposals for programs to be funded through the program.

3. Grant applications by training providers. Training providers may apply to the commissioner of education for grants to conduct employer specific skill training programs. Application for grants shall be in a manner consistent with the application process for business and industry specific training programs under the federal Vocational Education Act of 1963, and shall be in a form prescribed by the commissioner of education. Such application shall (a) describe the amount and purposes for which funding is requested; (b) describe the training services to be provided, including the duration of training and the estimated training cost per recipient; (c) show evidence that the proposed training program will provide appropriate assistance to recipients; (d) describe other funding sources which may be used for such training; (e) describe the steps the provider will take to avoid duplication of training available through existing resources; (f) describe the provider's coordination with programs and activities funded through the job training partnership act or other state resources; and (g) such other information as may be required by the commissioner of education. No grant shall exceed fifty percent of total program cost.

4. Evaluation of grant applications. The commissioner of education shall make grant awards based on evaluation of the following criteria, at a minimum: (a) The provider's past effectiveness in delivering training programs based on demonstrated performance; (b) ability to provide participants with the skills necessary to fill available jobs; (c) the administrative capability to operate such a training program; (d) cost of the proposed program; (e) where appropriate, evidence that the provider has made provisions for coordination with other services available from the department of economic development, the department of labor, such other state agencies as may be relevant, and local grantees; and (f) such other factors as the commissioner of education shall deem appropriate.

5. In the event of a plant closing or substantial layoff as defined in subdivisions ten and sixteen of section eight hundred thirty-five of this article, the state education department shall participate in rapid response activity and make available appropriate resources for training interventions through the regional education centers for economic development.

6. In developing projects in response to training needs for dislocated workers or additional dislocated workers, the commissioner of education shall approve and fund from this article, only employer specific training projects that have been certified in writing by the substate grantee as consistent with the area's substate plan after formal consultation with the state education department.

7. Funds available under this paragraph shall be allocated to each region based on a formula which includes the relative number of unemployed individuals within each region and available plant closing and substantial layoff data published by the department under the permanent mass layoff and plant closing statistical series. However, after March first of each fiscal year, the commissioner of education, in a manner consistent with applicable federal law and regulations, shall reapportion any amount of any allocation otherwise due to a region if he or she determines that such amount cannot be obligated within such region. Such reapportionment shall be distributed in a manner consistent with the purposes of this article.

Section 844. Feasibility studies.

The department of economic development shall conduct preliminary assessments of the advisability of conducting a comprehensive study exploring the feasibility of having a company or group, including the workers, purchase the plant and continue it in operation. Provided further, that rules and regulations established by the commissioner of economic development pursuant to section one hundred ninety-three of article seven of the omnibus economic development act of nineteen hundred eighty-seven regarding the selection and retention of experts to be used in undertaking assessments and the exemption of disclosure requirements shall apply to assessments conducted under this section.

Section 845. Coordination.

State dislocated worker programs funded under this section shall, to the fullest extent possible, coordinate with other federal, state and local programs before initiating activity and, where substantial numbers of union members are affected, consult with appropriate labor organizations.

Section 846. Substate level activities.

1. (a) Grantees shall use funds allotted to them pursuant to section eight hundred forty-eight of this article to provide to eligible dislocated workers the core functions of the worker adjustment program, which include intake, assessment and counseling, as well as basic readjustment and retraining services as defined in section eight hundred thirty-five of this article, directly or by contract. Provided, however, that such grantees shall not be required by the department to contract with any specific provider for the provision of such services.

(b) Each substate grantee shall provide intake, counseling and assessment directly or by contract on an ongoing basis at a site or sites designated by the substate grantee to which all dislocated workers in the area have access. In addition, the substate grantee may make such services available at the location of a plant closing or substantial layoff.

(c) Substate grantees shall require that all service providers selected by the substate grantee to receive funds allocated pursuant to section eight hundred forty-eight of this article, other than vouchers for training services given to program participants pursuant to subdivision four of this section, shall provide a written plan which includes: (i) the amount and purposes for which funding is requested; (ii) a description of the services to be provided, including the duration of service and the estimated service cost per recipient; (iii) procedures for identifying and selecting participants and for eligibility determination and verification; (iv) evidence that the proposed service program will provide appropriate assistance to recipients seeking available private sector employment; (v) a description of other funding sources which may be used for such programs; (vi) a description of steps the provider will take to avoid duplication of services available through existing resources; (vii) a description of the provider's coordination with programs and activities funded through the job training partnership act or other state resources; (viii) procedures for advising the local private industry council of the provider's proposal, including ways in which the provider intends to cooperate with the local private industry council; and (ix) such other information as may be required by the grantee.

(d) The grantee shall select training providers and determine the amount of monies available for each program. Selection considerations shall include: the provider's past effectiveness in delivering employment or vocational training programs or other readjustment services based on demonstrated performance; for training providers, ability to provide participants with the skills necessary to fill available jobs in the private sector; cost of the proposed program; the administrative capability to operate such a program; fiscal responsibility; for training providers, a record of job placement for completers which meets standards of acceptability established by the commissioner for this purpose; the degree to which the provider has made provisions for coordination with other services available under the job training partnership act and other state and federal programs; and such other factors as the grantee may determine. Funds provided pursuant to this article shall not be used to duplicate facilities or services available to the substate area from other federal, state or local sources.

(e) Appropriate vocational and educational institutions in the substate area shall be accorded the initial opportunity to provide educational services unless the grantee determines that alternative entities would be more effective or would have greater potential to enhance participants' continued occupational and career growth.

(f) Funds shall be made available to service providers through direct contract between each such service provider and the grantee. The grantee shall notify the department of the award of each contract and shall certify that the requirements of this article have been met.

(g) After March first of each year, the department shall reapportion an amount of unexpended funds from each substate area's allocation that the department has determined cannot be expended as planned. The substate area shall be provided with no less than thirty days advance notice and an opportunity to appeal the reallocation. The department shall reallocate those funds to the substate areas in a manner consistent with the purposes of this section and with applicable federal law and regulations. Funds shall be reallocated to substate areas that have demonstrated an ability to expend funds at a rate in keeping with or exceeding planned levels and where existing resources are insufficient to provide needed services, to be determined in consultation with interested parties. At any time after December thirty-first, a substate area may volunteer to deobligate funds. Such funds may be reallocated immediately by the department to the substate grantees consistent with the purposes of this article.

2. Opportunities may be offered for on-the-job training with the following conditions:

(a) preference will be given for jobs which exceed the minimum wage and which have the capacity for growth and advancement;

(b) the employer will be responsible for at least fifty percent of the wages and fringe benefits paid to a worker in training.

3. Needs-related payments may be provided under this section pursuant to subparagraph (e) of section three hundred fourteen of the act for eligible participants upon demonstration of need after considering all of the sources of income available to the participant or the participant's family. However, such payment shall not be made unless the participant's unemployment compensation, including any extended benefits, will expire prior to their completion of the program.

4. Alternative methods of providing retraining services may be approved such as:

(a) A substate grantee may defer the delivery of retraining services by providing the program participant with a certificate of continuing eligibility:

(i) such certificates may be effective for periods not to exceed one hundred four weeks;

(ii) certificates will not include references to any specific amounts of funds;

(iii) certificates shall state that they are subject to availability of funds at the time that the services are to be provided; and

(iv) acceptance of a certificate shall not be deemed as enrollment in training.

(b) A substate grantee may provide the program participants with vouchers for training services whereby the participants may seek out and arrange their own retraining with the following limitations:

(i) service providers must be approved by the grantee pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph;

(ii) the commissioner of education shall prepare a list of programs approved for funding and shall submit such list to the commissioner by July first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, and shall thereafter from time to time as he or she determines necessary update such list. The commissioner shall include on such list only non-degree programs which are at least three hundred twenty clock hours in length, and which provide skills for employment based on current requirements of business and industry in an occupational field for which favorable employment opportunities are anticipated in the state and which meet standards of instructional quality established in regulations by the commissioner of education. These standards shall include, but are not limited to, qualifications of administrative and instructional personnel, quality of the curricula, quality of facilities and equipment, record keeping, admission, grading, attendance and record of placement of completers which meets standards of acceptability as established by the commissioner of education in conjunction with the commissioner;

(iii) such services shall be conducted under a grant, contract or other arrangement between the grantee and the service provider; and

(iv) substate grantees shall provide vouchers to program participants only upon demonstration that such program participant has been accepted for and is proposing to undertake an occupational retraining program which has been approved by the commissioner of education pursuant to this section.

5. Substate grantees shall establish linkages with all involved state agencies, including local and regional offices of the department of labor, the department of education and the department of economic development.

Section 847. Limitations on uses of funds.

1. Not less than sixty percent of the funds expended by substate grantees must be used for retraining services as defined in section eight hundred thirty-five of this article.

2. Not more than twenty-five percent of the funds expended by any substate grantee or the governor may be used to provide needs-related services pursuant to section eight hundred forty-six of this article and other supportive services as defined in this act.

3. Not more than twelve percent of the funds expended by substate grantees pursuant to paragraph three of section eight hundred forty-eight of this article shall be used for administrative expenses.

4. (a) Twelve percent of the funds allocated to the state for state level activities in each year shall be made available to the department for administrative expenses. Provided further that not more than twelve percent of such funds shall be expended by the department pursuant to subdivision one of section eight hundred forty-eight of this article for administrative expenses including technical assistance and fiscal and compliance auditing.

(b) Six hundred seventy-five thousand dollars of the funds allocated to the state for state level activities in subdivision one of section eight hundred forty-eight of this article in each year shall be made available for statewide projects and demonstration programs authorized pursuant to section eight hundred forty-one of this article.

(c) Sixteen percent, plus three hundred thousand dollars, of the funds allocated to the state for state level activities in each year shall be made available for rapid response activities authorized pursuant to section eight hundred forty of this article, including the funding of innovative programs for the delivery of rapid response services to dislocated workers. No single state agency, department, board or commission shall receive a suballocation from the department of more than twenty percent of the funds allocated by this paragraph. Any funds suballocated to the department of economic development shall be for feasibility studies as provided in section eight hundred forty-four of this article.

(d) Fifty percent of funds allocated to the state for state level activities in each year remaining after funding is provided for the purposes described in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subdivision, which amount shall not exceed one million seventy-six thousand three hundred fifty dollars, shall be made available for the provision of employer specific skills training.

Not more than five percent of the funds expended pursuant to this paragraph shall be expended for administrative activities by the state education department. All remaining monies made available for the purpose described in section eight hundred forty-three of this article shall be suballocated to the state department of education.

(e) Fifty percent of funds allocated to the state for state level activities in each year remaining after funding is provided for the purposes described in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subdivision and any amount remaining after funding is provided for employer specific skills training pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subdivision, shall be made available for the purposes described in subdivision two of section eight hundred forty-one of this article. Such funding shall be made available to substate areas or to the department for the purpose of responding to plant closings and substantial layoffs including employment losses involving exceptional circumstances as defined in subdivision three of section eight hundred forty of this article as authorized by the commissioner which were unanticipated at the time of submission of the annual plan required by section eight hundred thirty-nine of this article. Substate grantees shall have precedence in receiving such funding. Notwithstanding the requirements of this paragraph, not more than one-third of such money may be made available to substate areas for the purpose of responding to significant layoffs which were unanticipated at the time of submission of the annual plan required by section eight hundred thirty-nine of this article. For the purpose of this paragraph significant layoffs shall mean any reduction in force which is not the result of a plant closing and which results in an employment loss at a single site of employment of at least thirty-three percent of the employees (excluding employees regularly working less than twenty hours per week). Not more than seven percent of expended funds shall be retained by the substate grantees for administrative expenses. Each substate grantee with a demand for services which exceed those otherwise available under the substate plan shall be eligible for grants according to the following criteria:

(i) the substate grantee must demonstrate its need through submission of a written request which includes the amount of additional funding needed, number of dislocated workers or additional dislocated workers to be served, type of services to be provided, and a description of the substantial or significant layoff or plant closing which led to the request;

(ii) requests for additional funding which would provide added retraining services or regional or statewide services to identify dislocated workers or additional dislocated workers who are most in need of services and the types of services they need shall be considered before funds are released for added basic readjustment services; and

(iii) any funds undistributed at the end of the program year shall be included as part of the funding made available for activities under section eight hundred forty-six of this article in each succeeding program year and allocated pursuant to subdivision three of section eight hundred forty-eight of this article.

(f) The commissioner shall report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate and assembly labor, finance and ways and means committees, no later than March first of each year on (i) the amount of each suballocation or contract made from funds made available through paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision, including any funds recaptured pursuant to subdivision four of section eight hundred forty-eight of this article, (ii) the entity receiving such suballocation or contract and (iii) the purpose of such suballocation or contract.

5. Not more than twelve percent of the funds expended pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section eight hundred forty-eight of this article shall be retained by the substate grantees for administrative expenses.

Section 848. Apportionment of funds.

1. For activities included in section eight hundred forty of this article the department may retain no more than thirty-six percent of the funds allocated to the state pursuant to this article.

2. (a) The governor shall reserve an additional ten percent of the funds allocated to the state pursuant to this article to be allocated among substate grantees as follows: (i) Each substate grantee which does not receive fifty thousand dollars from the allocation provided pursuant to subdivision three of this section shall be allocated from the funds provided pursuant to this subdivision, the difference between fifty thousand dollars and the amount provided pursuant to subdivision three of this section. (ii) The remainder of the allocation made available pursuant to this subdivision shall be made available to grantees on the basis of need defined as demand for retraining and basic readjustment services which exceeds the resources available in the approved substate plan when such demand is not the result of a plant closing as defined in subdivision ten of section eight hundred thirty-five of this article or a substantial layoff as defined in subdivision sixteen of section eight hundred thirty-five of this article.

(b) Each substate grantee with a demand for services which exceeds those otherwise available under the substate plan shall be eligible for funds according to the following criteria:

(i) the substate grantee must demonstrate its need through a plan modification which includes the amount of additional funding requested, number of dislocated workers or additional dislocated workers to be served, type of services to be provided, and a description of the change in economic conditions which led to the plan modification;

(ii) requests for additional funding which would provide added retraining services shall be considered before funds are released for added basic readjustment services;

(iii) any funds provided to substate grantees pursuant to this subdivision shall be distributed not later than nine months after the beginning of the program year for which the allotment was made; and

(iv) any funds undistributed at the end of the program year shall be included as part of the funding made available for activities under section eight hundred forty-six of this article in each succeeding program year and allocated pursuant to subdivision three of this section.

3. For activities included in section eight hundred forty-six of this article, substate grantees shall receive any remaining funds allocated to the state, other than those allocated pursuant to subdivisions one and two of this section.

Funds shall be distributed to substate grantees according to the following formula:

(a) Ninety-two percent of available funds shall be allocated on the basis of the total of the number of unemployed persons collecting benefits under the unemployment insurance program during the most recent year for which data are available in a substate area added to the number of residents who were unemployed for fifteen weeks or longer as determined by the department using data from the current population survey provided by the federal bureau of labor statistics, the most recent census, local area unemployment statistics program and other most recent reliable data measuring such population in a substate area divided by the total number of such unemployed persons in all substate areas;

(b) Two percent of available funds shall be allocated on the basis of the number of unemployed persons residing in areas which have an average unemployment rate of at least six and one-half percent for the most recent twelve months as determined by the department using data from the local area unemployment statistics program in each substate area divided by the total number of unemployed persons in areas of substantial unemployment in all substate areas;

(c) Two percent on the basis of the number of unemployment insurance beneficiaries with no anticipated recall date identified for the most recent twenty-four month period under the permanent mass layoff and plant closing statistical series established by the department for a substate area divided by the total number of such beneficiaries in all substate areas;

(d) Two percent on the basis of the number of jobs lost during the most recent five-year period in industries that have declined as determined by employment reports of employers as filed with the department under the unemployment insurance program in each substate area divided by the total number of jobs lost in all substate areas; and

(e) Two percent on the basis of the total number of farms with a debt/asset ratio of forty percent or more for the most recent year in a substate area divided by the number of such farms in all substate areas.

4. After March thirty-first of each program year for which funds are available for the purposes provided in this article, the department is authorized to reapportion any amount of an allocation otherwise due to a grantee, the state dislocated worker unit, the state education department, or any other provider if the department determines that it cannot obligate such amount for programs pursuant to this article. Such reapportionment will be redistributed in a manner consistent with the state plan and applicable federal law and regulations. § 849. Reporting and evaluation. Reporting and evaluation requirements prescribed by this article shall conform with those stipulated in article forty-nine of the executive law, the workforce preparation evaluation act.