(a) Designation or creation of State dislocated worker unit or
office. The State shall designate or create an identifiable State
dislocated worker unit or office with the capabilities and functions
identified in paragraph (b) of this section. Such unit or office may be
an existing organization or new organization formed for this purpose
(section 311(b)(2)). The State dislocated worker unit or office shall:
(1) Make appropriate retraining and basic adjustment services
available to eligible dislocated workers through substate grantees, and
in statewide, regional or industrywide projects;
(2) Work with employers and labor organizations in promoting labor-
management cooperation to achieve the goals of this part;
(3) Operate a monitoring, reporting, and management system to
provide adequate information for effective program management, review,
and evaluation;
(4) Provide technical assistance and advice to substate grantees;
(5) Exchange information and coordinate programs with the
appropriate economic development agency, State education and training
and social services programs;
(6) Coordinate with the unemployment insurance system, the Federal-
State Employment Service system, the Trade Adjustment Assistance program
and other programs under this chapter;
(7) Receive advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs as
provided at section 3(a)(2) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102(a)(2) and part 639 of this chapter);
(8) Immediately notify (within 48 hours) the appropriate substate
grantees following receipt of an employer notice of layoff or plant
closing or of any other information that indicates a projected layoff or
plant closing by an employer in the grantee's substate area, in order to
continue and expand the services initiated by the rapid response team
(section 311(b)(3)(D));
(9) Fully consult with labor organizations where substantial numbers
of their members are to be served; and
(10) Disseminate throughout the State information on the
availability of services and activities under Title III of the Act and
this part.
(b) Rapid response capability. The dislocated worker unit shall have
one or more rapid response specialists, and the capability to provide
rapid response assistance, on-site, for dislocation events such as
permanent closures and substantial layoffs throughout the State. The
State shall not transfer the responsibility for the rapid response
assistance functions of the State dislocated worker unit to another
entity, but the State may contract with another entity to perform rapid
response assistance services. Nothing in this paragraph shall remove or
diminish the dislocated worker unit's accountability for ensuring the
effective delivery of rapid response assistance services throughout the
State (section 311(b)(12)).
(1) State rapid response specialists should be knowledgeable about
the resources available through programs under this part and all other
appropriate resources available through public and private sources to
assist dislocated workers. The expertise required by this part includes
knowledge of the Federal, State, and local training and employment
systems; labor-management relations and collective bargaining
activities; private industry and labor market trends; programs and
services available to veterans; and other fields necessary to carry out
the rapid response requirements of the Act.
(2) The rapid response specialists should have:
(i) The ability to organize a broad-based response to a dislocation
event, including the ability to coordinate services provided under this
part with other State-administered programs available to assist
dislocated workers, and the ability to involve the substate grantee and
local service providers in the assistance effort;
(ii) The authority to provide limited amounts of immediate financial
assistance for rapid response activities, including, where appropriate,
financial assistance to labor-management committees formed under
paragraph (c)(2) of this section;
(iii) Credibility among employers and in the employer community in
order to effectively work with employers in difficult situations; and
(iv) Credibility among employee groups and in the labor community,
including organized labor, in order to effectively work with employees
in difficult situations.
(3) The dissemination of information on the State dislocated worker
unit's services and activities should include efforts to ensure that
major employers, organized labor, and groups of employees not
represented by organized labor, are aware of the availability of rapid
response assistance. The State dislocated worker unit should make equal
effort in responding to dislocation events without regard to whether the
affected workers are represented by a union.
(4) In a situation involving an impending permanent closure or
substantial layoff, a State may provide funds, where other public or
private resources are not expeditiously available, 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.
(5) Rapid response specialists may use funds available under this
part:
(i) To establish on-site contact with employer and employee
representatives within a short period of time (preferably 48 hours or
less) after becoming aware of a current or projected permanent closure
or substantial layoff in order to--
(A) Provide information on and facilitate access to available public
programs and services; and
(B) Provide emergency assistance adapted to the particular permanent
closure or substantial layoff; such emergency assistance may include
financial assistance for appropriate rapid response activities, such as
arranging for the provision of early intervention services and other
appropriate forms of immediate assistance in response to the dislocation
event;
(ii) To promote the formation of labor-management committees as
provided for in paragraph (c) of this section, by providing:
(A) Immediate assistance in the establishment of the labor-
management committee, including providing immediate financial assistance
to cover the start-up costs of the committee;
(B) A list of individuals from which the chairperson of the
committee may be selected;
(C) Technical advice as well as information on sources of
assistance, and liaison with other public and private services and
programs; and
(D) Assistance in the selection of worker representatives in the
event no union is present;
(iii) To provide ongoing assistance to labor-management committees
described in paragraph (c) of this section by:
(A) Maintaining ongoing contact with such committees, either
directly or through the committee chairperson;
(B) Attending meetings of such committees on an ex officio basis;
and
(C) Ensuring ongoing liaison between the committee and locally
available resources for addressing the dislocation, including the
establishment of linkages with the substate grantee or with the service
provider designated by the substate grantee to act in such capacity;
(iv) To collect information related to:
(A) Economic dislocation (including potential closings or layoffs);
and
(B) All available resources within the State for serving displaced
workers, which information shall be made available on a regular basis to
the Governor and the State Council to assist in providing an adequate
information base for effective program management, review, and
evaluation;
(v) To provide or obtain appropriate financial and technical advice
and liaison with economic development agencies and other organizations
to assist in efforts to avert worker dislocations;
(vi) To disseminate information throughout the State on the
availability of services and activities carried out by the dislocated
worker unit or office; and
(vii) To assist the local community in developing its own
coordinated response and in obtaining access to State economic
development assistance.
(6) Notwithstanding the definition of ``substantial layoff (for
rapid response assistance)'' at Sec. 631.2 of this part;
(i) The Governor shall provide rapid response and basic readjustment
services to members of a group of workers under the NAFTA Worker
Security Act for which the Governor has made a finding under
Sec. 631.3(j); and
(ii) The Governor may, under exceptional circumstances, authorize
rapid response assistance provided by a State dislocated worker unit
when the layoff is less than 50 or more individuals, is not at a single
site of employment, or does not take place during a single 30 day
period. For purposes of this provision, exceptional circumstances
include those situations which would have a major impact upon the
community(ies) in which they occur (section 314(b)).
(c) Labor-management committees. As provided in sections 301(b)(1)
and 314(b)(1)(B) of the Act, labor-management committees are a form of
rapid response assistance which may be voluntarily established to
respond to actual or prospective worker dislocation.
(1) Labor management committees ordinarily include (but are not
limited to) the following:
(i) Shared and equal participation by workers and management, with
members often selected in an informal fashion;
(ii) Shared financial participation between the company and the
State, using funds provided under Title III of the Act, in paying for
the operating expenses of the committee; in some instances, labor union
funds may help to pay committee expenses;
(iii) A chairperson, to oversee and guide the activities of the
committee who--
(A) Shall be jointly selected by the labor and management members of
the committee;
(B) Is not employed by or under contract with labor or management at
the site; and
(C) Shall provide advice and leadership to the committee and prepare
a report on its activities;
(iv) 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;
(v) A formal agreement, terminable at will by the workers or the
company management, and terminable for cause by the Governor; and
(vi) Local job identification activities by the chairperson and
members of the committee on behalf of the affected workers.
(2) Because they include employee representatives, labor-management
committees typically provide a channel whereby the needs of eligible
dislocated workers can be assessed, and programs of assistance developed
and implemented, in an atmosphere supportive to each affected worker. As
such, committees must be perceived to be representative and fair in
order to be most effective.
