§2801. Definitions

In this chapter:

(1) Adult

Except in sections 2852 and 2862 of this title, the term "adult" means an individual who is age 18 or older.

(2) Adult education; adult education and literacy activities

The terms "adult education" and "adult education and literacy activities" have the meanings given the terms in section 9202 of title 20.

(3) Area vocational education school

The term "area vocational education school" has the meaning given the term in section 2302 ¹ of title 20.

(4) Basic skills deficient

The term "basic skills deficient" means, with respect to an individual, that the individual has English reading, writing, or computing skills at or below the 8th grade level on a generally accepted standardized test or a comparable score on a criterion-referenced test.

(5) Case management

The term "case management" means the provision of a client-centered approach in the delivery of services, designed-

(A) to prepare and coordinate comprehensive employment plans, such as service strategies, for participants to ensure access to necessary workforce investment activities and supportive services, using, where feasible, computer-based technologies; and

(B) to provide job and career counseling during program participation and after job placement.

(6) Chief elected official

The term "chief elected official" means-

(A) the chief elected executive officer of a unit of general local government in a local area; and

(B) in a case in which a local area includes more than one unit of general local government, the individuals designated under the agreement described in section 2832(c)(1)(B) of this title.

(7) Community-based organization

The term "community-based organization" means a private nonprofit organization that is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community and that has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in the field of workforce investment.

(8) Customized training

The term "customized training" means training-

(A) that is designed to meet the special requirements of an employer (including a group of employers);

(B) that is conducted with a commitment by the employer to employ an individual on successful completion of the training; and

(C) for which the employer pays for not less than 50 percent of the cost of the training.

(9) Dislocated worker

The term "dislocated worker" means an individual who-

(A)(i) has been terminated or laid off, or who has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment;

(ii)(I) is eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to unemployment compensation; or

(II) has been employed for a duration sufficient to demonstrate, to the appropriate entity at a one-stop center referred to in section 2864(c) of this title, attachment to the workforce, but is not eligible for unemployment compensation due to insufficient earnings or having performed services for an employer that were not covered under a State unemployment compensation law; and

(iii) is unlikely to return to a previous industry or occupation;

(B)(i) has been terminated or laid off, or has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment as a result of any permanent closure of, or any substantial layoff at, a plant, facility, or enterprise;

(ii) is employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close within 180 days; or

(iii) for purposes of eligibility to receive services other than training services described in section 2864(d)(4) of this title, intensive services described in section 2864(d)(3) of this title, or supportive services, is employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close;

(C) was self-employed (including employment as a farmer, a rancher, or a fisherman) but is unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in the community in which the individual resides or because of natural disasters; or

(D) is a displaced homemaker.

(10) Displaced homemaker

The term "displaced homemaker" means an individual who has been providing unpaid services to family members in the home and who-

(A) has been dependent on the income of another family member but is no longer supported by that income; and

(B) is unemployed or underemployed and is experiencing difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment.

(11) Economic development agencies

The term "economic development agencies" includes local planning and zoning commissions or boards, community development agencies, and other local agencies and institutions responsible for regulating, promoting, or assisting in local economic development.

(12) Eligible provider

The term "eligible provider", used with respect to-

(A) training services, means a provider who is identified in accordance with section 2842(e)(3) of this title;

(B) intensive services, means a provider who is identified or awarded a contract as described in section 2864(d)(3)(B) of this title;

(C) youth activities, means a provider who is awarded a grant or contract in accordance with section 2843 of this title; or

(D) other workforce investment activities, means a public or private entity selected to be responsible for such activities, such as a one-stop operator designated or certified under section 2841(d) of this title.

(13) Eligible youth

Except as provided in subchapters III and IV of this chapter, the term "eligible youth" means an individual who-

(A) is not less than age 14 and not more than age 21;

(B) is a low-income individual; and

(C) is an individual who is one or more of the following:

(i) Deficient in basic literacy skills.

(ii) A school dropout.

(iii) Homeless, a runaway, or a foster child.

(iv) Pregnant or a parent.

(v) An offender.

(vi) An individual who requires additional assistance to complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment.

(14) Employment and training activity

The term "employment and training activity" means an activity described in section 2864 of this title that is carried out for an adult or dislocated worker.

(15) Family

The term "family" means two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or decree of court, who are living in a single residence, and are included in one or more of the following categories:

(A) A husband, wife, and dependent children.

(B) A parent or guardian and dependent children.

(C) A husband and wife.

(16) Governor

The term "Governor" means the chief executive of a State.

(17) Individual with a disability

(A) In general

The term "individual with a disability" means an individual with any disability (as defined in section 12102 of title 42).

(B) Individuals with disabilities

The term "individuals with disabilities" means more than one individual with a disability.

(18) Labor market area

The term "labor market area" means an economically integrated geographic area within which individuals can reside and find employment within a reasonable distance or can readily change employment without changing their place of residence. Such an area shall be identified in accordance with criteria used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor in defining such areas or similar criteria established by a Governor.

(19) Literacy

The term "literacy" has the meaning given the term in section 9202 of title 20.

(20) Local area

The term "local area" means a local workforce investment area designated under section 2831 of this title.

(21) Local board

The term "local board" means a local workforce investment board established under section 2832 of this title.

(22) Local performance measure

The term "local performance measure" means a performance measure established under section 2871(c) of this title.

(23) Local educational agency

The term "local educational agency" has the meaning given the term in section 8801 of title 20.

(24) Lower living standard income level

The term "lower living standard income level" means that income level (adjusted for regional, metropolitan, urban, and rural differences and family size) determined annually by the Secretary based on the most recent lower living family budget issued by the Secretary.

(25) Low-income individual

The term "low-income individual" means an individual who-

(A) receives, or is a member of a family that receives, cash payments under a Federal, State, or local income-based public assistance program;

(B) received an income, or is a member of a family that received a total family income, for the 6-month period prior to application for the program involved (exclusive of unemployment compensation, child support payments, payments described in subparagraph (A), and old-age and survivors insurance benefits received under section 402 of title 42) that, in relation to family size, does not exceed the higher of-

(i) the poverty line, for an equivalent period; or

(ii) 70 percent of the lower living standard income level, for an equivalent period;

(C) is a member of a household that receives (or has been determined within the 6-month period prior to application for the program involved to be eligible to receive) food stamps pursuant to the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);

(D) qualifies as a homeless individual, as defined in subsections (a) and (c) of section 11302 of title 42;

(E) is a foster child on behalf of whom State or local government payments are made; or

(F) in cases permitted by regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, is an individual with a disability whose own income meets the requirements of a program described in subparagraph (A) or of subparagraph (B), but who is a member of a family whose income does not meet such requirements.

(26) Nontraditional employment

The term "nontraditional employment" refers to occupations or fields of work for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed in each such occupation or field of work.

(27) Offender

The term "offender" means any adult or juvenile-

(A) who is or has been subject to any stage of the criminal justice process, for whom services under this Act may be beneficial; or

(B) who requires assistance in overcoming artificial barriers to employment resulting from a record of arrest or conviction.

(28) Older individual

The term "older individual" means an individual age 55 or older.

(29) One-stop operator

The term "one-stop operator" means 1 or more entities designated or certified under section 2841(d) of this title.

(30) One-stop partner

The term "one-stop partner" means-

(A) an entity described in section 2841(b)(1) of this title; and

(B) an entity described in section 2841(b)(2) of this title that is participating, with the approval of the local board and chief elected official, in the operation of a one-stop delivery system.

(31) On-the-job training

The term "on-the-job training " means training by an employer that is provided to a paid participant while engaged in productive work in a job that-

(A) provides knowledge or skills essential to the full and adequate performance of the job;

(B) provides reimbursement to the employer of up to 50 percent of the wage rate of the participant, for the extraordinary costs of providing the training and additional supervision related to the training; and

(C) is limited in duration as appropriate to the occupation for which the participant is being trained, taking into account the content of the training, the prior work experience of the participant, and the service strategy of the participant, as appropriate.

(32) Outlying area

The term "outlying area" means the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

(33) Out-of-school youth

The term "out-of-school youth" means-

(A) an eligible youth who is a school dropout; or

(B) an eligible youth who has received a secondary school diploma or its equivalent but is basic skills deficient, unemployed, or underemployed.

(34) Participant

The term "participant" means an individual who has been determined to be eligible to participate in and who is receiving services (except followup services authorized under this chapter) under a program authorized by this chapter. Participation shall be deemed to commence on the first day, following determination of eligibility, on which the individual began receiving subsidized employment, training, or other services provided under this chapter.

(35) Postsecondary educational institution

The term "postsecondary educational institution" means an institution of higher education, as defined in section 1002 of title 20.

(36) Poverty line

The term "poverty line" means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with section 9902(2) of title 42) applicable to a family of the size involved.

(37) Public assistance

The term "public assistance" means Federal, State, or local government cash payments for which eligibility is determined by a needs or income test.

(38) Rapid response activity

The term "rapid response activity" means an activity provided by a State, or by an entity designated by a State, with funds provided by the State under section 2864(a)(1)(A) of this title, in the case of a permanent closure or mass layoff at a plant, facility, or enterprise, or a natural or other disaster, that results in mass job dislocation, in order to assist dislocated workers in obtaining reemployment as soon as possible, with services including-

(A) the establishment of onsite contact with employers and employee representatives-

(i) immediately after the State is notified of a current or projected permanent closure or mass layoff; or

(ii) in the case of a disaster, immediately after the State is made aware of mass job dislocation as a result of such disaster;

(B) the provision of information and access to available employment and training activities;

(C) assistance in establishing a labor-management committee, voluntarily agreed to by labor and management, with the ability to devise and implement a strategy for assessing the employment and training needs of dislocated workers and obtaining services to meet such needs;

(D) the provision of emergency assistance adapted to the particular closure, layoff, or disaster; and

(E) the provision of assistance to the local community in developing a coordinated response and in obtaining access to State economic development assistance.

(39) School dropout

The term "school dropout" means an individual who is no longer attending any school and who has not received a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent.

(40) Secondary school

The term "secondary school" has the meaning given the term in section 8801 of title 20.

(41) Secretary

The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor, and the term means such Secretary for purposes of section 9273 of title 20.

(42) State

The term "State" means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(43) State adjusted level of performance

The term "State adjusted level of performance" means a level described in clause (iii) or (v) of section 2871(b)(3)(A) of this title.

(44) State board

The term "State board" means a State workforce investment board established under section 2821 of this title.

(45) State performance measure

The term "State performance measure" means a performance measure established under section 2871(b) of this title.

(46) Supportive services

The term "supportive services" means services such as transportation, child care, dependent care, housing, and needs-related payments, that are necessary to enable an individual to participate in activities authorized under this chapter, consistent with the provisions of this chapter.

(47) Unemployed individual

The term "unemployed individual" means an individual who is without a job and who wants and is available for work. The determination of whether an individual is without a job shall be made in accordance with the criteria used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor in defining individuals as unemployed.

(48) Unit of general local government

The term "unit of general local government" means any general purpose political subdivision of a State that has the power to levy taxes and spend funds, as well as general corporate and police powers.

(49) Veteran; related definition

(A) Veteran

The term "veteran" means an individual who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released from such service under conditions other than dishonorable.

(B) Recently separated veteran

The term "recently separated veteran" means any veteran who applies for participation under this chapter within 48 months after the discharge or release from active military, naval, or air service.

(50) Vocational education

The term "vocational education" has the meaning given the term in section 2471 ² of title 20.

(51) Workforce investment activity

The term "workforce investment activity" means an employment and training activity, and a youth activity.

(52) Youth activity

The term "youth activity" means an activity described in section 2854 of this title that is carried out for eligible youth (or as described in section 2854(c)(5) of this title).

(53) Youth council

The term "youth council" means a council established under section 2832(h) of this title.

( Pub. L. 105–220, title I, §101, Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 939 ; Pub. L. 105–244, title I, §102(d)(1), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1622 ; Pub. L. 105–332, §3(f), Oct. 31, 1998, 112 Stat. 3126 ; Pub. L. 106–400, §2, Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1675 .)

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original "this title" meaning title I of Pub. L. 105–220, Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 939 , as amended, which enacted this chapter, repealed sections 1501 to 1505, 1511 to 1583, 1592 to 1735, 1737 to 1791h, 1792 to 1792b, 2301 to 2314 of this title, section 211 of Title 40, Appendix, Public Buildings, Property, and Works, sections 11421, 11441 to 11447, 11449, 11450, 11461 to 11466, 11471, and 11472 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and sections 42101 to 42106 of Title 49, Transportation, enacted provisions set out as notes under sections 1501, 2301, and 2940 of this title and section 11421 of Title 42, and repealed provisions set out as notes under sections 801 and 2301 of this title and section 1255a of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. For complete classification of title I to the Code, see Tables.

Section 2302 of title 20, referred to in par. (3), defines the term "area vocational and technical education school" but not the term "area vocational education school".

The Food Stamp Act of 1977, referred to in par. (25)(C), is Pub. L. 88–525, Aug. 31, 1964, 78 Stat. 703 , as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 51 (§2011 et seq.) of Title 7, Agriculture. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2011 of Title 7 and Tables.

This Act, referred to in par. (27)(A), is Pub. L. 105–220, Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 936 , as amended, known as the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 9201 of Title 20, Education, and Tables.

Section 2471 of title 20, referred to in par. (50), was omitted in the general amendment of chapter 44 (§2301 et seq.) of Title 20, Education, by Pub. L. 105–332, §1(b), Oct. 31, 1998, 112 Stat. 3076 .

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to this section were contained in section 1503 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 105–220.

Amendments

2000-Par. (25)(D). Pub. L. 106–400 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 11302 of title 42.

1998-Par. (3). Pub. L. 105–332 substituted "section 2302 of title 20" for "section 2471 of title 20".

Par. (35). Pub. L. 105–244 substituted "section 1002 of title 20" for "section 1088 of title 20".

Effective Date of 1998 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 105–244 effective Oct. 1, 1998, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 105–244, see section 3 of Pub. L. 105–244, set out as a note under section 1001 of Title 20, Education.

Declaration of Policy

Pub. L. 102–367, title I, §101(a), Sept. 7, 1992, 106 Stat. 1022 , provided that: "In recognition of the training needs of low-income adults and youth, the Congress declares it to be the policy of the United States to-

"(1) provide financial assistance to States and local service delivery areas to meet the training needs of such low-income adults and youth, and to assist such individuals in obtaining unsubsidized employment;

"(2) increase the funds available for programs under title II of the Job Training Partnership Act ([former] 29 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) by not less than 10 percent of the baseline each fiscal year to provide for growth in the percentage of eligible adults and youth served above the 5 percent of the eligible population that is currently served; and

"(3) encourage the provision of longer, more comprehensive, education, training, and employment services to the eligible population, which also requires increased funding in order to maintain current service levels."

Transitional Provisions

For provisions relating to transition from authority under the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) to the workforce investment systems established under this chapter, including provisions relating to regulations, expenditures, and reorganization of functions in the Department of Labor, see section 9276 of Title 20, Education.

Ex. Ord. No. 13174. Commission on Workers, Communities, and Economic Change in the New Economy

Ex. Ord. No. 13174, Oct. 27, 2000, 65 F.R. 65705, provided:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment. There is established the "Commission on Workers, Communities, and Economic Change in the New Economy" (Commission). The Commission shall be composed of up to 14 persons to be appointed by the President from individuals who represent State or local agencies relating to workforce or community development, economists or other workforce development experts, labor organizations, business leaders, and Members of Congress. The President shall designate a Chairperson from among the members of the Commission.

Sec. 2. Functions. The Commission shall conduct a study of matters relating to economic dislocation, and worker and community adjustment to such dislocations. In carrying out this study, the Commission shall examine:

(a) the impact of international trade, technology, globalization, and the changing nature of work on both workers and their communities;

(b) the effectiveness of existing Federal programs in assisting workers and communities in adjusting to economic change, including the adequacy of the design of such programs;

(c) the strategies for providing workplace education and training to assist workers in acquiring new skills;

(d) the strategies for assisting communities to adjust to changing economic conditions and changes in the mix of employment opportunities in those communities;

(e) the role of public-private partnerships in implementing job training and community assistance; and

(f) the role of income support and economic security programs in facilitating worker adjustment to rapidly changing economic circumstances.

Sec. 3. Report. Not later than 12 months after the first meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall prepare and submit to the President and the Congress a report that contains a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the Commission's study carried out under section 2 of this order, and includes:

(1) a summary of best practices and policies carried out by employers and public-private partnerships in providing workers with the education and training needed to effectively adjust to economic change;

(2) a summary of best practices and policies carried out by or on behalf of communities in responding to large-scale economic changes; and

(3) any recommendations relating to legislative and administrative actions that the Commission determines to be appropriate.

Sec. 4. Administration. (a) Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation for their work on the Commission. While engaged in the work of the Commission, members appointed from among private citizens of the United States may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701–5707).

(b) The Department of Labor shall provide the Commission with funding and administrative support. The Commission may have paid staff. In addition, appropriate Federal agencies may be requested to designate staff to assist with the work of the Commission. The Secretary of Labor shall perform the functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), except that of reporting to the Congress, in accordance with the guidelines and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services.

Sec. 5. General Provisions. The Commission shall terminate 30 days after submitting its report.

William J. Clinton.      

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 705 of this title; title 20 sections 9202, 9272; title 42 sections 603, 9908.

¹ See References in Text note below.

² See References in Text note below.