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AB-1433 Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers Grant Program.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 03/22/2021 02:00 PM
AB1433:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 22, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1433

Introduced by Assembly Member Irwin

February 19, 2021

An act to add Section 2784.1 to the Labor Code, Article 7 (commencing with Section 14115) to Chapter 3 of Division 7 of, and to repeal Section 14118 of, the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to employment. unemployment.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1433, as amended, Irwin. Worker classification: employees and independent contractors: trainees in a technology educational program. Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers Grant Program.
Existing law, the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. Under the act, the board administers a number of programs and initiatives relating to education, training, and the workforce.
This bill would establish the Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers Grant Program, to be administered by the board. The bill would require the board to award grants to 5 counties for Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers training programs to provide specified skills to individuals to empower them for careers in growth industries, as prescribed. The bill would establish eligible uses of training program funds and requirements for grant applications and grant awards. The bill would require the board to prepare and submit to the Legislature, by March 1, 2023, a report regarding the uses and outcomes of funds appropriated for purposes of the bill, to include, at a minimum, prescribed information relating to program participation and effectiveness. The bill would define terms for its purposes. The bill would make implementation of the grant program contingent on appropriation by the Legislature of funds for the purposes of the bill.

Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the “ABC” test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Under the ABC test, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of these provisions. Existing law instead provides that these occupations and business relationships are governed by the test adopted in S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341 (Borello).

This bill would exempt from existing law the relationship between a trainee in a technology educational program receiving a scholarship or stipend and the provider of the technology educational program, as defined, under specified conditions. Under the bill, if the conditions are met, the determination of whether a trainee is an employee or independent contractor of the provider would be governed by Borello.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Article 7 (commencing with Section 14115) is added to Chapter 3 of Division 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, to read:
Article  7. Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers Grant Program

14115.
 As used in this article:
(a) “California Workforce Development Board” or “board” means the California Workforce Development Board established pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 14010).
(b) “Growth industry” means any of the following industries:
(1) Information and communications technologies.
(2) Life and health science.
(3) Clean technology.
(4) Education and knowledge creation.
(5) Public administration and critical infrastructure.
(c) “Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers Grant Program” or “grant program” means the Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers Grant Program established by this article.
(d) “Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers training program” or “training program” means a Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers training program in accordance with Section 14117.
(e) “Target populations” means populations of individuals who have recently become unemployed or experienced a reduction in hours and who do not possess skills to gain employment in a growth industry.

14116.
 (a) This article establishes the Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers Grant Program to be administered by the California Workforce Development Board.
(b) The grant program is aimed at economically disadvantaged groups who face significant barriers to employment, specifically individuals without college degrees or other industry recognized credentials.
(c) The purpose of the grant program is to support workers whose industries have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the service, hospitality, and entertainment sectors.

14117.
 (a) The board shall award grants to five counties for Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers training programs that, in partnership with community-based organizations, provide highly transferable digital literacy and technical skills via short-term certificate programs that will empower individuals for careers in growth industries. The board shall prioritize awards to jurisdictions with high rates of displaced workers that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health orders. The board shall require a county awarded a grant to prioritize the use of training programs already approved by the Employment Training Panel. The board shall not award a grant under this article if it determines that an existing Employment Training Panel program meets the needs of target populations to gain employment in a growth industry in the applicant jurisdiction.
(b) Eligible uses of training program funds include, but are not limited to, the development and implementation of the following Rapid Digital Upskilling for Displaced Workers components for a target population:
(1) Industry-recognized credential training curriculum.
(2) Wage replacement and essential technology stipends.
(3) Career counseling and job placement assistance.
(4) Community education and outreach about grant programs.
(5) Training program administration. Use of grant funds for administration shall not exceed 10 percent of the amount of the grant award.
(c) A county may apply to the board for a grant in accordance with this article. The application shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) A needs assessment based on consultation with the local business community about which skills are needed.
(2) A plan for how the county will work with community-based organizations to determine which underserved populations would benefit and how to conduct outreach.
(d) A county awarded a grant shall provide as part of the county’s training program a stipend that acts as wage replacement for an individual participating in the program. The amount of the stipend may take into account both the time necessary to complete the training program and the ability to provide for a participant’s personal and family needs.

14118.
 (a) The board shall prepare and submit to the Legislature, by March 1, 2023, a report regarding the uses and outcomes of funds appropriated for purposes of this article. The report shall include, at a minimum, the following information:
(1) The amount of funding provided for each of the training programs in the five counties.
(2) The number of county applications and the justification for awarded grants to counties.
(3) The number of individuals enrolled in the training programs.
(4) The number of individuals who completed the training programs.
(5) The number of individuals who gained new employment in a growth industry after completing a training program in accordance with this article.
(6) A breakdown by types of industries and business sectors in which individuals trained pursuant to the grant program gained employment.
(7) Evaluation of the effectiveness of the training programs, outreach, and materials developed.
(b) (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2026.

14119.
 Implementation of the grant program is contingent upon appropriation by the Legislature of funds for the purposes expressed in this article.

SECTION 1.Section 2784.1 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
2784.1.

(a)Section 2775 and the holding in Dynamex do not apply to the relationship between a trainee in a technology educational program receiving a scholarship or stipend and the provider of the technology educational program, as defined below, and the determination of whether the trainee is an employee or independent contractor of the provider of the technology educational program shall be governed by Borello, under the following conditions:

(1)The training received by the trainee is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school or educational program;

(2)The training is specifically designed for a career in the technology industry, including web and application development, design, online marketing, customer relationship management software administration, application programming interface, and entrepreneurship;

(3)The provider of the technology educational program derives no direct advantage from the activities of the trainee and does not restrict the trainee from additional work or employment outside of the educational program, including the portfolio of work created during the program;

(4)The trainee does not displace regular employees in the course of receiving the training;

(5)The trainee is not entitled to employment or contract work doing the same responsibilities at the conclusion of the training period from the technology educational program provider;

(6)The technology educational program and the trainee’s participation in the technology educational program occur over a defined period of time; and

(7)The trainee has the ability to exit the program without restriction from the technology educational program provider.

(b)For the purposes of this section, a “technology educational program” is an education and learning experience designed to benefit individual trainees, who otherwise could not attend without a scholarship paid by weekly stipend, to develop technical and soft skills that will help the trainee bridge the gap between learning and working in the technology industry.