Telephone: (608) 266-3133
Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission
Karen Morgan, Apprenticeship Bureau Director
Department of Workforce Development
Division of Employment Training
P.O. Box 7972
Madison, WI 53707
Telephone: (608) 266-3133
Hearing comments will be accepted until the last scheduled hearing is conducted. DWD will hold a hearing in conjunction with the permanent rule hearing.
Finding of emergency
The department of workforce development is recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship, as a state apprenticeship agency. Due to the changes under 29 CFR Part 29 and 29 CFR Part 30, the department is required to implement federal changes by January 18, 2019. If these changes are not implemented on the state level, the department risks losing this recognition and will no longer be permitted to register apprentices. The department is currently in the process of promulgating a permanent rule relating to this matter. Section 1. DWD 295.02 (2) (b) 23. is amended to read:
DWD 295.02 (2) (b) 23. Compliance with 29 CFR 30, including the equal opportunity pledge prescribed in 29 CFR 30.3 (b); an affirmative action plan complying with s. DWD 296.04 296.05; and a method for the selection of apprentices authorized by s. DWD 296.05 296.20, or compliance with parallel requirement contained in a state plan for equal opportunity in apprenticeship adopted under ch. DWD 296 and approved by the department. The apprenticeship standards shall also include a statement that the program shall be conducted, operated and administered in conformity with applicable provisions of ch. DWD 296, as amended, or, if applicable, an approved state plan for equal opportunity in apprenticeship. Section 2. DWD 296 is repealed and recreated to read:
Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Standards for Apprenticeship Programs
DWD 296.01 Applicability. This chapter applies to all sponsors of registered apprenticeship programs under ch. 106, Stats. DWD 296.02 Definitions. In this chapter:
(1) “ADAˮ means the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended.
(2) “Affirmative action planˮ means a written tool designed to assist a sponsor in detecting, diagnosing, and correcting any barriers to equal opportunity that may exist in the sponsor's registered apprenticeship program.
(3) “Affirmative action programˮ has the meaning given in 29 CFR 30.4 (a).
Note: 29 CFR 30.4 (a) reads: (a) (1) An affirmative action program is designed to ensure equal opportunity and prevent discrimination in apprenticeship programs. An affirmative action program is more than mere passive nondiscrimination. Such a program requires the sponsor to take affirmative steps to encourage and promote equal opportunity, to create an environment free from discrimination, and to address any barriers to equal opportunity in apprenticeship. An affirmative action program is more than a paperwork exercise. It includes those policies, practices, and procedures, including self-analyses, that the sponsor implements to ensure that all qualified applicants and apprentices are receiving an equal opportunity for recruitment, selection, advancement, retention and every other term and privilege associated with apprenticeship. An affirmative action program should be a part of the way the sponsor regularly conducts its apprenticeship program. (2) A central premise underlying affirmative action is that, absent discrimination, over time a sponsor's apprenticeship program, generally, will reflect the sex, race, ethnicity, and disability profile of the labor pools from which the sponsor recruits and selects. Consistent with this premise, affirmative action programs contain a diagnostic component which includes quantitative analyses designed to evaluate the composition of the sponsor's apprenticeship program and compare it to the composition of the relevant labor pools. If women, individuals with disabilities, or individuals from a particular minority groups, for example, are not being admitted into apprenticeship at a rate to be expected given their availability in the relevant labor pool, the sponsor's affirmative action program must include specific, practical steps designed to address any barriers to equal opportunity that may be contributing to this underutilization.
(3) Effective affirmative action programs include auditing and reporting systems as a means of measuring the sponsor's progress toward achieving an apprenticeship program that would be expected absent discrimination.
(4) An affirmative action program also ensures equal opportunity in apprenticeship by incorporating the sponsor's commitment to equality in every aspect of the apprenticeship program. Therefore, as part of its affirmative action program, a sponsor must monitor and examine its employment practices, policies and decisions and evaluate the impact such practices, policies and decisions have on the recruitment, selection and advancement of apprentices. It must evaluate the impact of its employment and personnel policies on minorities, women, and persons with disabilities, and revise such policies accordingly where such policies or practices are found to create a barrier to equal opportunity.
(5) The commitments contained in an affirmative action program are not intended and must not be used to discriminate against any qualified applicant or apprentice on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age (40 or older), genetic information, or disability.
(4) “Apprenticeˮ has the meaning prescribed under s. 106.001(1), Stats (5) “Departmentˮ means the department of workforce development.
(6) “EEOˮ means equal employment opportunity.
(7) “Employerˮ has the meaning prescribed under s. 106.001 (5), Stats. (8) “Apprenticeship programˮ has the meaning prescribed under s. 106.001 (4), Stats. (9) “Deregistrationˮ means the voluntary or involuntary cancellation of an apprenticeship program by the department.
(10) “Ethnic groupˮ or “Ethnicityˮ means any of the following:
(a) Hispanic or Latino-An individual of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
(b) Not Hispanic or Latino.
(11) “Genetic informationˮ means any of the following:
(a) An individual's genetic tests.
(b) The genetic tests of an individual's family members.
(c) The manifestation of disease or disorder in family members of an individual.
(d) An individual's request for, or receipt of, genetic services, or the participation in clinical research that includes genetic services, or the participation in clinical research that includes genetic services by an individual or a family member of an individual.
(e) The genetic information of a fetus carried by an individual or by a pregnant woman who is a family member of the individual or family member using an assisted reproductive technology.
(f) Genetic information does not include information about the sex or age of an individual, the sex or age of family members or information about the race or ethnicity of an individual or family members, or information about the race or ethnicity of an individual or family members that is not derived from a genetic test.
(12) “Individual with a disabilityˮ means any of the following:
(a)
An individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities or limits the capacity to work. (b)
An individual who has a record of such impairment. (c)
An individual who is perceived as having such an impairment. (13) “Journeyworkerˮ means an individual who has attained a level of skill, abilities and competencies recognized within an industry as having mastered the skills and competencies required for the occupation.
(14) “Major life activitiesˮ includes caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, reading, concentrating, thinking, communication, interacting with others, and working. A major life activity also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including functions of the immune system, special sense organs and skin; normal cell growth, and digestive, genitourinary, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, endocrine, hemic, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and reproductive functions. The operation of a major bodily function, includes the operation of an individual organ within a body system.
(15) “Physical or mental impairmentˮ means any of the following:
(a) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems, such as neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin, and endocrine.
(b) Any mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.
(16) “Pre-apprenticeship programˮ means a training model designed to assist individuals who do not possess the minimum selection criteria established in a program sponsor's apprenticeship standards required under this chapter and maintains at least one documented partnership with an apprenticeship program. It involves a form of structured workplace education and training in which an employer, employer group, industry association, labor union, community-based organization, or educational institution collaborates to provide formal instruction that will introduce participants to the competencies, skills, and materials used in one or more apprenticeable occupations.
(17) “Qualified applicant or apprenticeˮ means an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the duties of the apprenticeship program for which the individual applied or is enrolled.
(18) “Reasonable accommodationˮ means any of the following:
(a) Modifications or adjustments to a job application process that enable a qualified applicant or apprentice with a disability to be considered for the position a qualified applicant or apprentice desires.
(b) Modifications or adjustments to the work environment, or to the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, that enable a qualified applicant or apprentice with a disability to perform the duties of that position.
(c) Modifications or adjustments that enable a sponsor's apprentice with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of apprenticeship as are enjoyed by its other similarly situated apprentices without disabilities.
Note: Examples of reasonable accommodations include:
1. Making existing facilities used by apprentices readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
2. Job restructuring; part-time or modified work schedule; reassignment to a vacant position; acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials, or policies; the provision of qualified readers or interpreters; and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
3. To determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation, it may be necessary for the sponsor to initiate an informal, interactive process with the qualified individual in need of the accommodation. This process should identify the precise limitations resulting from the disability and potential reasonable accommodations that could overcome those limitations.
(19) “Registeredˮ or "Registrationˮ means the approval of an apprenticeship program by the department.
(20) “Respondentˮ means the individual or entity identified in a complaint in which discrimination is alleged.
(21) “Sponsorˮ has the meaning prescribed under s. 106.01 (8) Stats. (22) “UGESPˮ means the Uniform Guidelines Employee Selection Procedures under 41 CFR 60.3. (23) “Wisconsin equal rights divisionˮ means the division of equal rights within the department.
DWD 296.04 Equal opportunity standards applicable to all sponsors. (1) Discrimination prohibited. A sponsor of a registered apprenticeship program shall not discriminate against an apprentice or applicant for apprenticeship because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age (40 or older), genetic information, or disability as it relates to any of the following:
(a) Recruitment, outreach, and selection process.
(b) Hiring, placement, upgrading, periodic advancement, promotion, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right or return from layoff, and rehiring.
(c) Rotation among work processes.
(d) Imposition of penalties or other disciplinary action.
(e) Rates of pay or any other form of compensation or changes in compensation.
(f) Conditions of work.
(g) Hours or work and hours of training provided.
(h) Job assignments.
(i) Leaves of absence, sick leave, or any other leave.
(j) Any other benefit, term, condition, or privilege associated with apprenticeship.
