75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
SA to RC to A-Eng. HB 2124
LC 992/HB 2124-A2
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS TO
A-ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2124
By COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES AND RURAL HEALTH POLICY
June 2
On page 1 of the printed A-engrossed bill, line 3, after '
411.845,' insert '411.877,'.
On page 3, delete lines 40 through 45.
On page 4, delete lines 1 through 24 and insert:
' { + SECTION 9. + } ORS 411.878, as amended by section 48,
chapter 21, Oregon Laws 2009 (Enrolled Senate Bill 581), is
amended to read:
' 411.878. (1) In establishing and implementing a program to be
known as the JOBS Plus Program, the Legislative Assembly
recognizes that early attachment to work and development of
knowledge and skills are the most effective means of helping
people make the transition from dependence on public assistance
and subsiding in poverty to regular employment and self-reliance.
It is the intent of the Legislative Assembly to promote greater
economic self-sufficiency among Oregon families by:
' (a) Increasing the employability of unemployed and
underemployed Oregonians through on-the-job training;
' (b) Invigorating the public-private workforce partnership
through development of jobs with both private for-profit and
public employers;
' (c) Ensuring that program participants through their
employment development plans have opportunities to improve work
skills, education and employability and to establish recent work
histories with work site training, mentoring, individual
education accounts and provision of necessary support service
benefits that include child care, workers' compensation, job
placement and a guarantee that participation in the JOBS Plus
Program does not result in a reduction in net income to a
participant when compared with the participant's combined income
from the temporary assistance for needy families program and the
{ - food stamp plan - } { + Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program + }; and
' (d) Expeditiously placing program participants in subsidized
and unsubsidized employment.
' (2) The JOBS Plus Program is created as a program in which
residents of the State of Oregon shall, in lieu of receiving
{ - food stamp - } benefits { + in the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program + } and payments from the temporary assistance
for needy families program, be provided jobs and paid in a way
that promotes self-sufficiency and encourages unemployed
Oregonians to improve their positions in the workforce. The JOBS
Plus Program shall be a public assistance to work strategy for
the State of Oregon and operate under the job opportunities and
basic skills program and rules adopted thereunder to the extent
such rules are not inconsistent with ORS 411.877 to 411.896.
These rules include but are not limited to rules regarding
participation requirements and support services.
' { + SECTION 9a. + } ORS 411.877, as amended by section 47,
chapter 21, Oregon Laws 2009 (Enrolled Senate Bill 581), is
amended to read:
' 411.877. As used in ORS 411.877 to 411.896:
' (1) 'Board' means the JOBS Plus Advisory Board established in
ORS 411.886.
' { - (2) 'Food stamp plan' means the plan described in ORS
411.825. - }
' { - (3) - } { + (2) + } 'Job opportunities and basic
skills program ' means the program described in ORS 412.006.
' { - (4) - } { + (3) + } 'JOBS Plus' or 'program' means the
JOBS Plus Program established in ORS 411.878.
' { + (4) 'Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program' has the
meaning given that term in ORS 411.806. + } ' .
Delete lines 31 through 45 and delete pages 5 through 8 and
insert:
' { + SECTION 11. + } ORS 411.882, as amended by section 49,
chapter 21, Oregon Laws 2009 (Enrolled Senate Bill 581), is
amended to read:
' 411.882. In administering the JOBS Plus Program and to the
extent permitted by federal law, the Department of Human Services
shall maximize the use of federal grants and apportionments of
the temporary assistance for needy families program, the
{ - food stamp plan - } { + Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program + } and employment related child care.
' { + SECTION 12. + } ORS 411.886, as amended by section 50,
chapter 21, Oregon Laws 2009 (Enrolled Senate Bill 581), is
amended to read:
' 411.886. (1) The JOBS Plus Advisory Board is established.
The board shall advise the Department of Human Services in the
direction and administration of the JOBS Plus Program established
in ORS 411.878. The board shall have seven members, consisting of
six representatives of the business community and one employed
former recipient of temporary assistance for needy families or
the
{ - food stamp plan - } { + Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program + }.
' (2) The Governor shall appoint new members from nominees
recommended by the board.
' (3) Members appointed to the board shall serve terms of three
years.
' { + SECTION 13. + } ORS 411.890, as amended by section 53,
chapter 21, Oregon Laws 2009 (Enrolled Senate Bill 581), is
amended to read:
' 411.890. A JOBS Plus Implementation Council shall be
established in service areas to be determined by the Director of
Human Services to assist the JOBS Plus Advisory Board and the
Department of Human Services in the administration of the JOBS
Plus Program and to allow local flexibility in dealing with the
particular needs of each county. Each council shall be primarily
responsible for recruiting and encouraging participation of
employment providers in the county. Each council shall be
composed of seven members who shall be appointed by the county
commissioners in each county in the district. Council members
shall be residents of the district in which they are appointed
and shall serve four-year terms. Six members of the council shall
be from the local business community. At least one member shall
be a current or former recipient of the temporary assistance for
needy families program or the { - food stamp plan - } { +
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program + }.
' { + SECTION 14. + } ORS 411.892, as amended by section 54,
chapter 21, Oregon Laws 2009 (Enrolled Senate Bill 581), is
amended to read:
' 411.892. (1)(a) All employers, including public and private
sector employers within the State of Oregon, are eligible to
participate in the JOBS Plus Program. The Department of Human
Services shall adopt by rule a method to disqualify employers
from participating in the program. No employer is required to
participate in the JOBS Plus Program. In the event that there are
unassigned participants whom no employer desires to utilize, the
participants may be assigned to work for a public agency.
' (b) The maximum number of program participants that any
employer is authorized to receive at any one time may not exceed
10 percent of the total number of the employer's employees.
However, each employer may receive one participant. The Director
of Human Services may waive the limit in special circumstances.
' (c) The Department of Human Services by rule shall establish
criteria for excluding employers from participation for failure
to abide by program requirements, showing a pattern of
terminating participants prior to the completion of training or
other demonstrated unwillingness to comply with the stated intent
of the program.
' (2) The Department of Human Services shall ensure that jobs
made available to program participants:
' (a) Do not require work in excess of 40 hours per week;
' (b) Are not used to displace regular employees or to fill
unfilled positions previously established; and
' (c) Do not pay a wage that is substantially less than the
wage paid for similar jobs in the local economy with appropriate
adjustments for experience and training.
' (3)(a) Eligibility for the program shall be limited to
residents who are:
' (A) Adults and caretaker relatives who are receiving
temporary assistance for needy families benefits;
' (B) Adult { - food stamp - } { + Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program + } recipients except as described in
subsection (5)(b) of this section; and
' (C) Unemployed noncaretaker parents of children who are
receiving temporary assistance for needy families benefits.
' (b) In addition to those residents eligible for the program
under paragraph (a) of this subsection, additional residents who
are seeking employment may be eligible for the program if there
are legislatively allocated funds available in the temporary
assistance for needy families budget of the Department of Human
Services.
' (4)(a) Individuals desiring work through the program shall
contact the nearest Department of Human Services office serving
the county in which they reside if they are temporary assistance
for needy families program or { - food stamp plan - } { +
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program + } applicants or
recipients or noncustodial parents of individuals receiving
temporary assistance for needy families.
' (b) With the assistance of the local JOBS Plus Implementation
Councils and the JOBS Plus Advisory Board, the Department of
Human Services shall develop a job inventory of sufficient size
to accommodate all of the participants who desire to work in the
program. In consultation with the participant, the department
shall try to match the profile of each participant with the needs
of an employer when assigning a participant to work with the
employer.
' (c) Either the employer or the participant may terminate the
assignment by contacting the appropriate Department of Human
Services office. In such event, the Department of Human Services
shall reassess the needs of the participant and assign the
participant to another JOBS Plus Program placement or another job
opportunity and basic skills program component and, at the
employer's request, provide the employer with another
participant.
' (d)(A) If after four months in a placement, a participant has
not been hired for an unsubsidized position, the employer shall
allow the worker to undertake eight hours of job search per week.
Participating employers shall consider such time as hours worked
for the purposes of paying wages.
' (B) If after six months in a placement, a participant has not
been hired for an unsubsidized position, the placement shall be
terminated, and the caseworker shall reassess the participant's
employment development plan.
' (e) The Department of Human Services may pay placement and
barrier removal payments to temporary assistance for needy
families program and { - food stamp plan - } { + Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program + } participants as necessary to
enable participation in the JOBS Plus Program.
' (f) The Department of Human Services shall accept eligible
volunteers into the program prior to mandating program
participation by eligible persons.
' (5)(a) Assignment of participants to available jobs shall be
based on a preference schedule developed by the Department of
Human Services. Any temporary assistance for needy families
recipient or { - food stamp - } { + supplemental nutrition
assistance + } recipient may volunteer for the program.
' (b) The following individuals may not be required to
participate in the program:
' (A) Recipients under the temporary assistance for needy
families program and the { - food stamp plan - } { +
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program + } who are eligible
for Supplemental Security Income benefits or other ongoing state
or federal maintenance benefits based on age or disability.
' (B) { - Food stamp - } { + Supplemental nutrition
assistance + } applicants or recipients who are employed
full-time or are college students eligible for { - food
stamps - } { + supplemental nutrition assistance + } and
enrolled full-time in a community college or an institution of
higher education, or enrolled half-time in a community college or
an institution of higher education and working at least 20 hours
per week.
' (C) Teenage parents who remain in high school if progressing
toward a diploma. Teenage parents not in school are eligible for
the JOBS Plus Program.
' (c) The Department of Human Services shall provide life
skills classes and opportunities to achieve General Educational
Development (GED) certificates to appropriate participants in
conjunction with working in the JOBS Plus Program.
' (d) Subject to subsection (7) of this section, temporary
assistance for needy families and { - food stamp benefits - }
{ + supplemental nutrition assistance + } shall be suspended at
the end of the calendar month in which an employer makes the
first wage payment to a participant who is a custodial parent in
a family that receives temporary assistance for needy families or
to any adult member of a household receiving { - food stamp
benefits - } { + supplemental nutrition assistance + }. Failure
of the participant to cooperate with the requirements of the JOBS
Plus Program may result in the participant's removal, in
accordance with rules adopted by the Department of Human
Services, from the JOBS Plus Program and suspension of the
participant's temporary assistance for needy families grant and
{ - food stamp benefits - } { + supplemental nutrition
assistance + }. A temporary assistance for needy families and
{ - food stamp benefits - } { + supplemental nutrition
assistance + } recipient who has been removed from the program
for failing to cooperate shall be eligible to reapply to
participate in the program and shall have eligibility for program
services determined without regard to the length of time the
person was not participating following removal.
' (6)(a) Employers shall pay all participating individuals at
least the hourly rate of the Oregon minimum wage.
' (b) Sick leave, holiday and vacation absences shall conform
to the individual employer's rules for temporary employees.
' (c) Group health insurance benefits shall be provided by the
employer to program participants if, and to the extent that,
state or federal law requires the employer to provide such
benefits.
' (d) All persons participating in the JOBS Plus Program shall
be considered to be temporary employees of the individual
employer providing the work and shall be entitled only to
benefits required by state or federal law.
' (e) Employers shall provide workers' compensation coverage
for each JOBS Plus Program participant.
' (7) In the event that the net monthly full-time wage paid to
a participant would be less than the level of income from the
temporary assistance for needy families program and the
{ - food stamp benefit - } { + supplemental nutrition
assistance + } amount equivalent that the participant would
otherwise receive, the Department of Human Services shall
determine and pay a supplemental payment as necessary to provide
the participant with that level of net income. The department
shall determine and pay in advance supplemental payments to
participants on a monthly basis as necessary to ensure equivalent
net program wages. Participants shall be compensated only for
time worked.
' (8) In addition to and not in lieu of the payments provided
for under subsections (6) and (7) of this section, participants
shall be entitled to retain the full child support payments
collected by the Department of Justice.
' (9) Program participants who are eligible for federally and
state funded medical assistance at the time they enter the
program shall remain eligible as long as they continue to
participate in the program. In conformity with existing state day
care program regulations, child day care shall be provided for
all program participants who require it.
' (10) JOBS Plus Program employers shall:
' (a) Endeavor to make JOBS Plus Program placements positive
learning and training experiences;
' (b) Maintain health, safety and working conditions at or
above levels generally acceptable in the industry and no less
than that of comparable jobs of the employer;
' (c) Provide on-the-job training to the degree necessary for
the participants to perform their duties;
' (d) Recruit volunteer mentors from among their regular
employees to assist the participants in becoming oriented to work
and the workplace; and
' (e) Sign an agreement to abide by all requirements of the
program, including the requirement that the program not supplant
existing jobs. All agreements shall include provisions noting the
employer's responsibility to repay reimbursements in the event
the employer violates program rules. When a professional
placement service, professional employment organization or
temporary employment agency is acting as an employer pursuant to
subsection (13) of this section, agreements under this paragraph
shall require a three-party agreement between the professional
placement service, professional employment organization or
temporary employment agency, the organization where the
participant has been placed to perform services and the State of
Oregon. The three-party agreement shall include provisions
requiring that all JOBS Plus reimbursements received by the
professional placement service, professional employment
organization or temporary employment agency be credited to the
organization where the participant has been placed to perform
services.
' (11) Program participant wages shall be subject to federal
and state income taxes, Social Security taxes and unemployment
insurance tax or reimbursement as applicable under ORS chapter
657, which shall be withheld and paid in accordance with state
and federal law. Supplemental payments made pursuant to
subsection (7) of this section shall not be subject to state
income taxes under ORS chapter 316 and, to the extent allowed by
federal law, shall not be subject to federal income taxes and
Social Security taxes.
' (12)(a) The Department of Human Services shall reimburse
employers for the employers' share of Social Security,
unemployment insurance and workers' compensation premiums paid on
behalf of program participants referred to the employer by the
Department of Human Services, as well as the minimum wage
earnings paid by the employer to program participants referred to
the employer by the Department of Human Services.
' (b) If the Department of Human Services finds that an
employer has violated any of the rules of the JOBS Plus Program,
the department:
' (A) Shall withhold any amounts due to employers under
paragraph (a) of this subsection.
' (B) May seek repayment of any amounts paid to employers under
paragraph (a) of this subsection.
' (13) For purposes of this section, 'employer' shall include
professional placement services, professional employment
organizations and temporary employment agencies.'.
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