73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 1550
 
                         House Bill 2386
 
Sponsored by Representative NELSON
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Permits employers to pay new employees federal minimum wage
during training period not to exceed one year from date of
initial employment.
  Provides that employees may be exempt from state collective
bargaining laws during training period not to exceed one year
from date of initial employment.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to training period for new employees; creating new
  provisions; and amending ORS 243.650, 344.750, 411.892,
  418.131, 653.025, 653.070 and 663.005.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 653.025 is amended to read:
  653.025. (1) Except as provided by ORS 652.020 and the rules of
the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries issued
under ORS 653.030 and 653.261, for each hour of work time that
the employee is gainfully employed, no employer shall employ or
agree to employ any employee at wages computed at a rate lower
than:
  (a) For calendar year 1997, $5.50
  (b) For calendar year 1998, $6.00
  (c) For calendar years after December 31, 1998, and before
January 1, 2003, $6.50.
  (d) For calendar year 2003, $6.90.
  (e) For calendar years after 2003, a rate adjusted for
inflation.
   { +  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section,
during a training period not to exceed one year from the date of
initial employment, for each hour of work time that the employee
is gainfully employed, an employer may employ or agree to employ
an employee at wages computed at a rate not lower than the
federal minimum wage rate as established under the Fair Labor
Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), as amended and in effect
on December 31, 2004. + }
    { - (2)(a) - }   { + (3)(a) + } The Oregon minimum wage shall
be adjusted annually for inflation, as provided in paragraph (b)
of this subsection.
  (b) No later than September 30 of each year, beginning in
calendar year 2003, the commissioner shall calculate an
adjustment of the wage amount specified in subsection (1) of this
section based upon the increase (if any) from August of the
preceding year to August of the year in which the calculation is
made in the U.S. City Average Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers for All Items as prepared by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or its
successor.
  (c) The wage amount established under this subsection shall:
  (A) Be rounded to the nearest five cents; and
  (B) Become effective as the new Oregon minimum wage, replacing
the dollar figure specified in subsection (1) of this section, on
January 1 of the following year.
  SECTION 2. ORS 663.005 is amended to read:
  663.005. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires
otherwise:
  (1) 'Board' means the Employment Relations Board.
  (2) 'Conciliator' means the head of the State Conciliation
Service.
  (3) 'Employee' includes any employee, and is not limited to the
employees of a particular employer unless this chapter explicitly
states otherwise, and includes any individual whose work has
ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, a current
labor dispute and who has not obtained any other regular and
substantially equivalent employment, but does not include an
individual:
  (a) Employed in agricultural labor as defined in ORS 657.045;
  (b) Employed by the parent or spouse of the individual;
  (c) Employed in the domestic service of any family or person at
home;
  (d) Having the status of an independent contractor;
  (e) Employed as a supervisor;
  (f) Employed by an employer subject to the Railway Labor Act,
as amended (45 U.S.C. 151 to 163 and 181 to 188);
  (g) Employed in the building and construction industry;
  (h) Employed by any other person who is not an employer as
defined in subsection (4) of this section;   { - or - }
   { +  (i) Employed during a training period not to exceed one
year from the date of initial employment; or + }
    { - (i) - }   { + (j) + } Employed by an employer subject to
the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board under its
existing jurisdictional standards, pursuant to the Labor
Management Relations Act of 1947, as amended (29 U.S.C. 141 to
187).
  (4) 'Employer' includes any person acting as an agent of an
employer, directly or indirectly, but does not include:
  (a) The United States or any wholly owned government
corporation, or any Federal Reserve Bank.
  (b) This state, or any county, city or political subdivision or
agency thereof.
  (c) Any person subject to the Railway Labor Act, as amended (45
U.S.C. 151 to 163 and 181 to 188).
  (d) Any labor organization (other than when acting as an
employer), or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent
of a labor organization.
  (e) Any person involved in the building and construction
industry.
  (f) Any person subject to the jurisdiction of the National
Labor Relations Board under its existing jurisdictional
standards, pursuant to the Labor Management Relations Act of
1947, as amended (29 U.S.C. 141 to 187).
  (5) 'Labor dispute' includes any controversy concerning terms,
tenure or conditions of employment or concerning the association
or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining,
changing or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of employment,
regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate
relation of employer and employee.
  (6) 'Labor organization' means an organization of any kind, or
an agency or an employee representation committee or plan, in
which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in
whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning
grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of
employment or conditions of work.
  (7) 'Professional employee' means:
  (a) An employee engaged in work:
  (A) Predominantly intellectual and varied in character as
opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work;
  (B) Involving the consistent exercise of discretion and
judgment in its performance;
  (C) Of such a character that the output produced or the result
accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period
of time;
  (D) Requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of
science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of
specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution
of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general
academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in
the performance of routine mental, manual or physical processes;
or
  (b) An employee who:
  (A) Has completed the courses of specialized intellectual
instruction and study described in paragraph (a)(D) of this
subsection; and
  (B) Is performing related work under the supervision of a
professional person to qualify the employee to become a
professional employee as defined in paragraph (a) of this
subsection.
  (8) 'Representative' includes an individual or labor
organization.
  (9) 'Supervisor' means any individual, other than a licensed
professional or practical nurse, having authority, in the
interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off,
recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other
employees, or responsibly to direct them, or to adjust their
grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in
connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is
not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use
of independent judgment.
  (10) 'Unfair labor practice' means any unfair labor practice
listed in ORS 663.120 to 663.165.
  SECTION 3. ORS 243.650 is amended to read:
  243.650. As used in ORS 243.650 to 243.782, unless the context
requires otherwise:
  (1) 'Appropriate bargaining unit' means the unit designated by
the Employment Relations Board or voluntarily recognized by the
public employer to be appropriate for collective bargaining.
However, an appropriate bargaining unit cannot include both
academically licensed and unlicensed or nonacademically licensed
school employees. Academically licensed units may include but are
not limited to teachers, nurses, counselors, therapists,
psychologists, child development specialists and similar
positions. This limitation shall not apply to any bargaining unit
certified or recognized prior to June 6, 1995, or to any school
district with fewer than 50 employees.
  (2) 'Board' means the Employment Relations Board.
  (3) 'Certification' means official recognition by the board
that a labor organization is the exclusive representative for all
of the employees in the appropriate bargaining unit.
  (4) 'Collective bargaining' means the performance of the mutual
obligation of a public employer and the representative of its
employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith
with respect to employment relations for the purpose of
negotiations concerning mandatory subjects of bargaining, to meet
and confer in good faith in accordance with law with respect to
any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of a
collective bargaining agreement, and to execute written contracts
incorporating agreements that have been reached on behalf of the
public employer and the employees in the bargaining unit covered
by such negotiations. The obligation to meet and negotiate does
not compel either party to agree to a proposal or require the
making of a concession. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to prohibit a public employer and a certified or
recognized representative of its employees from discussing or
executing written agreements regarding matters other than
mandatory subjects of bargaining that are not prohibited by law,
so long as there is mutual agreement of the parties to discuss
these matters, which are permissive subjects of bargaining.
  (5) 'Compulsory arbitration' means the procedure whereby
parties involved in a labor dispute are required by law to submit
their differences to a third party for a final and binding
decision.
  (6) 'Confidential employee' means one who assists and acts in a
confidential capacity to a person who formulates, determines and
effectuates management policies in the area of collective
bargaining.
  (7)(a) 'Employment relations' includes, but is not limited to,
matters concerning direct or indirect monetary benefits, hours,
vacations, sick leave, grievance procedures and other conditions
of employment.
  (b) 'Employment relations' does not include subjects determined
to be permissive, nonmandatory subjects of bargaining by the
Employment Relations Board prior to June 6, 1995.
  (c) After June 6, 1995, 'employment relations' shall not
include subjects which the Employment Relations Board determines
to have a greater impact on management's prerogative than on
employee wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of
employment.
  (d) 'Employment relations' shall not include subjects that have
an insubstantial or de minimis effect on public employee wages,
hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
  (e) For school district bargaining, 'employment relations '
shall expressly exclude class size, the school or educational
calendar, standards of performance or criteria for evaluation of
teachers, the school curriculum, reasonable dress, grooming and
at-work personal conduct requirements respecting smoking, gum
chewing and similar matters of personal conduct, the standards
and procedures for student discipline, the time between student
classes, the selection, agendas and decisions of 21st Century
Schools Councils established under ORS 329.704, and any other
subject proposed that is permissive under paragraphs (b), (c) and
(d) of this subsection.
  (f) For all other employee bargaining except school districts,
'employment relations' expressly excludes staffing levels and
safety issues (except those staffing levels and safety issues
which have a direct and substantial effect on the on-the-job
safety of public employees), scheduling of services provided to
the public, determination of the minimum qualifications necessary
for any position, criteria for evaluation or performance
appraisal, assignment of duties, workload when the effect on
duties is insubstantial, reasonable dress, grooming, and at-work
personal conduct requirements respecting smoking, gum chewing,
and similar matters of personal conduct at work, and any other
subject proposed that is permissive under paragraphs (b), (c) and
(d) of this subsection.
  (8) 'Exclusive representative' means the labor organization
that, as a result of certification by the board or recognition by
the employer, has the right to be the collective bargaining agent
of all employees in an appropriate bargaining unit.
  (9) 'Fact-finding' means identification of the major issues in
a particular labor dispute by one or more impartial individuals
who review the positions of the parties, resolve factual
differences and make recommendations for settlement of the
dispute.
  (10) 'Fair-share agreement' means an agreement between the
public employer and the recognized or certified bargaining
representative of public employees whereby employees who are not
members of the employee organization are required to make an
in-lieu-of-dues payment to an employee organization except as
provided in ORS 243.666. Upon the filing with the board of a
petition by 30 percent or more of the employees in an appropriate
bargaining unit covered by such union security agreement
declaring they desire that such agreement be rescinded, the board
shall take a secret ballot of the employees in such unit and
certify the results thereof to the recognized or certified
bargaining representative and to the public employer. Unless a
majority of the votes cast in an election favor such union
security agreement, the board shall certify deauthorization
thereof. A petition for deauthorization of a union security
agreement must be filed not more than 90 calendar days after the
collective bargaining agreement is executed. Only one such
election shall be conducted in any appropriate bargaining unit
during the term of a collective bargaining agreement between a
public employer and the recognized or certified bargaining
representative.
  (11) 'Final offer' means the proposed contract language and
cost summary submitted to the mediator within seven days of the
declaration of impasse.
  (12) 'Labor dispute' means any controversy concerning
employment relations or concerning the association or
representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining,
changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of employment
relations, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the
proximate relation of employer and employee.
  (13) 'Labor organization' means any organization that has as
one of its purposes representing employees in their employment
relations with public employers.
  (14) 'Last best offer package' means the offer exchanged by
parties not less than 14 days prior to the date scheduled for an
interest arbitration hearing.
  (15) 'Legislative body' means the Legislative Assembly, the
city council, the county commission and any other board or
commission empowered to levy taxes.
  (16) 'Managerial employee' means an employee of the State of
Oregon who possesses authority to formulate and carry out
management decisions or who represents management's interest by
taking or effectively recommending discretionary actions that
control or implement employer policy, and who has discretion in
the performance of these management responsibilities beyond the
routine discharge of duties. A 'managerial employee' need not act
in a supervisory capacity in relation to other employees.
Notwithstanding this subsection, 'managerial employee' shall not
be construed to include faculty members at a community college,
college or university.
  (17) 'Mediation' means assistance by an impartial third party
in reconciling a labor dispute between the public employer and
the exclusive representative regarding employment relations.
  (18) 'Payment-in-lieu-of-dues' means an assessment to defray
the cost for services by the exclusive representative in
negotiations and contract administration of all persons in an
appropriate bargaining unit who are not members of the
organization serving as exclusive representative of the
employees.  The payment shall be equivalent to regular union dues
and assessments, if any, or shall be an amount agreed upon by the
public employer and the exclusive representative of the
employees.
  (19) 'Public employee' means an employee of a public employer
 { + who has completed a training period not to exceed one year
from the date of initial employment, + } but does not include
elected officials, persons appointed to serve on boards or
commissions, incarcerated persons working under section 41,
Article I of the Oregon Constitution, or persons who are
confidential employees, supervisory employees or managerial
employees.
  (20) 'Public employer' means the State of Oregon, and the
following political subdivisions: Cities, counties, community
colleges, school districts, special districts, mass transit
districts, metropolitan service districts, public service
corporations or municipal corporations and public and
quasi-public corporations.
  (21) 'Public employer representative' includes any individual
or individuals specifically designated by the public employer to
act in its interests in all matters dealing with employee
representation, collective bargaining and related issues.
  (22) 'Strike' means a public employee's refusal in concerted
action with others to report for duty, or his or her willful
absence from his or her position, or his or her stoppage of work,
or his or her absence in whole or in part from the full, faithful
or proper performance of his or her duties of employment, for the
purpose of inducing, influencing or coercing a change in the
conditions, compensation, rights, privileges or obligations of
public employment; however, nothing shall limit or impair the
right of any public employee to lawfully express or communicate a
complaint or opinion on any matter related to the conditions of
employment.
  (23) 'Supervisory employee' means any individual having
authority in the interest of the employer to hire, transfer,
suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or
discipline other employees, or responsibly to direct them, or to
adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action,
if in connection therewith, the exercise of such authority is not
of a merely routine or clerical nature but requires the use of
independent judgment. Failure to assert supervisory status in any
Employment Relations Board proceeding or in negotiations for any
collective bargaining agreement shall not thereafter prevent
assertion of supervisory status in any subsequent board
proceeding or contract negotiation. Notwithstanding the
provisions of this subsection, no nurse, charge nurse or similar
nursing position shall be deemed to be supervisory unless such
position has traditionally been classified as supervisory.
  (24) 'Unfair labor practice' means the commission of an act
designated an unfair labor practice in ORS 243.672.
  (25) 'Voluntary arbitration' means the procedure whereby
parties involved in a labor dispute mutually agree to submit
their differences to a third party for a final and binding
decision.
  SECTION 4. ORS 344.750 is amended to read:
  344.750. In addition to the provisions of ORS 344.745, in each
program:
  (1) The State Apprenticeship and Training Council shall
establish by rule appropriate youth apprentice or trainee ratios.
  (2) The employer shall provide workers' compensation coverage
for the youth apprentices and trainees as required by ORS
656.033.
  (3) The youth apprentice or trainee shall begin at a wage that
is not less than the   { - state - }  minimum wage { +
established under ORS 653.025 + }.
  (4) Youth apprentices and trainees shall be evaluated for wage
increases consistent with the policies established by the
participating local apprenticeship or training committee.
  (5) Youth apprentices and trainees shall not be employed on
projects subject to the federal Davis-Bacon Act or on projects
subject to ORS 279.348 to 279.363.
 
  (6) The youth apprentice's or trainee's combined in-school
coursework and related training, as well as on-the-job training
and other training experiences, shall not exceed 44 hours per
week.
  (7) Employment with the employer shall not exceed 20 hours per
week while the student is enrolled in school classes. All or a
portion of the on-the-job training shall be used to meet
graduation requirements.
  (8) Participating students who fail to regularly attend and
make satisfactory progress in in-school courses and required
related training or who leave high school prior to graduation or
completion of their high school requirements shall automatically
be removed from the youth apprenticeship program.
  SECTION 5. ORS 344.750, as amended by section 257, chapter 794,
Oregon Laws 2003, is amended to read:
  344.750. In addition to the provisions of ORS 344.745, in each
program:
  (1) The State Apprenticeship and Training Council shall
establish by rule appropriate youth apprentice or trainee ratios.
  (2) The employer shall provide workers' compensation coverage
for the youth apprentices and trainees as required by ORS
656.033.
  (3) The youth apprentice or trainee shall begin at a wage that
is not less than the   { - state - }  minimum wage { +
established under ORS 653.025 + }.
  (4) Youth apprentices and trainees shall be evaluated for wage
increases consistent with the policies established by the
participating local apprenticeship or training committee.
  (5) Youth apprentices and trainees shall not be employed on
projects subject to the federal Davis-Bacon Act or on projects
subject to ORS 279C.800 to 279C.870, except ORS 279C.820,
279C.825, 279C.865 and 279C.870.
  (6) The youth apprentice's or trainee's combined in-school
coursework and related training, as well as on-the-job training
and other training experiences, shall not exceed 44 hours per
week.
  (7) Employment with the employer shall not exceed 20 hours per
week while the student is enrolled in school classes. All or a
portion of the on-the-job training shall be used to meet
graduation requirements.
  (8) Participating students who fail to regularly attend and
make satisfactory progress in in-school courses and required
related training or who leave high school prior to graduation or
completion of their high school requirements shall automatically
be removed from the youth apprenticeship program.
  SECTION 6. ORS 411.892 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 or Employment Department, as appropriate, 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 or Director of the Employment Department, as
appropriate, may waive the limit in special circumstances.
  (c) The Department of Human Services or Employment Department,
as appropriate, 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 or Employment Department,
as appropriate, shall ensure that jobs made available to program
participants:
  (a) Do not require work in excess of 40 hours per week;
  (b) Are in conformity with section 3304(a)(5) of the Federal
Unemployment Tax Act;
  (c) Are not used to displace regular employees or to fill
unfilled positions previously established; and
  (d) 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 program recipients except as described in
subsection (5)(b) of this section;
  (C) Unemployment compensation recipients; and
  (D) 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 from the savings
attributable to the program in the Unemployment Compensation
Trust Fund or 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 program applicants or
recipients or noncustodial parents of individuals receiving
temporary assistance for needy families. Unemployment insurance
applicants or recipients or others seeking employment may gain
access to the program through their local Employment Department
office.
  (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 or Employment Department office. In such event, the
Department of Human Services or Employment Department shall
reassess the needs of the participant and assign the participant
to another JOBS Plus Program placement or another JOBS Program
component and, at the employer's request, provide the employer
with another participant.
  (d)(A) Subject to ORS 657.925 (6)(d), 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) Subject to ORS 657.925 (6)(d), 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 and food stamp 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 and the Employment Department. Any temporary
assistance for needy families recipient or food stamp recipient
may volunteer for the program.
  (b) The following individuals may not be required to
participate in the program:
  (A) Temporary assistance for needy families and food stamp
recipients who are eligible for Supplemental Security Income
benefits or other ongoing state or federal maintenance benefits
based on age or disability.
  (B) Food stamp applicants or recipients who are employed
full-time or are college students eligible for food stamps 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) Temporary assistance for needy families and food stamp
benefits 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. 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. A
temporary assistance for needy families and food stamp benefits
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 { +
established under ORS 653.025 + }.
  (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 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 (14) 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)(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, other than those who are
unemployment insurance claimants, 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) The Employment Department shall reimburse employers $5 per
hour paid by the employer as earnings to JOBS Plus Program
participants, who are unemployment insurance claimants and are
referred to the employer by the Employment Department.
  (b) If the Department of Human Services or Employment
Department finds that an employer has violated any of the rules
of the JOBS Plus Program, the appropriate 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) Subject to ORS 657.925 (6)(d), for unemployment insurance
claimants participating in the JOBS Plus Program:
  (a) If after nine weeks in a placement, a participant has not
been hired for an unsubsidized position, the employer shall allow
the worker to undertake up to five hours of job search per week.
Participating employers shall consider this time as hours worked
for the purposes of paying wages.
  (b) If after 13 weeks in a placement, a participant has not
been hired for an unsubsidized position, the employer shall
terminate the placement and the Employment Department shall
assess the participant's employment development plan.
  (14) For purposes of this section, 'employer' shall include
professional placement services, professional employment
organizations and temporary employment agencies.
  SECTION 7. ORS 418.131 is amended to read:
  418.131. (1) A person shall not receive aid for more than a
total of 24 months in any period of 84 consecutive months.
  (2) For purposes of determining the 24-month limitation
described in subsection (1) of this section, a month in which one
parent of a family receiving aid under ORS 418.035 to 418.125
receives gross earnings in an amount equal to 173 times the
hourly minimum wage as provided in ORS 653.025  { + (1) + } but
in an amount that does not exceed the eligibility requirements
for aid under ORS 418.035 to 418.125 shall be counted as
two-fifths of a month.
  (3) The 24-month limitation described in subsection (1) of this
section shall not apply to:
  (a) A month in which a dependent child receiving aid resides
with a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent;
  (b) Up to three months within a two-year period for the care of
any family members who suffer serious health conditions as
defined in ORS 659A.150; or
  (c) A household with only one parent in which the basis of
eligibility is the incapacity of that parent or, in a household
with two parents, if both parents are incapacitated or one parent
is required in the home to care for the incapacitated parent.
  (4) A person whose aid is terminated under subsection (1) of
this section may become eligible to receive aid, as determined by
the Department of Human Services, in excess of 24 months if:
  (a) The former recipient is a dependent child in a two-parent
household and the primary wage earner in the household dies;
  (b) The former recipient is a dependent child and the child
resides with a person other than the parent, parents or legal
guardian with whom the child lived at the time the child was
receiving aid; or
  (c) The former recipient is a parent of a dependent child
receiving aid and the department determines that the parent is
making diligent efforts in good faith to obtain permanent
employment. The number of families receiving aid under this
paragraph in any month may not exceed one percent of the total
number of families receiving aid in that month or 400 families,
whichever is greater.
  (5)(a) The time limitations described in subsection (1) of this
section do not apply to any person who is:
  (A) Required to participate in the JOBS Program unless the
person has been offered the opportunity to participate in an
education, employment or job training program including teen
parent programs as defined by the department.
 
  (B) Participating in an employment and training program
including any employment search activities required by the
program.
  (C) Enrolled at an educational institution under section 1,
chapter 212, Oregon Laws 2003.
  (b) The department shall report to each session of the
Legislative Assembly the number of families whose period of time
receiving aid has exceeded the time limitations of subsection (1)
of this section because of the exceptions provided under
paragraph (a) of this subsection. The report shall include
information sufficient to permit the Legislative Assembly to
determine if the exceptions make a significant contribution to
increased self-sufficiency of persons granted an exemption.
  (6)(a) The Department of Human Services shall monitor the
average period of time a person receives aid and shall record
such information by family size. The department shall monitor the
wages and benefits received by an individual who becomes employed
while receiving aid, including medical and child care benefits.
The department shall monitor and record the rate at which persons
who cease receiving aid for employment subsequently apply for and
receive aid.
  (b) The department shall report the results of the monitoring
required under paragraph (a) of this subsection to the
Legislative Assembly not later than the 15th day of each
legislative session.
  SECTION 8. ORS 653.070 is amended to read:
  653.070. (1) As used in this section:
  (a) 'Bona fide professional training program' includes any
professional training program approved by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction pursuant to rules of the State Board of
Education which provides for part-time employment training which
may be scheduled for a part of the workday or workweek, for
alternating weeks or for other limited periods during the year,
supplemented by and integrated with a definitely organized plan
of instruction designed to teach technical knowledge and related
information given as a regular part of the student-learner's
course by an accredited school, college or university.
  (b) 'Student-learner' means a student who is receiving
instruction in an accredited school, college or university and
who is employed on a part-time basis, pursuant to a bona fide
professional training program.
  (2) Notwithstanding ORS 653.025, employers shall pay
student-learners at least 75 percent of the minimum wage
prescribed by ORS 653.025 { +  (1) + }.
  (3) The number of hours of employment training for a
student-learner at subminimum wages, when added to the hours of
school instruction, shall not exceed eight hours on any day or 40
hours in any week.
  (4) The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries may
adopt rules prescribing the procedures and requirements for
application and issuance of special certificates authorizing the
employment of student-learners at subminimum wages. The rules
shall require that the following conditions be satisfied before
the issuance of such special certificates:
  (a) The employment of the student-learner at subminimum wages
authorized by the special certificate must be necessary to
prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment.
  (b) The occupation for which the student-learner is receiving
preparatory training must require a sufficient degree of skill to
necessitate a substantial learning period.
  (c) The training must not be for the purpose of acquiring
manual dexterity and high production speed in repetitive
operations.
  (d) The employment of a student-learner must not have the
effect of displacing a worker employed in the establishment.
 
  (e) The employment of the student-learners at subminimum wages
must not tend to impair or depress the wage rates or working
standards established for experienced workers for work of a like
or comparable character.
  (f) The occupational needs of the community or industry warrant
the training of student-learners.
  (g) There are no serious outstanding violations of the
provisions of a student-learner certificate previously issued to
the employer, or serious violations of any other provisions of
law by the employer which provide reasonable grounds to conclude
that the terms of the certificate would not be complied with, if
issued.
  (h) The issuance of such a certificate would not tend to
prevent the development of apprenticeship under ORS chapter 660
or would not impair established apprenticeship standards in the
occupation or industry involved.
  (i) The number of student-learners to be employed in one
establishment must not be more than a small proportion of its
working force.
  (5) Failure to comply with subsection (2) or (3) of this
section shall subject the employer to a penalty of 75 percent of
the minimum wage prescribed by ORS 653.025  { + (1) + } for each
hour of work time that the student-learner is gainfully employed.
The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries shall have
a cause of action against the employer for the recovery of the
penalty.
  SECTION 9.  { + The amendments to ORS 243.650, 344.750,
411.892, 418.131, 653.025, 653.070 and 663.005 by sections 1 to 8
of this 2005 Act apply to persons initially hired on or after the
effective date of this 2005 Act. + }
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