The Florida Senate

288.9955  Untried Worker Placement and Employment Incentive Act.--

(1)  This section may be cited as the "Untried Worker Placement and Employment Incentive Act."

(2)  For purposes of this section, the term "untried worker" means a person who is a hard-to-place participant in the Work and Gain Economic Self-sufficiency Program (WAGES) because he or she has limitations associated with the long-term receipt of welfare and difficulty in sustaining employment, particularly because of physical or mental disabilities.

(3)  Incentive payments may be made to for-profit or not-for-profit agents selected by local WAGES coalitions who successfully place untried workers in full-time employment for 6 months with an employer after the employee successfully completes a probationary placement of no more than 6 months with that employer. Full-time employment that includes health care benefits will receive an additional incentive payment.

(4)  The for-profit and not-for-profit agents shall contract to provide services for no more than 1 year. Contracts may be renewed upon successful review by the contracting agent.

(5)  Incentives must be paid according to the incentive schedule developed by the Department of Labor and Employment Security and the Department of Children and Family Services which costs the state less per placement than the state's 12-month expenditure on a welfare recipient.

(6)  During an untried worker's probationary placement, the for-profit or not-for-profit agent shall be the employer of record of that untried worker, and shall provide workers' compensation and unemployment compensation coverage as provided by law. The business employing the untried worker through the agent may be eligible to apply for any tax credits, wage supplementation, wage subsidy, or employer payment for that employee that are authorized in law or by agreement with the employer. After satisfactory completion of such a probationary period, an untried worker shall not be considered an untried worker.

(7)  This section shall not be used for the purpose of displacing or replacing an employer's regular employees, and shall not interfere with executed collective bargaining agreements. Untried workers shall be paid by the employer at the same rate as similarly situated and assessed workers in the same place of employment.

(8)  An employer that demonstrates a pattern of unsuccessful placements shall be disqualified from participation in these pilots because of poor return on the public's investment.

(9)  Any employer that chooses to employ untried workers is eligible to receive such incentives and benefits that are available and provided in law, as long as the long-term, cost savings can be quantified with each such additional inducement.

History.--s. 3, ch. 96-404; s. 216, ch. 99-8; s. 56, ch. 99-251.

Note.--Former s. 446.603.