The Florida Senate

¹443.231  Florida Training Investment Program.--The Florida Training Investment Program is designed to extend additional benefit eligibility to dislocated workers throughout Florida who have lost their jobs, have limited marketable skills, and enroll in vocational training intended to lead to employment in a recognized occupation for which there is labor market demand. Pursuant thereto:

(1)  INTENT.--The Legislature hereby finds and declares that international competition and rapidly changing technologies have led to major changes in the nature of unemployment in the United States. Industries and associated occupations are made obsolete, while others emerge and grow rapidly. This has led to a mismatch between the skills of available workers and the requirements of the new workplace, a condition known as structural unemployment. Affected workers often cannot be retrained for a different occupation before their normal unemployment benefits are exhausted. The Legislature finds that this revolution in the workplace calls for an intervention strategy which combines wage loss replacement with retraining in a currently marketable skill.

(2)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section:

(a)  "Approved break" means an interruption of authorized training, scheduled by the authorized training institution, between school terms or during holidays that does not exceed 3 calendar weeks.

(b)  "Authorized training" means training which meets the following criteria:

1.  Claimant must possess the aptitude and skills that can be usefully supplemented by training.

2.  The labor market demands for the claimant's present skills must be minimal.

3.  The training programs in vocational or technical schools or classes must be designed to prepare the participant for gainful employment in a recognized occupation. Authorized training shall consist of a practical curriculum for development of vocational, rather than avocational, skills. The division may not approve as training programs, educational or academic programs primarily intended to lead toward a baccalaureate or higher degree. However, a basic education program which is a prerequisite for skilled training or other short-term, vocational-directed academic courses may be approved.

4.  There must be reasonable expectations that the claimant will be employable upon completion of the training in the area of the state where the applicant expressed a willingness to work.

5.  The training course or school must be approved by the Department of Education or other official government approving agency within the state where the training is being conducted.

6.  The division may approve training programs established under s. 302 of the Job Training Partnership Act for claimants who are dislocated workers.

(c)  "Authorized training institution" means a vocational, technical, Job Training Partnership Act, or vocational-directed basic education program or training institution approved by the division to provide authorized training to individuals participating in the Florida Training Investment Program.

(d)  "Dislocated worker" means an individual who has been terminated or laid off or has received a notice of termination or layoff from employment, who is eligible for, or has exhausted his or her entitlement to, unemployment compensation and who is unlikely to have an opportunity to return to his or her previous industry or occupation, making a change in occupation necessary for reemployment in the labor market area.

(e)  "Enrollee" means an individual who is attending or has been approved for admission by an authorized training institution and is considered to be enrolled for the purposes of the Florida Training Investment Program.

(f)  "Exhausted claim" means a claim will be considered exhausted when the Florida claim and all available extensions, including those authorized under federal acts, have been depleted or ended.

(g)  "Fiscal year" means the period from July 1 through June 30 of any year.

(h)  "Stop-gap employment" means interim employment undertaken by a program participant prior to initiation of training, involving work of a lower skill level than the participant's last adversely affected employment, and paying average weekly wages no greater that 80 percent of the average weekly wages received from the participant's last adversely affected employment.

(i)  "Subsistence allowance" means direct or indirect payment to a participant made for a purpose not directly associated with training under this section, including, but not limited to, payment for routine living expenses such as room, board, utilities, or general transportation costs. The term does not include payment to a participant for dependents' allowances, a one-time emergency payment, or payment or reimbursement for the direct cost of training such as tuition, books, supplies, tools, transportation to and from training, and child care during the time spent in training.

(j)  "Termination" means a separation from employment whether initiated by the claimant or the employer.

(3)  LIMITATIONS ON BENEFITS.--Applications will be accepted and considered each fiscal year until all annual funds have been obligated by the division, at which point no further applications will be accepted or considered until the following fiscal year. The total amount of benefits payable statewide under this section shall not exceed $16.5 million per fiscal year.

(4)  ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.--

(a)  The applicant must be a dislocated worker who is enrolled in authorized training on or after October 1, 1996, and who has exhausted all benefits available in the benefit year. The applicant must also have established a Florida unemployment compensation claim with a benefit year beginning on or after July 1, 1996.

(b)  The applicant must also:

1.  Complete such forms as required by the division. The forms promulgated by the division are exempt from the requirements of chapter 120.

2.  Attend all classes for each week of benefits claimed. Absences from class shall result in the ineligibility for benefits for the week in which the absence occurs unless the authorized training institution excuses the absence for good cause as determined by the authorized training institution.

3.  Maintain satisfactory progress in the authorized training program, as determined by the authorized training institution.

4.  Certify, on forms approved by the division, that the claimant attended all classes during the week of training being claimed or that the claimant was on an approved break. Upon request by the claimant, the authorized training institution shall certify attendance and performance. The claimant shall be responsible for timely furnishing the division with the required certifications.

5.  Possess the qualifications or aptitude required to successfully complete the selected training program.

6.  Be a resident of Florida.

(c)  Eligibility for benefits to be paid to applicants occurs on the later of the actual date the training activities begin or the date the claimant exhausts eligibility for all other Florida unemployment compensation and extended benefit programs.

(d)  Participation in an approved training program shall be considered the equivalent of active work search for any claimant.

(e)  No dislocated worker who is otherwise eligible to receive benefits under this section shall be disqualified solely on the basis of termination of stop-gap employment to enter approved training.

(f)  No participant shall be eligible for benefits under this section for any week with respect to which he or she received a subsistence allowance.

(g)  The training sought by an applicant relates to an occupation or skill for which there are or are expected to be in the immediate future reasonable opportunities for employment in a labor market area of this state where the applicant expresses an intention or willingness to seek work. The training must also be planned and scheduled so as to lead to the earliest feasible completion and readiness for employment or reemployment.

(h)  That reasonable employment opportunities in occupations for which the claimant is qualified either do not exist or have been substantially diminished in the labor market area making a change in occupation necessary for reemployment in the labor market area. If the applicant has a skill in an occupation with an average wage that is the same or more that the average wage of the occupation from which the applicant is displaced, that applicant will not be eligible for benefits if there are reasonable employment opportunities in the local labor market. The division may use labor market projections, in conjunction with local job information data, to make a determination of the existence of a reasonable employment opportunity for an occupation.

(5)  BENEFITS.--

(a)  Any individual who is determined eligible to participate in the program may receive up to an additional 26 weeks of unemployment benefits upon exhaustion of any unemployment benefits to which he or she is or was entitled under s. 443.111, or by virtue of federal act. The weekly benefit amount shall be determined pursuant to ²s. 443.111(3)(a). The weekly benefits amount for Florida Training Investment Program claims will equal the weekly benefit amount of the exhausted Florida unemployment compensation claim.

(b)  The claimant shall be eligible for the receipt of benefits, not to exceed 26 weeks under this program and continuing until the earlier of the expiration of training or the date the claimant becomes eligible for regular or extended unemployment compensation benefits. Once the subsequent claim is exhausted the claimant may return to the Florida Training Investment Program if all eligibility requirements continue to be met. Florida Training Investment Program payments will resume at the initially established rate irrespective of any subsequent weekly benefit amount.

(6)  PROCEDURE.--

(a)  Any dislocated worker may apply to receive benefits under this section while enrolled in an approved course of training pursuant to this section.

(b)  Upon approval of an application the division shall notify both the applicant and the training institution by mail of the applicant's status under this section and shall request the training institution to promptly notify the regular claims reporting office in writing if the participant's attendance or progress should become unsatisfactory.

(c)  The division is required to notify applicants of the determination of eligibility by mail at the claimant's last known address. In addition to the initial approval or denial of the applicant, the division shall make any further determinations pursuant to s. 443.151(3) and rules 38B-3.016 and 38B-3.017, Florida Administrative Code.

(d)  A determination or redetermination will become final unless the claimant files by mail or in person at the local jobs and benefits office, an appeal of a determination or redetermination within 20 calendar days after the mailing of the Notice of Determination or Redetermination to the claimant's last known address, or if such notice is not mailed, within 20 calendar days after the date of delivery of such notice. Appeals by mail shall be considered filed when postmarked by the United States Postal Service.

(7)  EMPLOYERS NONCHARGED.--Benefits paid under this section shall not be charged to the experience rating accounts of employers.

(8)  TERMINATION.--The Florida Training Investment Program shall terminate on June 30, 2002. No benefits shall be paid under this program to any dislocated worker for training that occurs after June 30, 2002.

History.--s. 5, ch. 92-38; s. 9, ch. 96-378; s. 1069, ch. 97-103; s. 4, ch. 99-131.

¹Note.--Repealed July 1, 1995, by s. 5, ch. 92-38. Section 9, ch. 96-378, substantially reworded the section without reference to the July 1, 1995, repeal; s. 4, ch. 99-131, revised the termination date for the program in subsection (8).

²Note.--Section 443.111(3) is not divided into paragraphs.