Section 11-304 - Powers and duties of Secretary and Department.
§ 11-304. Powers and duties of Secretary and Department.
(a) Secretary to direct program.- The State's quick response program is under the direction of the Secretary.
(b) Secretary to develop guidelines.- The Secretary in cooperation with the Workforce Investment Board shall develop voluntary guidelines for employers faced with a reduction in operations. These guidelines shall include:
(1) the appropriate length of time for advance notification to employees that an employer expects to terminate due to a reduction in operations. Whenever possible and appropriate, at least 90 days notice shall be given;
(2) the appropriate continuation of benefits, such as health, severance, and pension, that an employer should provide to employees who will be terminated due to a reduction in operations; or
(3) the specific mechanisms that employers can utilize to ask for the assistance of the State's quick response program.
(c) Department to maintain capacity.- The Department shall maintain the capacity to provide employment and training services through the quick response program. This capacity shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) on-site unemployment insurance bulk claims registration: for incidents where 25 or more workers are laid off at 1 time, taking initial unemployment insurance claims at the employee's place of business;
(2) registration for federal Trade Readjustment Act services: if the business closing is due to foreign competition, assisting workers in seeking federal training benefits and additional unemployment insurance compensation benefits;
(3) provision of labor market and retraining information: in conjunction with local service providers, providing both local labor market information and retraining information that can assist the workers to obtain reemployment and/or retraining;
(4) job placement services: through the regular office services or through special on-site services, providing a range of job placement services utilizing the "job bank";
(5) job seeking and finding information: providing 1-day workshops to assist job seekers in learning how to seek and secure jobs; or
(6) referral to retraining opportunities: through liaisons with the private industry councils/service delivery areas and the community college network, providing referrals for dislocated workers for retraining opportunities.
(d) Department to distribute guidelines.- The Department shall distribute the reduction in operations guidelines to all employers in the State every 2 years. The distribution shall begin no later than July 1, 1986.
(e) Department to monitor patterns and payments.- The Department shall monitor layoff and employment patterns and payments of unemployment compensation contributions to identify employers that are likely to experience large losses in employment or a reduction in operations.
(f) Department to assist employers.- If the Department identifies an employer that is likely to experience large losses in employment or a reduction in operations, the Department shall confidentially contact the employer and offer the assistance of the Department in providing alternative employment and retraining opportunities, including coordinating the delivery of available State and federal resources and services.
(g) Secretary to adopt regulations.- The Secretary shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this subtitle.
[1985, ch. 147; 1986, ch. 5, § 4; 1987, ch. 11, § 2; ch. 311, § 1; 1988, ch. 6, § 8; 1993, ch. 463, § 1; 1995, ch. 120, §§ 2, 5; 2008, ch. 36, § 6.]