U.S. Code > Title 29 Labor > CHAPTER 30—WORKFORCE INVESTMENT SYSTEMS (§§ 2801—2945) > SUBCHAPTER I—WORKFORCE INVESTMENT DEFINITIONS (§ 2801) > § 2801. Definitions

§ 2801. Definitions

In this chapter:
(1) Adult
Except in sections 2852 and 2862 of this title, the term “adult” means an individual who is age 18 or older.
(2) Adult education; adult education and literacy activities
The terms “adult education” and “adult education and literacy activities” have the meanings given the terms in section 9202 of title 20.
(3) Area vocational education school
The term “area vocational education school” has the meaning given the term “area career and technical education school” in section 2302 of title 20.
(4) Basic skills deficient
The term “basic skills deficient” means, with respect to an individual, that the individual has English reading, writing, or computing skills at or below the 8th grade level on a generally accepted standardized test or a comparable score on a criterion-referenced test.
(5) Case management
The term “case management” means the provision of a client-centered approach in the delivery of services, designed—
(A) to prepare and coordinate comprehensive employment plans, such as service strategies, for participants to ensure access to necessary workforce investment activities and supportive services, using, where feasible, computer-based technologies; and
(B) to provide job and career counseling during program participation and after job placement.
(6) Chief elected official
The term “chief elected official” means—
(A) the chief elected executive officer of a unit of general local government in a local area; and
(B) in a case in which a local area includes more than one unit of general local government, the individuals designated under the agreement described in section 2832 (c)(1)(B) of this title.
(7) Community-based organization
The term “community-based organization” means a private nonprofit organization that is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community and that has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in the field of workforce investment.
(8) Customized training
The term “customized training” means training—
(A) that is designed to meet the special requirements of an employer (including a group of employers);
(B) that is conducted with a commitment by the employer to employ an individual on successful completion of the training; and
(C) for which the employer pays for not less than 50 percent of the cost of the training.
(9) Dislocated worker
The term “dislocated worker” means an individual who—
(A)
(i) has been terminated or laid off, or who has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment;
(ii)
(I) is eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to unemployment compensation; or
(II) has been employed for a duration sufficient to demonstrate, to the appropriate entity at a one-stop center referred to in section 2864 (c) of this title, attachment to the workforce, but is not eligible for unemployment compensation due to insufficient earnings or having performed services for an employer that were not covered under a State unemployment compensation law; and
(iii) is unlikely to return to a previous industry or occupation;
(B)
(i) has been terminated or laid off, or has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment as a result of any permanent closure of, or any substantial layoff at, a plant, facility, or enterprise;
(ii) is employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close within 180 days; or
(iii) for purposes of eligibility to receive services other than training services described in section 2864 (d)(4) of this title, intensive services described in section 2864 (d)(3) of this title, or supportive services, is employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close;
(C) was self-employed (including employment as a farmer, a rancher, or a fisherman) but is unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in the community in which the individual resides or because of natural disasters; or
(D) is a displaced homemaker.
(10) Displaced homemaker
The term “displaced homemaker” means an individual who has been providing unpaid services to family members in the home and who—
(A) has been dependent on the income of another family member but is no longer supported by that income; and
(B) is unemployed or underemployed and is experiencing difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment.
(11) Economic development agencies
The term “economic development agencies” includes local planning and zoning commissions or boards, community development agencies, and other local agencies and institutions responsible for regulating, promoting, or assisting in local economic development.
(12) Eligible provider
The term “eligible provider”, used with respect to—
(A) training services, means a provider who is identified in accordance with section 2842 (e)(3) of this title;
(B) intensive services, means a provider who is identified or awarded a contract as described in section 2864 (d)(3)(B) of this title;
(C) youth activities, means a provider who is awarded a grant or contract in accordance with section 2843 of this title; or
(D) other workforce investment activities, means a public or private entity selected to be responsible for such activities, such as a one-stop operator designated or certified under section 2841 (d) of this title.
(13) Eligible youth
Except as provided in subchapters III and IV of this chapter, the term “eligible youth” means an individual who—
(A) is not less than age 14 and not more than age 21;
(B) is a low-income individual; and
(C) is an individual who is one or more of the following:
(i) Deficient in basic literacy skills.
(ii) A school dropout.
(iii) Homeless, a runaway, or a foster child.
(iv) Pregnant or a parent.
(v) An offender.
(vi) An individual who requires additional assistance to complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment.
(14) Employment and training activity
The term “employment and training activity” means an activity described in section 2864 of this title that is carried out for an adult or dislocated worker.
(15) Family
The term “family” means two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or decree of court, who are living in a single residence, and are included in one or more of the following categories:
(A) A husband, wife, and dependent children.
(B) A parent or guardian and dependent children.
(C) A husband and wife.
(16) Governor
The term “Governor” means the chief executive of a State.
(17) Individual with a disability
(A) In general
The term “individual with a disability” means an individual with any disability (as defined in section 12102 of title 42).
(B) Individuals with disabilities
The term “individuals with disabilities” means more than one individual with a disability.
(18) Labor market area
The term “labor market area” means an economically integrated geographic area within which individuals can reside and find employment within a reasonable distance or can readily change employment without changing their place of residence. Such an area shall be identified in accordance with criteria used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor in defining such areas or similar criteria established by a Governor.
(19) Literacy
The term “literacy” has the meaning given the term in section 9202 of title 20.
(20) Local area
The term “local area” means a local workforce investment area designated under section 2831 of this title.
(21) Local board
The term “local board” means a local workforce investment board established under section 2832 of this title.
(22) Local performance measure
The term “local performance measure” means a performance measure established under section 2871 (c) of this title.
(23) Local educational agency
The term “local educational agency” has the meaning given the term in section 7801 of title 20.
(24) Lower living standard income level
The term “lower living standard income level” means that income level (adjusted for regional, metropolitan, urban, and rural differences and family size) determined annually by the Secretary based on the most recent lower living family budget issued by the Secretary.
(25) Low-income individual
The term “low-income individual” means an individual who—
(A) receives, or is a member of a family that receives, cash payments under a Federal, State, or local income-based public assistance program;
(B) received an income, or is a member of a family that received a total family income, for the 6-month period prior to application for the program involved (exclusive of unemployment compensation, child support payments, payments described in subparagraph (A), and old-age and survivors insurance benefits received under section 402 of title 42) that, in relation to family size, does not exceed the higher of—
(i) the poverty line, for an equivalent period; or
(ii) 70 percent of the lower living standard income level, for an equivalent period;
(C) is a member of a household that receives (or has been determined within the 6-month period prior to application for the program involved to be eligible to receive) supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits pursuant to the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);
(D) qualifies as a homeless individual, as defined in subsections (a) and (c) of section 11302 of title 42;
(E) is a foster child on behalf of whom State or local government payments are made; or
(F) in cases permitted by regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, is an individual with a disability whose own income meets the requirements of a program described in subparagraph (A) or of subparagraph (B), but who is a member of a family whose income does not meet such requirements.
(26) Nontraditional employment
The term “nontraditional employment” refers to occupations or fields of work for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed in each such occupation or field of work.
(27) Offender
The term “offender” means any adult or juvenile—
(A) who is or has been subject to any stage of the criminal justice process, for whom services under this Act may be beneficial; or
(B) who requires assistance in overcoming artificial barriers to employment resulting from a record of arrest or conviction.
(28) Older individual
The term “older individual” means an individual age 55 or older.
(29) One-stop operator
The term “one-stop operator” means 1 or more entities designated or certified under section 2841 (d) of this title.
(30) One-stop partner
The term “one-stop partner” means—
(A) an entity described in section 2841 (b)(1) of this title; and
(B) an entity described in section 2841 (b)(2) of this title that is participating, with the approval of the local board and chief elected official, in the operation of a one-stop delivery system.
(31) On-the-job training
The term “on-the-job training ” means training by an employer that is provided to a paid participant while engaged in productive work in a job that—
(A) provides knowledge or skills essential to the full and adequate performance of the job;
(B) provides reimbursement to the employer of up to 50 percent of the wage rate of the participant, for the extraordinary costs of providing the training and additional supervision related to the training; and
(C) is limited in duration as appropriate to the occupation for which the participant is being trained, taking into account the content of the training, the prior work experience of the participant, and the service strategy of the participant, as appropriate.
(32) Outlying area
The term “outlying area” means the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
(33) Out-of-school youth
The term “out-of-school youth” means—
(A) an eligible youth who is a school dropout; or
(B) an eligible youth who has received a secondary school diploma or its equivalent but is basic skills deficient, unemployed, or underemployed.
(34) Participant
The term “participant” means an individual who has been determined to be eligible to participate in and who is receiving services (except followup services authorized under this chapter) under a program authorized by this chapter. Participation shall be deemed to commence on the first day, following determination of eligibility, on which the individual began receiving subsidized employment, training, or other services provided under this chapter.
(35) Postsecondary educational institution
The term “postsecondary educational institution” means an institution of higher education, as defined in section 1002 of title 20.
(36) Poverty line
The term “poverty line” means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with section 9902 (2) of title 42) applicable to a family of the size involved.
(37) Public assistance
The term “public assistance” means Federal, State, or local government cash payments for which eligibility is determined by a needs or income test.
(38) Rapid response activity
The term “rapid response activity” means an activity provided by a State, or by an entity designated by a State, with funds provided by the State under section 2864 (a)(1)(A) of this title, in the case of a permanent closure or mass layoff at a plant, facility, or enterprise, or a natural or other disaster, that results in mass job dislocation, in order to assist dislocated workers in obtaining reemployment as soon as possible, with services including—
(A) the establishment of onsite contact with employers and employee representatives—
(i) immediately after the State is notified of a current or projected permanent closure or mass layoff; or
(ii) in the case of a disaster, immediately after the State is made aware of mass job dislocation as a result of such disaster;
(B) the provision of information and access to available employment and training activities;
(C) assistance in establishing a labor-management committee, voluntarily agreed to by labor and management, with the ability to devise and implement a strategy for assessing the employment and training needs of dislocated workers and obtaining services to meet such needs;
(D) the provision of emergency assistance adapted to the particular closure, layoff, or disaster; and
(E) the provision of assistance to the local community in developing a coordinated response and in obtaining access to State economic development assistance.
(39) School dropout
The term “school dropout” means an individual who is no longer attending any school and who has not received a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent.
(40) Secondary school
The term “secondary school” has the meaning given the term in section 7801 of title 20.
(41) Secretary
The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Labor, and the term means such Secretary for purposes of section 9273 of title 20.
(42) State
The term “State” means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(43) State adjusted level of performance
The term “State adjusted level of performance” means a level described in clause (iii) or (v) of section 2871 (b)(3)(A) of this title.
(44) State board
The term “State board” means a State workforce investment board established under section 2821 of this title.
(45) State performance measure
The term “State performance measure” means a performance measure established under section 2871 (b) of this title.
(46) Supportive services
The term “supportive services” means services such as transportation, child care, dependent care, housing, and needs-related payments, that are necessary to enable an individual to participate in activities authorized under this chapter, consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
(47) Unemployed individual
The term “unemployed individual” means an individual who is without a job and who wants and is available for work. The determination of whether an individual is without a job shall be made in accordance with the criteria used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor in defining individuals as unemployed.
(48) Unit of general local government
The term “unit of general local government” means any general purpose political subdivision of a State that has the power to levy taxes and spend funds, as well as general corporate and police powers.
(49) Veteran; related definition
(A) Veteran
The term “veteran” means an individual who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released from such service under conditions other than dishonorable.
(B) Recently separated veteran
The term “recently separated veteran” means any veteran who applies for participation under this chapter within 48 months after the discharge or release from active military, naval, or air service.
(50) Vocational education
The term “vocational education” has the meaning given the term “career and technical education” in section 2302 of title 20.
(51) Workforce investment activity
The term “workforce investment activity” means an employment and training activity, and a youth activity.
(52) Youth activity
The term “youth activity” means an activity described in section 2854 of this title that is carried out for eligible youth (or as described in section 2854 (c)(5) of this title).
(53) Youth council
The term “youth council” means a council established under section 2832 (h) of this title.