Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. To ensure integrity of programs under the
Act, special efforts are necessary to prevent fraud and other program abuses.
Fraud includes deceitful practices and intentional misconduct, such as willful
misrepresentation in accounting for use of program funds. "Abuse" is a general
term which encompasses improper conduct which may or may not be fraudulent in
nature. While any violation of the Act or regulations may constitute fraud or
program abuse, this rule identifies and addresses specific areas which need
clarification.
B. This rule sets
forth specific responsibilities of recipients, service delivery area grant
recipients and subrecipients to prevent fraud and program abuse in
JTPA.
C. Conflict of Interest. In
addition to the standards set forth below, the State Code of Governmental
Ethics contains restrictions concerning conflicts of interest. Any issues
regarding the State Code of Governmental Ethics should be brought before the
Commission of Ethics for Public Employees.
1.
No member of any council under the Act shall cast a vote on the provision of
services by that member or any organization which that member directly
represents or any matter which would provide direct financial benefit to that
member. Caution must be exercised by members to insure that council action does
not render the member in violation of
R.S.
42:1112, which under certain circumstances
may require members to cure the conflict of interest through
resignation.
2. Each recipient,
service delivery area grant recipient and subrecipients shall avoid personal
conflict of interest and appearance of conflict of interest in awarding
financial assistance and in the conduct of procurement activities involving
funds under the Act.
3. Neither the
recipient, any service delivery area grant recipient nor subrecipients shall
pay funds under the Act to any individual, institution, or organization to
conduct an evaluation of any program under the Act if such individual,
institution, or organization is associated with that program as a consultant or
technical advisor.
D.
Kickbacks. No officer, employee, or agent of the recipient, service delivery
area grant recipient or subrecipients shall solicit or accept gratuities,
favors, or anything of monetary value from any actual or potential
subrecipient.
E. Commingling of
Funds. The recipient, service delivery area grant recipients and subrecipients
shall comply with the applicable requirements of
29 CFR
97.21(h) and
R.S.
49:321.
F. Nepotism. The State Code of Governmental
Ethics contains restrictions against the hiring of certain family members.
Questions regarding the hiring of family members should be referred to the
Commission on Ethics for Public Employees.
G. Child Labor. The recipient, service
delivery area grant recipients and subrecipients shall comply with applicable
federal, state and local child labor laws.
H. Political Patronage
1. Neither the recipient, service delivery
area grant recipients, nor any subrecipients may select, reject, or promote a
participant based on that individual's political affiliation or beliefs. The
selection or advancement of employees as a reward for political services or as
a form of political patronage whether or not political services is partisan in
nature, is prohibited.
2. There
shall be no selection of subrecipients based on political patronage or
affiliation.
I.
Political Activities
1. No program under the
Act may involve political activities, including but not limited to:
a. no participant may engage in partisan or
nonpartisan political activities during hours for which the participant is paid
with JTPA funds;
b. no participant
may, at any time, engage in partisan political activities in which such
participant represents himself/herself as spokesperson of the JTPA
Program;
c. no participant may be
employed or outstationed in the office of a member of Congress or a state or
local legislator or on any staff of a legislative committee; and
d. no participant may be employed or
outstationed in positions involving political activities in the offices of
other elected executive officials. However, since under the responsibility of
such elected officials are nonpolitical activities, placement of participants
in such nonpolitical positions is permissible. Service delivery area grant
recipients and subrecipients shall develop safeguards to ensure that
participants placed in these positions are not involved in political
activities. These safeguards will be subject to review and
monitoring.
2. Persons
governed by Chapter 15 of Title 5, United States Code, the Hatch Act, shall
comply with its provisions as interpreted by the United States Office of
Personnel Management. These provisions apply:
a. to persons (including participants)
employed by state and local government in the administration of the JTPA
Program; and
b. generally to any
participant whose principal employment is in connection with an activity
financed by other federal grants or loans.
J. Lobbying Activities. No funds provided
under the Act may be used in any way:
1. to
attempt to influence in any manner a member of Congress to favor or oppose any
legislation or appropriation by Congress;
2. to attempt to influence in any manner
state or local legislators to favor or oppose any legislation or appropriation
by such legislators. Communications and consultation with state and local
legislators for purposes of providing information such as on matters necessary
to provide compliance with the Act shall not be considered lobbying.
K. Sectarian Activities. The Act
provides the following prohibitions regarding sectarian activity:
1. participants shall not be employed on the
construction, operation or maintenance of so much of any facility as is used or
to be used for sectarian instruction or as a place for religious worship;
and
2. participants shall not be
involved, nor JTPA funds expended, for religious or anti-religious
activities.
L.
Unionization and Antiunionization Activities/Work Stoppages
1. No funds under the Act shall be used in
any way to assist, promote or oppose unionization.
2. No individual shall be required to join a
union as a condition for enrollment in a program in which only institutional
training is provided, unless such institutional training involves individuals
employed under a collective bargaining agreement which contains a union
security provision.
3. No
participant in work experience may be placed into, or remain working in any
position which is affected by labor disputes involving a work stoppage. If such
a work stoppage occurs during the grant period, participants in affected
positions must:
a. be relocated to positions
not affected by the dispute;
b. be
suspended through administrative leave; and
c. where participants belong to the labor
union involved in the work stoppage, be treated in the same manner as any other
union member except such members must not remain working in the affected
position. The grantee shall make every effort to relocate participants, who
wish to remain working, into suitable positions unaffected by the work
stoppage.
4. No person
shall be referred to or placed in an on-the-job training position affected by a
labor dispute involving a work stoppage and no payments may be made to
employers for the training and employment of participants in on-the-job
training during the periods of work stoppage.
5. Nothing in this Section shall prevent an
employer from checking off union dues or service fees pursuant to applicable
collective bargaining agreements or state law.
6. No currently employed worker shall be
displaced by any participant (including partial displacement such as a
reduction in the hours of nonovertime work, wages, or employment
benefits).
7. No program under this
Act shall impair existing contracts for services or existing collective
bargaining agreements, unless the employer and the labor organization concur in
writing with respect to any elements of the proposed activities which affect
such agreement, or either such party fails to respond to written notification
requesting its concurrence within 30 days of receipt thereof.
8. No participant shall be employed or job
openings filled when any other individual is on layoff from the same or any
substantially equivalent job, or when the employer has terminated the
employment of any regular employee or otherwise reduced its workforce with the
intention of filling the vacancy so created by hiring a participant whose wages
are subsidized under this Act.
9.
No jobs shall be created in a promotional line that will infringe in any way
upon the promotional opportunities of currently employed individuals.
M. Maintenance of Effort
1. To ensure maintenance of effort under all
programs under the Act, the recipient, service delivery area grant recipients
and subrecipients shall ensure that such programs:
a. result in an increase in employment and
training opportunities over those which would otherwise be available;
b. do not result in the displacement of
currently employed workers including partial displacement, such as reduction in
hours of nonovertime work, wages, or employment benefits;
c. do not impair existing contracts for
services or result in the substitution of federal funds for other funds in
connection with work that would otherwise be performed including services
normally provided by temporary, part-time or seasonal workers or through
contracting such services out; and
d. result in the creation of jobs that are in
addition to those that would be funded in the absence of assistance under the
Act.
2. Funds under this
Act shall supplement, and not supplant, the level of funds that would otherwise
be made available from nonfederal sources for the planning and administration
of programs.
N.
Responsibilities of Service Delivery Area Grant Recipients and Subrecipients
for Preventing Fraud and Program Abuse and for General Program Management
General Requirements. Each service delivery area grant recipient and
subrecipients shall establish and use internal program management procedures
sufficient to prevent fraud and program abuse.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
23:2022.
