Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) No apprenticeship program shall be
eligible for registration by the commissioner unless the commissioner finds
that:
(1) it complies with the requirements
of this Part;
(2) it complies with
the requirements of the commissioner's regulation on "Equal Employment
Opportunity in Apprenticeship Training" set forth in section
600.4 of this Title;
(3) the sponsor has agreed to register all
apprentices in its employ, or, in the case of group programs, all signatories
have agreed to register all of the apprentices in their employ;
(4) the sponsor does not require any
applicant to pay an application, processing, or other similar fee unless
approved by the department pursuant to section
600.4 of this Title; and
(5) the sponsor has a permanent facility
located in New York State, which serves as a base of operations for the
program, and where it maintains a plant, office or other facility containing:
(i) employment records, maintained in the
ordinary course of the employer's business, documenting work performed by the
employer's journeyworkers on job sites within the State of New York;
(ii) office equipment that demonstrates an
ongoing administrative operation; and
(iii) the equipment necessary to fully train
apprentices for the duration of the training program in accordance with the
approved work processes for the trade.
(b) Program application requirements.
(1) Applications for registration of programs
shall be submitted for approval on forms prescribed by the department, shall
contain the sponsor's agreement to comply with the standards for programs as
provided in section
601.5 of this Part, and shall
include the sponsor's certification as to the accuracy and completeness of all
information supplied in connection with the application. Every sponsor shall
submit a completed program registration agreement and sponsor information
sheet. Applications for the registration of all group programs (joint and
nonjoint) shall:
(i) identify all current
signatories to the program by submitting a current list of program signatories'
names, addresses, Federal employer identification numbers, or New York State
unemployment insurance employer numbers in an electronic format as specified by
the department; and
(ii) provide
written assurances to the department that the sponsor will hold all signatories
to the standards of their program registration agreement.
(2) all applications will be reviewed by the
department to determine the sponsor's compliance with State and Federal laws
and regulations, provision for equal opportunity in employment and ability to
employ, train and instruct apprentices.
(c) Processing of applications.
(1) Violations of State and Federal laws or
regulations may be grounds for denial of the application.
(2) Applications shall be rejected if
information required on the sponsor information sheet, or required disclosures
related thereto, is found to be inaccurate or incomplete, or if the applicant
is not of good character and responsibility.
(i) Applications rejected for failing to
disclose information required on the sponsor information sheet may be
resubmitted within 60 days of the date of denial.
(ii) Rejected applications which are not
resubmitted within 60 days, or which upon resubmission the sponsor information
sheet, or required disclosures related thereto, is found to be inaccurate or
incomplete, may not be resubmitted, nor may the applicant submit a new
application, for a period of one year.
(iii) Failing to provide full, accurate, and
complete information in an application shall be taken into account in
evaluating future program applications.
(3) The department will conduct a review of
the applicant's history of liens and judgments to determine if the applicant
has shown the type of fiscal responsibility necessary to continue the program
through to graduation.
(4)
Applicants for all group programs (joint and non-joint) shall make signed
copies of their union collective bargaining agreements or group/association
membership agreements (agreements) available to the department for review, upon
request. Such agreements shall include language that makes the provisions
included on the program registration agreement applicable to their signatories,
either in the terms of the agreement itself, or in an ancillary agreement that
is approved by the department. If the applicant does not have written
agreements or approved ancillary agreements with its members, it may submit
signed copies of the department's ancillary group-sponsor signatory
agreement.
(5) Applicants whose
applications are denied shall receive written notification and the grounds for
the denial.
(6) A denial of an
application for registration of a program may be appealed by filing a written
request to the commissioner within 30 days of notification of the denial,
stating the reasons why the application should have been granted.
(7) The commissioner may refuse to accept an
application for registration if, in his/her judgment, the program, the
sponsors, or any of its signatories are unable to conduct the program in
accordance with this Part, the Equal Employment Opportunity regulations (Part
600 of this Title) or article 23 of the Labor Law.
(d) Approved apprenticeship programs shall be
accorded registration, evidenced by a fully executed program registration
agreement.
(e) Any modification or
change in the essential elements of a program as indicated in section
601.5(c)(15) of
this Part shall be submitted to the commissioner, acknowledged or approved by
the commissioner within 90 days of receipt, and recorded as an amendment to the
program registration agreement upon approval.
(f) Under a program proposed for registration
by an employer or employers' association, which is a party to a collective
bargaining agreement:
(1) where employees are
represented by a union and the standards, collective bargaining agreement, or
other instrument describing the relationship between the parties provides for
participation by the union in the program, the employer or employers
association shall furnish the union with a copy of its application for
registration of the program. The participating union shall provide written
acknowledgment of its concurrence by signing the program registration agreement
in order for the department to process the application;
(2) where employees are represented by a
union but union participation is not sought in establishing the program, the
employer or employers' association shall simultaneously furnish the union with
a copy of its application for registration of the program when it submits its
application to the department. Union comments will be accepted for a period of
45 days from the date that the employer or employers' association transmitted
the application to the department. The union may waive its right to submit
comments, but must do so in writing.
(g) A written public comment period is
required for all new apprenticeship program applications, applications seeking
reciprocal approval, proposed new trades, training outlines (i.e., the combined
work process and related instruction outline) for new approaches to existing
trades, and certain training outline updates. Such updates shall include, but
not be limited to, changes to the duration of the program, or the addition or
elimination of job skills or related and supplemental instruction topics that
are essential to the integrity of the trade.
(1) A list of all such new trades,
approaches, training outlines, and applications will be posted on the
department's website for a minimum period of 30 calendar days. The posting
shall include the U.S. postal and e-mail addresses to which comments may be
submitted and the last date by which any public comment must be
received.
(2) All comments shall be
submitted in writing and shall include: the name, title, and organization name,
if applicable, of the party submitting the comment(s). Comments may be
submitted via mail or e-mail.
(3)
Comments received will not be individually acknowledged, but will be reviewed
in connection with the issue in question.
(4) Written comments received will be posted
on the department's website at the end of the time period provided, with
appropriate redactions to protect privacy and decorum.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be
construed as creating an entitlement on the part of the party submitting public
comment to further participation in the deliberation or determination regarding
the application, trade, or training outline at issue, except as deemed
appropriate by the department.
(h) Apprentices submitted for registration
after program approval shall be recruited using the approved recruitment
method. Programs not registering their first apprentice within six months of
program approval shall be deemed deregistered.