Chapter 5* - DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT TRANSITIONAL JOBS PROGRAM

Section 21-501

Section 21-501

  * §  21-501  Definitions.  Whenever used in this chapter the following
words shall have the following meanings:
  a. "Affiliated organization" shall mean a local government  agency  or
community-based  organization  that  is  affiliated  with  a  sponsoring
organization and employs certified individuals.
  b. "Case management" shall mean  the  provision  and  coordination  of
services  to  participants  to  ensure their success in the transitional
jobs program, and enhance their chances of securing permanent employment
after their participation in such program. Such services shall  include,
but  shall  not  be limited to, providing education and training, career
counseling, and childcare. Such services shall  also  include  assisting
participants  in  obtaining  all  federal,  state  and  local government
benefits that they are otherwise entitled to, including, but not limited
to, child care expenses, training-related  expenses,  food  stamps,  and
medicaid or transitional medicaid.
  c.  "Certified  individual"  shall mean an individual certified by the
commissioner to participate in the transitional jobs program.
  d. "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner  of  the  department  of
employment or the commissioner or head of any other department or agency
that the mayor designates to administer the transitional jobs program.
  e. "Community-based organization" shall mean a non-profit organization
providing  services  to,  or  operating for the benefit of, a particular
community. Community-based organizations may also include a trade  union
that offers apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship programs.
  f.  "Department" shall mean the department of employment, or any other
department or  agency  that  the  mayor  designates  to  administer  the
transitional jobs program.
  g.  "Participant" shall mean an individual employed by a sponsoring or
affiliated organization  in  the  transitional  jobs  program  following
eligibility determination and certification by the commissioner.
  h.  "Sponsoring  organization" shall mean a local government agency or
community-based organization selected by the commissioner to  employ  or
facilitate  the employment of certified individuals, and to provide case
management  to  participants,  provided,  however,  that  nothing  shall
preclude  a  sponsoring  organization  from  being  a public, non-profit
corporation created pursuant to applicable New York state law.
  i. "Transitional jobs program" shall mean a program designed to create
temporary  employment  in  the  public  sector  and  in  community-based
organizations,  and  to  provide  the  participants of such program with
education and training, career  counseling,  and  related  services,  to
enhance  their  ability  to  secure  permanent  employment  after  their
participation in such program.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-502

Section 21-502

  * § 21-502 Transitional jobs program.
  a. The mayor shall direct the commissioner to establish a transitional
jobs  program,  which  shall  consist  of  a  total of two thousand five
hundred temporary jobs in  the  public  sector  and  in  community-based
organizations,  at  least  two-thirds  of  which shall be created within
local government agencies in the public sector. Such total number of two
thousand five hundred  temporary  jobs  shall  exist  for  a  period  of
thirty-six  months,  commencing  on  January  first,  two  thousand one;
provided, however,  that  each  participant  in  the  transitional  jobs
program   shall   only   be  employed  by  a  sponsoring  or  affiliated
organization for a period not to exceed twelve  months,  and  that  each
specific  job created pursuant to the transitional jobs program shall be
retained for at least twelve months. An initial group  of  two  thousand
five  hundred  participants  shall commence employment on January first,
two  thousand  one.  A  second  group  of  two  thousand  five   hundred
participants  shall  commence  employment on January first, two thousand
two, and a final group of two thousand five hundred  participants  shall
commence employment on January first, two thousand three.
  b.  The  jobs  created  in  local government agencies pursuant to this
chapter shall, consistent with applicable collective bargaining laws and
agreements, be accreted to appropriate  existing  collective  bargaining
units.
  c.  In  implementing  the  transitional  jobs program, the mayor shall
direct the commissioner to select which local government agencies  shall
be   sponsoring   organizations.   In  making  such  determination,  the
commissioner may work in cooperation with  the  commissioners  of  other
local  government  agencies  and  may, consistent with obligations under
collective bargaining laws and agreements, consult  with  the  heads  of
collective  bargaining  organizations, and may consider each prospective
agency's prior experience hiring welfare recipients and the  unemployed,
its  prior  experience  assisting  such individuals in finding jobs, its
prior experience providing education and  training,  career  counseling,
and  related  services to its employees, its plans to address or fulfill
the needs of communities throughout the city of New York, its  plans  to
employ  or facilitate the employment of certified individuals, its plans
to provide case management to participants, and its plans to  assist  in
the permanent placement of participants following their participation in
the transitional jobs program.
  d.  In  meeting  the  goal  of placing participants in community based
organizations pursuant  to  this  chapter,  the  mayor  may  direct  the
commissioner  to  issue  a request for proposals or to utilize any other
procurement  method  that  he  or  she   deems   necessary   to   select
community-based  organizations  to  become  sponsoring organizations. To
determine which community-based organizations  shall  become  sponsoring
organizations,  the  commissioner  may  consider an organization's prior
experience hiring welfare  recipients  and  the  unemployed,  its  prior
experience  assisting  such  individuals  in  finding  jobs,  its  prior
experience providing education  and  training,  career  counseling,  and
related  services  to its employees, its plans to address or fulfill the
needs of communities throughout the city  of  New  York,  its  plans  to
employ  or facilitate the employment of certified individuals, its plans
to provide case management to participants, and its plans to  assist  in
the permanent placement of participants following their participation in
the  transitional jobs program. Where the employees of a community-based
organization that has been selected to become a sponsoring or affiliated
organization  are  members  of  a  collective  bargaining   unit,   such
collective  bargaining unit shall, consistent with applicable collective
bargaining laws and agreements, have the opportunity to comment on  such

selection.  The  commissioner  shall  respond  to  such  comments within
fifteen days of their receipt.
  e. Each sponsoring or affiliated organization may employ any certified
individual,  and employment with a sponsoring or affiliated organization
shall be for a period not to exceed twelve months.
  f. The sponsoring organizations shall provide  each  participant  with
the  necessary  case  management to enable the participant to succeed in
the transitional jobs program, build his or her job skills, and  enhance
his  or her chances of securing permanent employment after participating
in the transitional jobs program.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-503

Section 21-503

  * §  21-503 Powers and duties of the commissioner. Except as otherwise
provided by law, the commissioner shall have the power and it  shall  be
the  commissioner's  duty  to perform the following functions and duties
relating to the transitional jobs program:
  1. To ensure that at least sixty  percent  of  all  participants  were
receiving family assistance at the time of their certification, and that
at  least forty percent of all participants were either receiving safety
net assistance, were unemployed for at least six months or had exhausted
their unemployment insurance at the time  of  their  certification.  The
commissioner  shall  also  ensure  that  at  least  fifty percent of all
participants faced serious barriers to employment or were  participating
in  the  work  experience  program  at  the time of their certification.
Serious barriers to employment shall include, but not be limited  to,  a
lack  of  basic  work-related  skills,  a high school diploma or English
proficiency. In addition, any person who is  either  a  teen  parent,  a
former  substance  user,  disabled,  homeless  or  a  victim of domestic
violence, or any person who  has  a  criminal  record,  HIV/AIDS  or  an
HIV/AIDS-related  illness or any other life-threatening illness shall be
presumed to face serious barriers to employment;
  2. To establish an application procedure for those individuals seeking
to participate in the transitional jobs program;
  3.  To  request  that  community-based  organizations  and  all  local
government   agencies,   including  private  industry  councils,  social
services  intake  centers  and  unemployment  offices,   publicize   the
existence  of the transitional jobs program to those individuals who may
be eligible to participate in such program;
  4. To notify recipients of family assistance and safety net assistance
of their right to apply  for  participation  in  the  transitional  jobs
program;
  5.   To   certify   eligible  individuals  for  participation  in  the
transitional jobs program, to promptly notify such certified individuals
of their certification in writing,  and  to  establish  a  list  of  all
certified individuals for use by the sponsoring organizations;
  6.  To  develop  an assessment formula to evaluate the job skills, the
prior work and educational experience and the case management  needs  of
each  certified  individual,  and  to  provide  such  information to the
appropriate sponsoring organization;
  7.  To  ensure  that  the  sponsoring   organizations   provide   each
participant  with  the necessary case management to help the participant
to succeed in the transitional  jobs  program,  build  his  or  her  job
skills,  and enhance his or her chances of securing permanent employment
after participating in the transitional jobs program;
  8. To ensure that participants are informed of  their  eligibility  to
receive  state  and  federal  earned  income  tax credit and are offered
assistance in applying for advance payment of such credit;
  9. To ensure that each community-based organization is  in  compliance
with  section  21-505(g)  of  this chapter, and to further ensure that a
community-based  organization  that  submits  false  information   under
section  21-505(g)  of  this  chapter  shall  not  be  permitted to be a
sponsoring or affiliated organization in the transitional jobs  program;
and
  10.  To  ensure  that the powers and duties of the commissioner as set
forth in this section are carried out by public employees.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-504

Section 21-504

  * §  21-504  Eligibility  criteria.  A  certified  individual  must be
eighteen years of age or older and must either (i) be  receiving  family
assistance  or  safety  net assistance; (ii) have lost his or her aid to
families with dependent children,  home  relief,  family  assistance  or
safety  net  assistance  as  a result of the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 or state  implementing  law;
or  (iii)  have  been  unemployed for a period of at least six months or
have either been denied unemployment insurance or exhausted his  or  her
unemployment insurance benefits.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-505

Section 21-505

  * § 21-505 Duties of the sponsoring and affiliated organization.
  a. The sponsoring organization shall create positions for participants
that  are  comparable  to  the  positions  of  other  employees  in such
organization. In creating such positions,  the  sponsoring  organization
shall   consider  the  responsibilities  associated  with  a  particular
position and the participant's training and prior work experience.
  b. In those cases where  the  sponsoring  organization  is  unable  to
provide  a  certified  individual  with  an  appropriate  position, such
sponsoring organization shall facilitate employment with  an  affiliated
organization  in  a  position  comparable  to  the  positions  of  other
employees in such affiliated organization. In providing such a position,
the affiliated organization shall consider the responsibility associated
with a particular position and such certified individual's training  and
work experience.
  c.  The  sponsoring  organization  shall  provide  case  management to
participants employed by such organization  or  by  such  organization's
affiliated  organization.  The  affiliated  organization  shall  not  be
responsible for providing case management to the participant.
  d. Neither a sponsoring nor an affiliated  organization  may  place  a
certified individual in a position with a for-profit employer.
  e. A community-based organization that is a trade union may only place
certified  individuals in apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs
that are offered by such trade unions.
  f. A community-based organization shall certify  to  the  commissioner
that  such  organization has not, in the past five years, been convicted
of a felony or a misdemeanor the  underlying  basis  of  which  involved
workplace  safety  and  health  or labor standards. Such community-based
organization shall also certify to the commissioner as to all violations
issued by the New York state  department  of  labor.  A  community-based
organization that submits false information under this subdivision shall
not  be  permitted  to be a sponsoring or affiliated organization in the
transitional jobs program.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-506

Section 21-506

  * § 21-506 Participants.
  a.  Participation  in  the  transitional  jobs  program shall be for a
period not to exceed twelve months.
  b. A participant who is not a member of a collective  bargaining  unit
shall  receive  a  salary  of  not  less than fifty percent of the Lower
Living Standard Income Level (LLSIL), as  established  annually  by  the
United  States  department  of  labor and adjusted by the New York state
department of labor for the New York city area using the New  York  city
area  LLSIL  hourly  rate  based  on a thirty-hour workweek in full-year
employment for a family of three. Notwithstanding  such  minimum  salary
requirement,  a participant may not be compensated at a rate of pay that
is less than that of other employees of  the  sponsoring  or  affiliated
organization  employing such participant, who are performing the same or
comparable work.
  c. A participant who is not a member of a collective  bargaining  unit
shall  be entitled to the same paid holidays and benefits permissible by
law as other employees of  the  sponsoring  or  affiliated  organization
employing  such  participant,  who are performing the same or comparable
work.
  d. A participant who is a  member  of  a  collective  bargaining  unit
shall,  consistent  with  collective  bargaining  laws  and  agreements,
receive,  at  a  minimum,  the  salary  and  benefits  provided  for  in
subdivisions  b,  c  and  e of this section, provided however, that such
subdivisions shall not be construed to limit the  collective  bargaining
unit's  right  to  negotiate more favorable wages and/or any other terms
and conditions of employment.
  e. A participant shall work the standard work hours  required  by  the
sponsoring  or  affiliated  organization which employs such participant,
except that in no instance shall a participant be required to work  more
than  forty  hours  per  week.  A  participant  shall  be  excused, when
necessary, for up to an average of  eight  hours  per  week  from  their
scheduled  work  hours  to participate in adult education, job training,
and job readiness or placement  services.  The  sponsoring  organization
shall   prepare   the  participant's  work  schedule  and  may  allocate
additional hours during any work week to be spent  on  adult  education,
job  training,  and job readiness or placement services, so long as over
the course of the participant's employment, no more than an  average  of
eight  hour  per  week  is  allocated to these activities. A participant
shall be compensated as set forth in subdivision b of this section  when
such  participant  engages  in  adult  education,  job  training, or job
readiness and placement services as provided for in this subdivision.
  f. A participant shall be considered an employee for purposes  of  the
city's  human  rights  and  collective  bargaining  laws  and  any other
applicable local laws, unless otherwise  prohibited  by  law;  provided,
however,  that nothing herein shall limit the participant's rights under
an applicable federal or state law.  In  implementing  the  transitional
jobs program, the mayor or his or her designee, shall take any necessary
and/or  appropriate  actions  to classify participants employed by local
government agencies in accordance with all applicable civil service laws
and consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-507

Section 21-507

  * §  21-507  Grievance procedure. The commissioner shall establish and
maintain  a  grievance  procedure  for  the  filing  and  resolution  of
complaints   by  participants  who  are  not  members  of  a  collective
bargaining unit. Such grievance procedure shall provide  for  a  hearing
within  twenty  business  days  after  the  filing  of  a  participant's
complaint. The commissioner shall notify the participant  of  the  date,
time,  and  place  of  the  hearing  within five business days after the
filing of such complaint. The commissioner  may  attempt  to  informally
resolve  any  complaint prior to the hearing, but any such attempt shall
not delay the date of the hearing,  unless  a  participant  specifically
consents  in  writing  to  a  postponement  of  such  hearing. A written
decision shall be issued within ten business  days  after  the  hearing.
Nothing  in  this  section  shall be construed to limit the right of any
participant, including a participant who is a  member  of  a  collective
bargaining  unit  or  a participant represented by a designated employee
spokesperson,  from  pursuing  other  available   remedies   under   any
applicable  collective  bargaining  agreement,  or any federal, state or
local law.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-508

Section 21-508

  * §  21-508  Reports  to the mayor and city council. On April first of
the years two thousand two, two thousand three, and two  thousand  four,
the  commissioner shall issue a report to the mayor and the city council
evaluating the program. The report shall include, but not be limited to:
  1.  The  name  and  description  of  each  sponsoring  and  affiliated
organization, and a summary of each organization's accomplishments;
  2.  The  total number of certified individuals and participants in the
transitional jobs program;
  3. An analysis of the impact of the transitional jobs program  on  the
permanent  workforce  within each sponsoring or affiliated organization,
including, but not limited to, a change in the number of non-participant
employees, the number of hours worked by non-participant employees,  the
amount  of overtime required of non-participant employees, the number of
promotions awarded to non-participant employees and the amount of  wages
earned by non-participant employees;
  4. The average length of time a participant is employed;
  5.  A  summary  of  the  education and training, career counseling and
related services provided to participants;
  6. The number and percentage of participants who were able  to  secure
permanent  employment after their participation in the transitional jobs
program, and their wage and benefit levels;
  7. The estimated dollar value of the jobs created by the  transitional
jobs program;
  8.  The  estimated  local  economic  impact of the jobs created by the
transitional jobs program;
  9. The estimated savings by federal, state and local governments as  a
result  of  reductions in social services and public assistance benefits
that would otherwise have been provided to a participant and his or  her
family were it not for his or her participation in the transitional jobs
program;
  10.  The  estimated  tax revenues received by federal, state and local
governments from participants;
  11. The estimated state and federal earned income tax credit  received
by participants;
  12.  An analysis of the impact of the transitional jobs program on the
overall welfare of participants and their families;
  13.  The  amount  of  funds   appropriated   and   expended   on   the
administration of the transitional jobs program;
  14.  Whether  the  transitional  jobs  program  has  met  the criteria
established by the United States health and  human  services  department
for  participation  in  the  welfare bonuses program in order to receive
bonus funding available  to  selected  states  that  successfully  place
welfare   recipients   in   jobs   as   provided  for  by  the  Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-509

Section 21-509

  * § 21-509 Displacement of employees.
  a.  A  certified  individual  may  be  employed  by  a  sponsoring  or
affiliated organization only if:
  1. such employment would not result in (i)  the  displacement  of  any
currently  employed  worker or the loss of a position (including partial
displacement such as reduction in the hours of non-overtime work,  wages
or  employment  benefits)  or  the  impairment of existing contracts for
services or collective bargaining agreements; (ii) any  infringement  of
the  promotional  opportunities  of  any  current  employees;  (iii) the
performance, by such certified individual, of a substantial  portion  of
the work ordinarily and actually performed by regular employees; or (iv)
the  loss  of  a  bargaining  unit position as a result of a participant
performing, in part or in  whole,  the  work  normally  performed  by  a
regular employee;
  2.  such employment is not at any work site at which regular employees
are on a legal strike  or  are  being  subjected  to  lock  out  by  the
sponsoring or affiliated organization;
  3. no other regular employee is available for reinstatement, recall or
reemployment following an approved leave of absence, furlough, layoff or
suspension from the same or substantially equivalent job; or
  4.  the  sponsoring  or affiliated organization has not terminated the
employment of any regular employee or otherwise  reduced  its  workforce
with  the  effect  of  filling  the vacancy or vacancies so created with
certified individuals.
  b. Community-based organizations who are awarded contracts to become a
sponsoring organization shall at  the  time  of  award  provide  written
notification to its employees' collective bargaining representatives, if
any,  regarding  such  plan. The notice shall include, at a minimum, the
participants' expected work locations, job duties, approximate salaries,
and the approximate number of hours to be worked.
  c. Local government agencies planning to enter into an agreement  with
the department to become a sponsoring organization shall provide written
notification to its employees' collective bargaining representatives, if
any,  regarding  such  plan. The notice shall include, at a minimum, the
participants' expected work locations, job duties, approximate salaries,
and the approximate number of hours to be worked.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-510

Section 21-510

  * §  21-510  Rules.  The  commissioner  shall make and promulgate such
rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out  the  provisions  of
this chapter.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003

Section 21-511

Section 21-511

  * § 21-511 Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase  or  other portion of this local law is, for any reason, declared
unconstitutional or invalid, in whole  or  in  part,  by  any  court  of
competent  jurisdiction such portion shall be deemed severable, and such
unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the validity  of  the
remaining  portions of this law, which remaining portions shall continue
in full force and effect.
  * NB Declared invalid by NYS Supreme Court 5/9/2003