Sponsored by:
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Giblin, Caputo, McGuckin, Catalano, Wirths, Space, Benson, Simonsen, Moriarty and Greenwald
SYNOPSIS
Removes registered apprenticeship program requisites of public work contractors; sets apprenticeship standards for prevailing wage projects.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act removing apprenticeship program requirements for public works projects, amending P.L.1963, c.150 and P.L.1999, c.238, and repealing section 6 of P.L.2021, c.423.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 8 of P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.32) is amended to read as follows:
8. a. Contractors and subcontractors performing public work of a public body subject to the provisions of [this act] the New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act, P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.) shall post the prevailing wage rates for each craft and classification involved as determined by the commissioner, including the effective date of any changes thereof, in prominent and easily accessible places at the site of the work or at such place or places as are used by them to pay workmen their wages.
b. If a contractor or subcontractor participates in a registered apprenticeship program, the contractor shall ensure that the registered apprenticeship program requires the completion of the on-the-job training hours which conform to the industry standards for learning the skills of a specific craft or trade, as well as on-the-job organized, related instruction in technical subjects related to the specific apprenticeable occupation in conformance with industry standards. The industry standards for program completion shall be based upon the training requirements as registered and certified by the United States Department of Labor for each individual occupation and craft title published by the United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. The classroom, on-the-job hours, and years of apprenticeship required to meet the standards shall be equal to or greater than that of the established apprenticeship programs for the craft that serves as the basis for the prevailing wage determination. These apprenticeship standards shall be detailed in the wage determinations for each craft.
(cf: P.L.1963, c.150, s.8)
2. Section 3 of P.L.1999, c.238 (C.34:11-56.50) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in chapter 11 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes:
["Apprenticeship
Agreement" means a written agreement, complying with 29 C.F.R. s.29.7,
between an apprentice and either the apprentice's program sponsor, or an
apprenticeship committee acting as agent for a program sponsor, which contains
the terms and
conditions of the employment and training of the apprentice.
"Apprenticeship cohort" means the group of individual apprentices registered to a specific individual program during a one-year time frame, except that a cohort does not include the apprentices whose apprenticeship agreement has been cancelled during the probationary period.
"Apprenticeship committee" means those persons designated by the sponsor to administer the program. A committee may be either joint or non-joint, as follows:
(1) A joint committee is composed of an equal number of representatives of the employer or employers and of the employees represented by a bona fide collective bargaining agent or agents.
(2) A non-joint committee, which may also be known as a unilateral or group non-joint committee, has employer representatives, but does not have a bona fide collective bargaining agent as a participant. A non-joint committee may include employees.
"Apprenticeable occupation" means a skilled trade or technical occupation that is included on the United States Department of Labor's "List of Occupations Officially Recognized as Apprenticeable by the Office of Apprenticeship".
"Apprenticeship program" means a plan containing all terms and conditions for the qualification, recruitment, selection, employment, and training of apprentices, as required under 29 C.F.R. ss.29 and 30, including such matters as the requirement for a written apprenticeship agreement.]
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development or his duly authorized representatives.
["Completion rate" means the percentage of an apprenticeship cohort who receive a certificate of apprenticeship completion within one year of the projected completion date.]
"Contractor" means a person, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, or other legal business entity or successor thereof who enters into a contract which is subject to the provisions of the "New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act," P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.), or who is required to pay its workers the prevailing wage by any other provision of law, and includes any subcontractor or lower tier subcontractor of a contractor as defined herein.
"Department" means the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
"Worker" includes laborer, mechanic, skilled or semi-skilled laborer and apprentices or helpers employed by any contractor or subcontractor and engaged in the performance of services directly upon a public work, [who have completed or are actively participating in a registered apprenticeship program,] regardless of whether their work becomes a component part thereof, but does not include material suppliers or their employees who do not perform services at the job site.
["Registered apprenticeship program" or "program" means an apprenticeship program which is registered with and approved by the United States Department of Labor, which provides each trainee with combined classroom and on-the-job training in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable occupation, and which involves the attainment of manual, mechanical, or technical skills and knowledge which, in accordance with the industry standard for the specific apprenticeable occupation, are outlined under 29 C.F.R. s.29.5.
"Sponsor" means any person, association, committee, or organization operating an apprenticeship program and in whose name the program is or will be registered or approved.]
(cf: P.L.2019, c.518, s.1)
3. Section 5 of P.L.1999, c.238 (C.34:11-56.52) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. A contractor shall register in writing with the department on a form provided by the commissioner. The form shall require the following information:
(1) The name, principal business address and telephone number of the contractor;
(2) Whether the contractor is a corporation, partnership, sole p