The proposed bill aims to establish the "Recharge West Virginia Program," which will provide financial reimbursement to qualifying employers for the costs associated with upskilling their employees. The program is designed to support workforce development by incentivizing employers to invest in training that leads to skill enhancement and wage increases for their employees. To qualify for reimbursement, an employee must achieve a wage increase of at least 25% above their previous base wage, and this new wage must exceed the average weekly wage in West Virginia as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers can receive up to $10,000 per employee trained, with a cap of $50,000 in reimbursements per employer per fiscal year.

The bill outlines the responsibilities of the Division of Economic Development in administering the program, including the creation of application procedures and criteria for evaluating reimbursement requests. It also includes provisions to prevent duplicate reimbursements from other state-funded programs and mandates that employers maintain detailed records related to the training and wage increases of their employees for a minimum of five years. Additionally, the bill requires the division to propose emergency and legislative rules to implement the program effectively, ensuring compliance and transparency in the reimbursement process.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 5B-2P-1, 5B-2P-2, 5B-2P-3, 5B-2P-4, 5B-2P-5