Amendment #607 to H5500

Workforce Productivity Fund

Mr. Gordon of Bedford moves to amend the bill by adding the following sections:

SECTION XX. Subsection (a) of section 7 of chapter 175M of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding, in line 11, following the words “the administrative costs of the department” the following words:-

excluding costs associated with administration of the Workforce Productivity Sub-Fund established under section 12. The director shall expend funds from the Workforce Productivity Sub-Fund to pay for the administrative costs of the department associated with administering the Workforce Productivity Sub-Fund.

SECTION XX.  Subsection (a) of section 7 of chapter 175M of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding, in line 27, following the period after the words “administration of the department” the following words:-

There shall be a sub-fund within the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund called the Workforce Productivity Sub-Fund, which shall be expended by the director as set forth in section 12.

SECTION XX - Said chapter 175M of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the

following section:-

Section 12. (a) For the purposes of this section, the term "eligible applicant" shall mean an employer employing 25 or fewer employees in the commonwealth and whose employees have an aggregate average weekly wage equal to or less than 150 per cent of the state average weekly wage; provided that an "eligible applicant" shall not include employers with: (i) a plan approved pursuant to section 11, (ii) complaints substantiated by the department for failing to provide their employees notice as required by section 4 of his chapter, (iii) less than 50 percent of its employees that applied for medical or family leave in the calendar year prior to the date of application having obtained said leave, and (iv) unremedied enforcement actions or missed contributions under section 6 of this chapter. There shall be a sub-fund within the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund called the Workforce Productivity Sub-Fund, which shall be expended by the director for purposes of administration of this section.  In no event shall funds in the grants awarded under this section be funded from moneys in the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund established under section 7 of this chapter. In no event shall funds from the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund established under section 7 of this chapter be appropriated into the Workforce Productivity Sub-Fund.

(b) There shall be a grant program to support eligible applicants with: (i) costs associated with covering a temporary vacancy due to an employee being on an approved continuous leave, or (ii) other purposes as determined by the director. In no event shall an eligible applicant be allowed to apply funds granted under this program to cover: (i) wages or other remuneration for the services of workers hired to replace an employee on an approved leave under this chapter, whether temporary or permanent, or (ii) overtime wages. Allowable uses of funds granted under this program include: (i) training costs, including equipment purchases, (ii) cost of training supplies and hours spent training an existing employee or temporary worker, (iii) costs associated with recruiting permanent or temporary workers, including uniforms, name tags, and staffing agency fees. Eligible applicants may apply for a grant pursuant to this section in a form and manner prescribed by the department. Determinations related to grants issued pursuant to this section shall be at the sole discretion of the department; provided, however, that an eligible applicant shall be awarded a maximum of $3,000 per employee on leave, up to a maximum of $6,000 per year. If approved for funds under this section, eligible applicants shall not be eligible for an exemption under section 11 of this chapter and shall continue remitting their employees’ contributions to the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund for a period of eight calendar quarters.

(c) The director may promulgate regulations or other guidance necessary for the implementation of this section, including, but not limited to, grant eligibility criteria.

SECTION XX - Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, not later than December 31, 2026, the comptroller shall transfer $1,000,000 into the Workforce Productivity Sub-Fund from the Family and Employment Security Trust Fund established under section 12 of chapter 175M of the General Laws.