CHAPTER 10
AN ACT AMENDING TITLE 19, DELAWARE CODE, EN TITLED "LABOR", BY CREATING A STATE APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING COUNCIL, DEFINING ITS POWERS AND DUTIES AND PROVIDING FOR ITS ADMINISTRATION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. Title 19, Delaware Code, is hereby amended by adding thereto a new Chapter as follows:
CHAPTER 2. STATE APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING COUNCIL
§ 201. Declaration of Policy
It is declared to be the policy of this State to:
(a) Encourage the development of an apprenticeship and training system through the voluntary cooperation of management and labor and interested State Agencies and in cooperation with other states and the Federal Government;
(b) Provide for the establishment and furtherance of Standards of Apprenticeship and training to safeguard the welfare of apprentices and trainees;
(c) Aid in providing maximum opportunities for unemployed and employed persons to improve and modernize their work skills;
(d) Contribute to a healthy economy by aiding in the development and maintenance of a skilled labor force sufficient in numbers and quality to meet the expanding needs of industry and to attract new industry.
§ 202. State Apprenticeship and Training Council
(a) There is created a State Apprenticeship and Training Council, hereinafter called "The Council", as a department in the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to be composed of six members who shall be appointed by the Governor. Three members shall be representatives of employee organizations and three members shall be representatives of employers.
(b) Members of the Council, other than the ex-officio members shall be appointed for terms of three years, except that two of the original members shall be appointed for a term of one year, two for a term of two years, and two for a term of three years.
(c) Members of the Council shall be eligible for reappointment. In case of a vacancy the Governor shall make an appointment for the unexpired term.
The Chairman of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the State Director of the Department for Vocational Education shall be ex-officio members of the Council without vote, except in the event of a tie vote the Chairman of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations shall have the right to cast the tie-breaking vote.
(d) The State Supervisor of the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, shall be a consultant to the Council.
(e) The Council shall organize immediately upon its appointment and annually thereafter by the election of one of its members as Chairman and another as Vice-Chairman, one of whom shall be a representative of an employee organization and the other a representative of employers.
(f) Each member of the Council except ex-officio members shall receive actual traveling expenses and a per diem compensation at the rate of $20 per day for the time actually devoted to the business of the Council, not to exceed 12 such days annually.
§ 203. Meetings
Meetings of the Council shall be held monthly or as often as is necessary in the opinion of the majority of the Council.
The chairman shall designate the time and place of the meetings, and the secretary shall notify all Council members at least one week in advance of each meeting. A majority of the voting membership of the Council shall constitute a quorum if at least one representative from both the employee and employer groups is present.
§ 204. Powers and Duties
(a) The Council shall--
(1) Establish standards for apprenticeship in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and applicable statutes and regulations of the Federal Government;
(2) Adopt such rules and regulations, subject only to the approval of the Chairman of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, as may be necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this chapter;
(0) Compile such data on population and employment trends, industrial production, vocational and industrial education and job requirements as may be deemed necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this chapter;
(1) Study the effectiveness of apprenticeship programs and make recommendations in accordance with the provisions of such programs for their improvement and to terminate, cancel, or modify any apprenticeship programs in accordance with the provisions of such programs;
(2) Maintain close liaison with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, the United States Department of Labor, the State Board for Vocational Education, and such other agencies which carry on programs closely related to the purposes of this chapter;
(3) Conduct studies, surveys, and investigations of the special problems of retraining or training unemployed or employed persons to improve or modernize work skills and make appropriate recommendations to cooperating agencies described above, local community organizations, local school boards, and the Chairman of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
(7) Act as a convening agency in local communities to bring together local representatives of employee organizations, employers, educational agencies, and industrial development agencies in order to promote closer local cooperation in establishing better apprenticeship and other training programs including programs for employed persons who wish to improve and modernize their work skills;
(8) Use appropriate media of information and education to acquaint employers, employee organizations and the public with the advantages and availability of apprenticeship and other occupational training programs.
(9) Perform such other duties as may be necessary to give full effect to the provisions of this chapter.
(b) The Council shall make a report to the Chairman of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations on or before February 15 of each year indicating the extent of apprenticeship and other occupational training programs during the previous year, trends in employment requiring adjustments in apprenticeship and other occupational training programs, needs for expansion of apprenticeship and other occupational training programs, activities of the Council, and such recommendations as are in accord with the purposes of this chapter.
(c) No action affecting the status of a program shall be taken by the Council until an attempt has been made to bring the employees and employer together to settle the problem in conformity with the standards of the Council.
§ 205. Director
The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations shall appoint a Director of Apprenticeship and Training who shall be responsible to the Chairman of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations in carrying out the provisions of this chapter and who shall serve as ex-officio secretary of the Council. The Chairman of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is authorized to appoint or make available to the Director of Apprenticeship and Training such clerical services and other facilities necessary to the performance of his duties.
§ 206. Duties of Director
The Director of Apprenticeship and Training shall carry out the purposes of this chapter. His duties shall include, but shall not be limited to:
(a) Encouragement and promotion of the standards established in accordance with this Chapter and with the basic standards of the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, United States Department of Labor;
(b) Bringing about the settlement of differences arising out of apprenticeship programs and agreements when the differences cannot be adjusted locally or in accordance with established trade procedure;
(c) Supervision of the execution of agreements and the maintenance of Standards;
(d) Registration of apprenticeship programs and agreements;
(e) Keeping a record of apprenticeship agreements and programs, and upon performance thereunder issuing Certificates of Completion of Apprenticeship;
(f) Encouragement of liaison and cooperation between all private, state and federal agencies concerned with apprenticeship, trade, and industrial training;
(g) Promotion of public awareness of apprenticeship and other occupational training; and
(h) Keeping a record of the progress of apprenticeship and training programs initiated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and informing the Council periodically as to the results.
§ 207. Limitations
The provisions of this chapter shall apply only to persons, co-partnerships, associations, corporations, political subdivisions, employer associations and organizations or associations of employees as voluntarily elect to conform with its provisions.
Approved March 19, 1963.