5101:11-3-01 Eligibility for program registration.

To be eligible for registration with the council, each apprenticeship program shall conform to the following requirements;

(A) Any business entity applying for program registration must be incorporated in Ohio or, alternatively, have operated as a business in Ohio for at least twelve months. This provision shall not be interpreted to preclude any employer from joining an existing apprenticeship program.

(B) Any sponsor applying for program registration must submit a set of program standards to the council, in the form of an organized, written plan embodying the terms and conditions of employment, training, and supervision in an apprenticeable occupation.

(C) The program standards must contain the equal opportunity pledge prescribed in paragraph (B) of rule 5101:11-4-01 of the Administrative Code and, for programs that will enroll five or more apprentices at a time, an affirmative action plan in accordance with rule 5101:11-4-02 of the Administrative Code.

(D) The program standards shall include:

(1) EEO

(a) The methods of selection, employment, and advancement of apprentices, which methods shall conform to all requirements of division-level designation 5101:11 of the Administrative Code regarding selection methods and equal opportunity;

(2) Enrollment

(a) The sponsor’s minimum qualifications for persons to enter the program, including an eligible starting age not less than sixteen years;

(b) Where the standards allow for granting advanced credit toward program completion based on previously acquired experience, training, and/or skills: the specific criteria for granting credit; a method for evaluating applicants by these criteria and assigning them to corresponding progression steps in the program, with commensurate wages; and rules for applying such method consistently, fairly, and without discrimination based on any consideration besides the stated criteria;

(c) Provision for issuing an apprenticeship agreement for each apprentice, to be signed by the sponsor or its agent, and by the apprentice, and if the apprentice is a minor, by his/her legal guardian;

(3) Training

(a) Provision for employing and training every apprentice of the program in a skilled occupation;

(b) A term of apprenticeship that includes not less than two thousand hours of work experience and is consistent with training requirements of the occupation;

(c) A schedule of work processes by which every apprentice of the program in a given occupation is to receive experience and training on the job, such schedule to state the approximate time to be spent in each major process;

(d) Provision for a minimum of one hundred forty-four hours per year for each apprentice, of “related instruction,” i.e., organized instruction of demonstrated value in technical subjects concerning the apprentice’s occupation; which instruction may be given through classroom occupational or industrial courses, correspondence courses, self-study, or other format(s), subject to council approval;

(4) Participant status

(a) Provision for a probationary period reasonable in relation to the full apprenticeship term, with full credit given for on-the-job instruction and related activities during such period, toward the completion of the apprenticeship;

(b) Authorization for the termination of an apprenticeship agreement during the probationary period by either party without stated cause;

(c) When an employer in a group program is unable to fulfill its training obligation under the apprenticeship agreement, the transfer of this obligation to another employer under the same program, with the consent of the apprentice and the apprenticeship committee or the program sponsor;

(d) A method by which the sponsor will report to the council concerning: completion of training by each apprentice; every revision of an apprenticeship agreement; and every cancellation, suspension, and termination of an apprenticeship agreement, and the cause(s) thereof;

(e) A procedure for requesting council registration of every apprenticeship agreement, and every modification and amendment to an agreement;

(f) A procedure for periodically evaluating each apprentice’s progress in the program, including his/her performance in work activities and related instruction, and for keeping adequate records of this progress;

(g) A method of advancement for the apprentices who show progress in learning an occupation;

(h) The sponsor’s procedures for requesting from the council a certificate of completion for every registered apprentice who successfully completes training in a registered program;

(5) Safety and welfare

(a) A schedule for a progressively increasing apprentice wage that at each step relates to the journey wage, in roughly the same proportion as the apprentice skill-level to the journey skill-level; with the entry wage to be no less than the minimum prescribed by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 USC 8, where applicable, and higher if so required by law, regulation, or a collective bargaining agreement;

(b) A procedure for adjudicating differences which may arise between the apprentice(s) and other parties to the program;

(c) The name, phone number, and address of the appropriate authority under the program to receive, process, and make disposition of complaints;

(d) Description of the specific working conditions of the apprentice(s);

(e) Designation of a qualified person or persons to be responsible for supervising and training the apprentice;

(f) In the case of a program in the building and construction industry, an assurance consistent with proper supervision, training, safety, and continued employment, that the program shall comply with the following stipulations regarding the ratio of apprentices to journeypersons employed on the job site:

(i) Where a program sponsor is bound by one or more collective bargaining agreement(s) affecting the pertinent trade(s), the ratio shall conform to the applicable terms of the agreement(s);

(ii) Where a program sponsor is not bound by such an agreement, the ratio may conform to either of two criteria:

(a) the applicable terms of the agreement(s) affecting the pertinent trade(s) in the geographic area nearest to the job site, or

(b) the standard formula of one apprentice to one journeyperson for the first apprentice and one apprentice to three journeypersons for each additional apprentice.

(iii) Where the nature of the training poses particular, significant risk to the health, safety, or well being of the apprentice, the council retains the right to deny registration to any program where the utilized ratio does not ensure adequate safety and supervision of the apprentice(s);

(g) Provision for the safety training of all apprentices, both on the job and in related instruction, and for ensuring that all equipment and facilities used in the program are adequate and safe.

(6) Program administration

(a) Identification of the registration agency;

(b) The name and signature of the party or parties sponsoring the apprenticeship program;

(d) Provision for producing and maintaining all program records required by the registration agency;

(e) Provision for the registration, cancellation, and deregistration of the program and the prompt submission for council approval of any modification or amendment thereto.

(E) Nothing in rules 5101:11-2-03, 5101:11-3-01, or 5101:11-3-03 of the Administrative Code shall operate to invalidate:

(1) Any apprenticeship provision in any collective bargaining agreement between employers and employees establishing higher apprenticeship standards;

(2) Any special provision for veterans, minority persons or females in the standards, apprentice qualifications or operation of the program or in the apprenticeship agreement, which is not otherwise prohibited by law, executive order or authorized regulation.

HISTORY: Replaces: 4111-2-05, 4111-2-11; Eff 3-22-04

Rule promulgated under: RC 111.15

Rule authorized by: RC 4139.03

Rule amplifies: RC 4139.03, 4139.06

RC 119.032 REVIEW DATE: 3/22/09