File #: Res 0290-2006    Version: * Name: Allow city agencies that manage job placement and retention programs funded under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on General Welfare
On agenda: 5/10/2006
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon the State of New York to alter the state tax code to allow city agencies that manage job placement and retention programs funded under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to access individual-level wage data from the New York State Department of Labor, in order to allow better tracking of outcomes for those placed in employment through these programs.
Sponsors: Gale A. Brewer, Inez E. Dickens, Lewis A. Fidler, Letitia James, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Annabel Palma, James Sanders, Jr., Thomas White, Jr., Helen D. Foster
Council Member Sponsors: 9

Res. No. 290

 

Resolution calling upon the State of New York to alter the state tax code to allow city agencies that manage job placement and retention programs funded under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to access individual-level wage data from the New York State Department of Labor, in order to allow better tracking of outcomes for those placed in employment through these programs. 

 

By Council Members Brewer, Dickens, Fidler, James, Mark-Viverito, Palma, Sanders Jr., White Jr. and Foster

 

                     Whereas, The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 dramatically changed the federal government’s employment and training policy; and

                     Whereas, The WIA provides funding for programs that provide employment and training services for adults, dislocated and youth workers; and

                     Whereas, Under WIA guidelines, the City created Workforce 1 Centers, one-stop career centers where anyone can access a broad array of employment services and training, throughout the five boroughs; and

Whereas, Workforce 1 centers provide job-matching services for all New Yorkers, as well as access to state-sponsored training for those who meet the federal income requirements under WIA; and

                     Whereas, Workforce 1 centers have had to respond to constant federal and state cutbacks over the last few years; and

Whereas, Workforce 1 centers are heavily performance monitored and are held to targets that emphasize placing people in jobs as quickly as possible; and

Whereas, Workforce 1 centers must maintain strong relationships with employers, and ensure that the people they put forward have a strong chance of being and staying hired; and

Whereas, The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) services for those registering for unemployment insurance have the same broad goals as those offered by the Workforce 1 system; and

Whereas, New York State Tax law prevents the NYSDOL from releasing individual-level wage data to other agencies for privacy reasons, meaning that the Department of Small Business Services can only be given performance measures such as earnings improvement as an average across all people served in that quarter; and

Whereas, This average is far less useful than individual level data would be for performance monitoring purposes, since averages can conceal or distort important differences between users; and

Whereas, Forty-three other states have now amended their tax laws to allow WIA-funded programs access to individual level wage data; and

Whereas, With over 200,000 job-seekers in New York City, and tens of thousands more looking to improve their marketability and earning potential, workforce initiatives are a serious concern of the City Council; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the State of New York to alter the state tax code to allow city agencies who manage job placement and retention programs funded under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to access individual-level wage data from the New York State Department of Labor, in order to allow better tracking of outcomes for those placed in employment through these programs.  

SH

LS # 744

5/2/06