CHAPTER 241
SB 265-FN – FINAL VERSION
2007 SESSION
06/01
SENATE BILL 265-FN
This bill:
I. Renames the state apprenticeship council.
II. Recommends that the Office of Apprenticeship, United States Department of Labor register and approve apprenticeship programs and agreements in conjunction with the state apprenticeship advisory council.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-1337
06/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to the state apprenticeship council and the regulation of apprenticeship programs.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
241:1 Purposes. Amend RSA 278:1, IV to read as follows:
IV. To [provide for] recommend to the Office of Apprenticeship, United States Department of Labor (OA) the registration and approval of apprenticeship programs and apprenticeship agreements and the issuance of state certificates of completion of apprenticeship.
241:2 Apprenticeship Council. Amend RSA 278:2 to read as follows:
278:2 Apprenticeship Council. There is hereby created a state apprenticeship advisory council (the council), composed of: the labor commissioner or designee, the commissioner of the department of employment security or [his] designee, the commissioner of education or [his] designee, and 2 members who shall be employers and 2 members who shall be employees or persons who represent said employees. The commissioner of labor, or designee, shall act as chairman. The 2 members who are employers and the 2 members who are employees or who represent said employees shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the council. The initial appointment of these 4 members shall be as follows: one member for a term of one year, one member for a term of 2 years, one member for a term of 3 years, and one member for a term of 4 years. Upon the expiration of each of their terms and each year thereafter, one new member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. The members of the council shall receive no compensation for their services[, but shall be reimbursed for transportation and actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties under this chapter; such expenses to be approved on voucher by the labor commissioner].
241:3 Duties. Amend the introductory paragraph and paragraphs I-IV of RSA 278:3 to read as follows:
The council shall meet quarterly and as often as may be necessary[; may adopt rules and regulations; shall], and in cooperation with the OA and state departments of education and labor, establish, maintain, and [approve] review and recommend approval of consistent standards for on-the-job training programs to be coordinated with related course instruction and included in apprenticeship programs and agreements established in trade or industry by employee organizations, joint employee-employer committees, employers or employer groups; and may request the services of any state or federal agency or department which may be of assistance in carrying out the purposes of this chapter. In addition to the foregoing, the council shall:
I. Encourage and promote the development of apprenticeship programs and the making of apprenticeship agreements;
II. [Bring] Assist the OA in bringing about the settlement of differences arising out of an apprenticeship agreement when such differences cannot be adjusted locally or in accordance with established trade procedure;
III. Supervise the execution of agreements and maintenance of standards;
IV. [Register] Recommend to the OA the registration of apprenticeship programs and agreements which provide equal opportunity for training and employment without regard to race, color, creed or national origin and which incorporate standards consistent with those already established and approved by the council and the OA, or terminate or cancel the registration of apprenticeship programs and agreements when said programs or agreements fail to meet or maintain said registration qualifications;
241:4 Duties. Amend RSA 278:3, IX to read as follows:
IX. [Adopt] Review and assist the OA in the adoption of rules and regulations to insure nondiscrimination in all phases of apprenticeship and employment during apprenticeship.
241:5 Transfer to Department of Labor. Amend RSA 278:4 to read as follows:
278:4 Transfer to Department of Labor. The apprenticeship advisory council as provided in RSA 278:2 shall function within the department of labor as a separate organizational entity, as heretofore constituted, and with all the powers and duties as heretofore provided.
241:6 Related and Supplemental Instruction. Amend RSA 278:6 to read as follows:
278:6 Related and Supplemental Instruction. Related and supplemental instruction for apprentices, coordination of instruction with work experiences, and the selection of teachers and coordinators for such instruction shall be the responsibility of state and local boards of education. The state department of education shall be responsible and make provision subject to the department’s decision on the allotment of its funds for related and supplementary instruction for apprentices as may be employed under apprenticeship programs registered and approved by the OA and the council.
241:7 Local, Regional and State Joint Apprenticeship Committees. Amend RSA 278:7 to read as follows:
278:7 Local, Regional and State Joint Apprenticeship Committees. Local and state joint apprenticeship committees may be approved, in any trade or group of trades, in cities, regions of the state or trade areas, by the OA and the council, whenever the apprentice training needs of such trade or group of trades or such regions justify such establishment. Such local, regional or state joint apprenticeship committees shall be composed of an equal number of employer and employee representatives selected by the respective local or state employer and employee organizations in such trade or group of trades; also such advisory members representing local boards or other agencies as may be deemed advisable. In a trade or group of trades in which there is no bona fide employer or employee organization, a joint committee may be composed of persons known to represent the interests of employers and of employees respectively, or a state joint apprenticeship committee may be approved as, or the council may act itself as, the joint committee in such trade or group of trades. Subject to the review of the OA and the council, and in accordance with the standards established by the Office of Apprenticeship and the council, such committees may devise standards for apprenticeship agreements and give such aid as may be necessary in their operation, in their respective trades and localities.
241:8 Minimum Standards for Apprenticeship Agreements. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 278:8 to read as follows:
All apprenticeship agreements submitted for approval and registration [with the council] shall meet the following minimum standards:
241:9 Minimum Standards for Apprenticeship Agreements. Amend RSA 278:8, V to read as follows:
V. Provision for a period of probation, not exceeding 6 months or 1,000 hours, during which period, the council shall terminate or cancel the registration of an apprenticeship agreement at the request in writing of any party thereto. After the probationary period, the apprenticeship advisory council shall terminate or cancel the registration of an apprenticeship agreement upon request in writing of both parties or upon just cause shown;
241:10 Minimum Standards for Apprenticeship Agreements. Amend RSA 278:8, VII and VIII to read as follows:
VII. Provision that the services of the apprenticeship advisory council may be utilized for consultation regarding the settlement of differences arising out of the apprenticeship agreement where such differences cannot be adjusted locally or in accordance with the established trade procedure;
VIII. Provision that if an employer is unable to fulfill his or her obligations under the apprenticeship agreement he or she may arrange for the transfer of the agreement to another employer after consent by the apprentice and approval by the OA and the council and the new employer;
241:11 Definitions. Amend RSA 329-A:2, III to read as follows:
III. “Apprentice” means any person who is engaged in learning and assisting in the installation of plumbing and drainage under an apprenticeship program that meets the requirements of the state apprenticeship advisory council established in RSA 278.
241:12 Apprentice Plumbers. Amend RSA 329-A:9-b to read as follows:
329-A:9-b Apprentice Plumbers. Apprentice plumbers shall obtain an identification card from the board and be subject to fees for such identification card and for renewed identification cards as adopted by the board pursuant to RSA 541-A. Apprentice identification cards shall expire each year on the last day of the month of the apprentice’s birth. The board shall renew the identification cards of apprentice plumbers if they continue to be engaged in the learning and assisting in the installation of plumbing and drainage under an apprenticeship program that meets the requirements of the state apprenticeship advisory council.
241:13 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 25, 2007
Effective: August 24, 2007