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White House Jobs Plan Might Let Businesses Train Unemployed Without Having To Pay Them

Written by Arthur Delaney Tuesday, 30 August 2011 23:00

WASHINGTON -- As part of a forthcoming jobs package, the Obama administration is considering a program that would let businesses train jobless workers for a short period without having to pay or hire them.

The plan would be modeled on state programs, in particular one called Georgia Works, which allows Georgia businesses to give unemployed workers 24 hours of training per week for two months.

Trainees receive a $240 stipend on top of unemployment benefits. The program is voluntary for businesses and workers laid off through no fault of their own and eligible for benefits. Its proponents say it encourages businesses to hire because it limits the risk of spending money to train a worker who might flop.

Georgia Department of Labor spokesman Sam Hall told HuffPost that since the initiative launched in 2003, more than 16,500 employers have participated. Of the nearly 24,000 workers who completed the program, 60 percent found jobs and 24 percent were hired by the employee that did the training.

Labor advocates worry that participants in Georgia Works are less trainees and more employees working for free.

"We understand that state departments of labor are looking for creative ways to get people into jobs," said Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy group. "We understand workers are desperate to get their foot in the door. But there's a right way to do it and we think Georgia's doing it the wrong way."

The Department of Labor has said that programs like Georgia Works must meet six criteria for workers to be classified as trainees. The two trickiest requirements are that the training has to be similar to what would occur in a classroom setting or vocational school and that the employer "derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees, and on occasion the employer's operations may actually be impeded."

"Georgia works has been looked at by the U.S. Department of Labor and it meets all the requirements," Hall said

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