WEST virginia legislature
2021 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
Senate Bill 421
By Senators Tarr, Roberts, and Woodrum
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization; reported on March 3, 2021]
A BILL to amend and reenact §21A-2-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the general powers and duties of the Commissioner of Workforce West Virginia; and authorizing the agency to hire additional employees to serve at the will and pleasure of the commissioner.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
Article 2. the
commissioner of the bureau of employment programs Workforce West
Virginia.
§ 21A-2-6 Powers and duties generally.
The commissioner is the
executive and administrative head of the bureau Workforce West
Virginia and has the power and duty to:
(1) Exercise general
supervision for the governance of the bureau Workforce West Virginia
and propose rules for promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code §29A-3-1 et seq. of
this code to implement the requirements of this chapter;
(2) Prescribe uniform rules
pertaining to investigations, and departmental hearings, and
propose rules for promulgation;
(3) Supervise fiscal
affairs and responsibilities of the bureau Workforce West Virginia;
(4) Prescribe the
qualifications of, appoint, remove, and fix the compensation of, the officers
and employees of the bureau Workforce West Virginia, subject to
the provisions of section ten, article four of this chapter §21A-4-10
of this code, relating to the Board of Review;
(5) Organize and administer
the bureau Workforce West Virginia so as to comply with the
requirements of this chapter and to satisfy any conditions established in
applicable federal law or regulation;
(6) Make reports in the form and containing information required by the United States Department of Labor and comply with any requirements that the United States Department of Labor finds necessary to assure the correctness and verification of the reports;
(7) Make available to any agency of the United States charged with the administration of public works or assistance through public employment, upon its request, the name, address, ordinary occupation, and employment status of each recipient of unemployment compensation and a statement of the recipient’s rights to further compensation under this chapter;
(8) Keep an accurate and
complete record of all bureau Workforce West Virginia proceedings,
record and file all bonds and contracts, and assume responsibility for the
custody and preservation of all papers and documents of the bureau
Workforce West Virginia;
(9) Sign and execute in the
name of the state, by the “Bureau of Employment Programs” Workforce
West Virginia, any contract or agreement with the federal government, its
agencies, other states, their subdivisions, or private persons;
(10) Prescribe a salary
scale to govern compensation of appointees and employees of the bureau Workforce
West Virginia;
(11) Exempt up to 100 positions of the offices of WorkForce West Virginia from the classified service of the state, the employees of which positions shall serve at the will and pleasure of the commissioner: Provided, That such exempt positions shall be in addition to those positions in classified and classified-exempt service under the classification plan adopted by the Division of Personnel. The Commissioner of WorkForce West Virginia shall report all exemptions made under this section to the Director of the Division of Personnel as the commissioner determines necessary;
(11) (12)
Make the original determination of right in claims for benefits;
(12) (13) Make recommendations and an annual report
to the Governor concerning the condition, operation, and functioning of the
bureau Workforce West Virginia;
(13) (14) Invoke any legal or special remedy for
the enforcement of orders or the provisions of this chapter;
(14) (15) Exercise any other power necessary to
standardize administration, expedite bureau Workforce West Virginia
business, assure the establishment of fair rules, and promote the efficiency of
the service;
(15) (16) Keep an accurate and complete record and
prepare a monthly report of the number of persons employed and unemployed in
the state. The report shall be made available upon request to members of the
public and press;
(16) (17) Provide, at bureau Workforce
West Virginia expense, a program of continuing professional, technical, and
specialized instruction for the personnel of the bureau Workforce
West Virginia;
(17) (18) (A) Propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code,
under which agencies of this state shall revoke or not grant, issue, or renew
any contract, license, permit, certificate, or other authority to conduct a
trade, profession, or business to or with any employing unit whose account is
in default with the commissioner with regard to the administration of this
chapter. The term “agency” includes any unit of state government such as
officers, agencies, divisions, departments, boards, commissions, authorities,
or public corporations. An employing unit is not in default if it has entered
into a repayment agreement with the Unemployment Compensation Division of the
bureau Workforce West Virginia and remains in compliance with its
obligations under the repayment agreement;
(B) The rules shall provide
that, before revoking, granting, issuing, or renewing any contract, license,
permit, certificate, or other authority to conduct a trade, profession, or
business to or with any employing unit, the designated agencies shall review a
list or lists provided by the bureau of employers Workforce West
Virginia that are in default. If the employing unit’s name is not on the
list, the agency, unless it has actual knowledge that the employing unit is in
default with the bureau Workforce West Virginia, may grant, issue,
or renew the contract, license, permit, certificate, or other authority to
conduct a trade, profession, or business. The list may be provided to the
agency in the form of a computerized database or databases that the agency can
access. Any objections to the revocation or refusal to issue or renew shall be
reviewed under the appropriate provisions of this chapter;
(C) The rules may be
promulgated or implemented in phases so that specific agencies or specific
types of contracts, licenses, permits, certificates, or other authority to
conduct trades, professions, or businesses will be subject to the rules
beginning on different dates. The presumptions of ownership or control
contained in the Department of Environmental Protection’s surface mining
reclamation regulations promulgated under the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-two of this code §22-3-1 et seq. of this code are
not applicable or controlling in determining the identity of employing units
who are in default for the purposes of this subdivision. The rules shall also
provide a procedure allowing any agency or interested person, after being
covered under the rules for at least one year, to petition the Bureau of
Employment Programs Workforce West Virginia to be exempt from the
provisions of the rules;
(18) (19) Deposit to the credit of the appropriate
special revenue account or fund, notwithstanding any other provision of this
code and to the extent allowed by federal law, all amounts of delinquent
payments or overpayments, interest, and penalties thereon and attorney’s fees
and costs collected under the provisions of this chapter. The amounts collected
shall not be treated by the Auditor or Treasurer as part of the general revenue
of the state; and
(19) (20) Enter into interagency agreements to
assist in exchanging information and fulfilling the provisions of this article.