Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 781 amends the Labor Code to create the Texans Work program, subject to federal approval, for certain persons who receive food stamps, financial assistance for families with dependent children, and are eligible to participate in the job opportunities and basic skills (JOBS) training program. The act provides employers the option to elect to participate in the on-site job training program with the approval of the local workforce development board or the Texas Workforce Commission, as appropriate. It establishes requirements and approval criteria for the employer-designed training courses and for program participation by trainees, ensures that current employees, collective bargaining agreements, or vacant positions will not be affected by the program, and limits the number of trainees in the employer's work force. Under the act, trainees have the same rights as other employees with regard to employment discrimination and labor organizations and must work the required number of hours prescribed by federal welfare reform provisions. The act establishes that the training program must be related to a job description available in the local community, authorizes the commission to develop incentives for the employer to hire trainees, and sets the employer payment obligation and trainee compensation rates. It establishes the Texas employment and training account in the general revenue fund for employer payments, state matching grants, and trainee compensation, disqualifies trainee compensation from earned income calculations, and establishes a pilot program for individual development accounts for certain participants in a subsidized employment program.