The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOL ETA) recently announced they would delay release of their draft Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) regulations. The WIOA included a set of statutory deadlines for the release of various regulations, reports, and associated implementation workload requirements, including a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement WIOA that was scheduled to be released on January 18, 2015.
While DOL ETA did not provide a specific target date for release of the NPRM, they responded to ongoing questions through a statement that they would continue working closely with other mandated partners to develop the regulations, with publication of the proposed regulations anticipated to be released Spring 2015. Out of concern that various provisions of WIOA go into effect July 1, 2015, as mandated by federal statute, the DOL ETA has stated they anticipate releasing operating guidance and technical assistance around the same time they release the NPRMs.
The WIOA was enacted to reauthorize and modernize the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which serves as the nation’s employment and job training program. WIOA provides federal funding to states for job training, education, and employment-related services for unemployed and underemployed workers and youth.
Detailed information on the WIOA statutory deadlines can be accessed here.