The department shall establish a wage subsidy program to be known as the community jobs program for recipients of temporary assistance for needy families who have barriers to employment, lack experience and attachment to the job force, or have been unsuccessful in securing employment leading to family self-sufficiency. The department shall give preference in job placements to private sector employers that have agreed to participate in the wage subsidy program. The department shall identify characteristics of employers who can meet the employment goals stated in RCW 74.08A.410. The department shall use these characteristics in identifying which employers may participate in the program. The department shall adopt rules for the participation of recipients of temporary assistance for needy families in the wage subsidy program. Participants in the program established under this section may not be employed if: (1) The employer has terminated the employment of any current employee or otherwise caused an involuntary reduction of its workforce in order to fill the vacancy so created with the participant; or (2) the participant displaces or partially displaces current employees. Employers providing positions created under this section shall meet the requirements of chapter 49.46 RCW. This section shall not diminish or result in the infringement of obligations or rights under chapters 41.06, 41.56, and 49.36 RCW and the national labor relations act, 29 U.S.C. Ch. 7. The department shall establish such local and statewide advisory boards, including business and labor representatives, as it deems appropriate to assist in the implementation of the wage subsidy program. Once the recipient is hired, the wage subsidy shall be authorized for up to nine months.
[ 2010 c 273 § 5; 1997 c 58 § 325.]