§ 30.18 - State apprenticeship agencies.

§ 30.18 Nondiscrimination.

The commitments contained in the sponsor's affirmative action program are not intended and shall not be used to discriminate against any qualified applicant or apprentice on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.

State apprenticeship agencies.

(a) State plan.

(1) Within 1 year of January 18, 2017, unless an extension for good cause is sought and granted by the Administrator, an SAA that seeks to obtain or maintain recognition under § 29.13 of this title must submit to OA a State EEO plan that:

(i) Includes, at a minimum, draft State apprenticeship authorizing language corresponding to the requirements of this part; and

(ii) Requires all apprenticeship programs registered with the State for Federal purposes to comply with the requirements of the State's EEO plan within 180 days from the date that OA provides written approval of the State EEO plan submitted under this paragraph (a)(1).

(2) Upon receipt of the State's EEO plan, OA will review the plan to determine if the plan conforms to this part. OA will:

(i) Grant the SAA continued recognition during this review period;

(ii) Provide technical assistance to facilitate conformity, and provide written notification of the areas of nonconformity, if any; and

(iii) Upon successful completion of the review process, notify the SAA of OA's determination that the State's EEO plan conforms to this part.

(3) If the State does not submit a revised State EEO plan that addresses identified non-conformities within 90 days from the date that OA provides the SAA with written notification of the areas of nonconformity, OA will begin the process set forth in § 29.14 of this title to rescind recognition of the SAA.

(4) An SAA that seeks to obtain or maintain recognition must obtain the Administrator's written concurrence in any proposed State EEO plan, as well as any subsequent modification to that plan, as provided in § 29.13(b)(9) of this title.

(b) Recordkeeping requirements. A recognized SAA must keep all records pertaining to program compliance reviews, complaint investigations, and any other records pertinent to a determination of compliance with this part. These records must be maintained for five years from the date of their creation.

(c) Retention of authority. As provided in § 29.13 of this chapter, OA retains the full authority to:

(1) Conduct compliance reviews of all registered apprenticeship programs;

(2) Conduct complaint investigations of any program sponsor to determine whether an apprenticeship program registered for Federal purposes is operating in accordance with this part;

(3) Deregister for Federal purposes an apprenticeship program registered with a recognized SAA as provided in §§ 29.8(b) and 29.10 of this chapter; and

(4) Refer any matter pertaining to paragraph (c)(1) or (2) of this section to the following:

(i) The EEOC or the U.S. Attorney General with a recommendation for the institution of an enforcement action under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; the ADEA; GINA, or title I of the ADA;

(ii) The Department's OFCCP with a recommendation for the institution of agency action under Executive Order 11246; or section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; or

(iii) The U.S. Attorney General for other action as authorized by law.

(d) Derecognition. A recognized SAA that fails to comply with the requirements of this section will be subject to derecognition proceedings, as provided in § 29.14 of this chapter.