
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 29USC795]

 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
 CHAPTER 16--VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND OTHER REHABILITATION SERVICES
 
      SUBCHAPTER VI--EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH 
                              DISABILITIES
 
                     Part A--Projects With Industry
 
Sec. 795. Projects With Industry


(a) Purpose; award of grants; eligibility; agreements; evaluation; 
        technical assistance

    (1) The purpose of this part is to create and expand job and career 
opportunities for individuals with disabilities in the competitive labor 
market by engaging the talent and leadership of private industry as 
partners in the rehabilitation process, to identify competitive job and 
career opportunities and the skills needed to perform such jobs, to 
create practical job and career readiness and training programs, and to 
provide job placements and career advancement.
    (2) The Commissioner, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor 
and with designated State units, may award grants to individual 
employers, community rehabilitation program providers, labor unions, 
trade associations, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, designated 
State units, and other entities to establish jointly financed Projects 
With Industry to create and expand job and career opportunities for 
individuals with disabilities, which projects shall--
        (A) provide for the establishment of business advisory councils, 
    that shall--
            (i) be comprised of--
                (I) representatives of private industry, business 
            concerns, and organized labor;
                (II) individuals with disabilities and representatives 
            of individuals with disabilities; and
                (III) a representative of the appropriate designated 
            State unit;

            (ii) identify job and career availability within the 
        community, consistent with the current and projected local 
        employment opportunities identified by the local workforce 
        investment board for the community under section 2833(b)(1)(B) 
        of this title;
            (iii) identify the skills necessary to perform the jobs and 
        careers identified; and
            (iv) prescribe training programs designed to develop 
        appropriate job and career skills, or job placement programs 
        designed to identify and develop job placement and career 
        advancement opportunities, for individuals with disabilities in 
        fields related to the job and career availability identified 
        under clause (ii);

        (B) provide job development, job placement, and career 
    advancement services;
        (C) to the extent appropriate, provide for--
            (i) training in realistic work settings in order to prepare 
        individuals with disabilities for employment and career 
        advancement in the competitive market; and
            (ii) to the extent practicable, the modification of any 
        facilities or equipment of the employer involved that are used 
        primarily by individuals with disabilities, except that a 
        project shall not be required to provide for such modification 
        if the modification is required as a reasonable accommodation 
        under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
        12101 et seq.); and

        (D) provide individuals with disabilities with such support 
    services as may be required in order to maintain the employment and 
    career advancement for which the individuals have received training 
    under this part.

    (3)(A) An individual shall be eligible for services described in 
paragraph (2) if the individual is determined to be an individual 
described in section 722(a)(1) of this title, and if the determination 
is made in a manner consistent with section 722(a) of this title.
    (B) Such a determination may be made by the recipient of a grant 
under this part, to the extent the determination is appropriate and 
available and consistent with the requirements of section 722(a) of this 
title.
    (4) The Commissioner shall enter into an agreement with the grant 
recipient regarding the establishment of the project. Any agreement 
shall be jointly developed by the Commissioner, the grant recipient, 
and, to the extent practicable, the appropriate designated State unit 
and the individuals with disabilities (or the individuals' 
representatives) involved. Such agreements shall specify the terms of 
training and employment under the project, provide for the payment by 
the Commissioner of part of the costs of the project (in accordance with 
subsection (c) of this section), and contain the items required under 
subsection (b) of this section and such other provisions as the parties 
to the agreement consider to be appropriate.
    (5) Any agreement shall include a description of a plan to annually 
conduct a review and evaluation of the operation of the project in 
accordance with standards developed by the Commissioner under subsection 
(d) of this section, and, in conducting the review and evaluation, to 
collect data and information of the type described in subparagraphs (A) 
through (C) of section 721(a)(10) of this title, as determined to be 
appropriate by the Commissioner.
    (6) The Commissioner may include, as part of agreements with grant 
recipients, authority for such grant recipients to provide technical 
assistance to--
        (A) assist employers in hiring individuals with disabilities; or
        (B) improve or develop relationships between--
            (i) grant recipients or prospective grant recipients; and
            (ii) employers or organized labor; or

        (C) assist employers in understanding and meeting the 
    requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
    U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) as the Act relates to employment of 
    individuals with disabilities.

(b) Requirements for payment

    No payment shall be made by the Commissioner under any agreement 
with a grant recipient entered into under subsection (a) of this section 
unless such agreement--
        (1) provides an assurance that individuals with disabilities 
    placed under such agreement shall receive at least the applicable 
    minimum wage;
        (2) provides an assurance that any individual with a disability 
    placed under this part shall be afforded terms and benefits of 
    employment equal to terms and benefits that are afforded to the 
    similarly situated nondisabled co-workers of the individual, and 
    that such individuals with disabilities shall not be segregated from 
    their co-workers; and
        (3) provides an assurance that an annual evaluation report 
    containing information specified under subsection (a)(5) of this 
    section shall be submitted as determined to be appropriate by the 
    Commissioner.

(c) Amount of payments

    Payments under this section with respect to any project may not 
exceed 80 per centum of the costs of the project.

(d) Standards for evaluation; recommendations

    (1) The Commissioner shall develop standards for the evaluation 
described in subsection (a)(5) of this section and shall review and 
revise the evaluation standards as necessary, subject to paragraph (2).
    (2) In revising the standards for evaluation to be used by the grant 
recipients, the Commissioner shall obtain and consider recommendations 
for such standards from State vocational rehabilitation agencies, 
current and former grant recipients, professional organizations 
representing business and industry, organizations representing 
individuals with disabilities, individuals served by grant recipients, 
organizations representing community rehabilitation program providers, 
and labor organizations.

(e) Period of grant; renewal; award on competitive basis; equitable 
        distribution

    (1)(A) A grant may be awarded under this section for a period of up 
to 5 years and such grant may be renewed.
    (B) Grants under this section shall be awarded on a competitive 
basis. To be eligible to receive such a grant, a prospective grant 
recipient shall submit an application to the Commissioner at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as the Commissioner may 
require.
    (2) The Commissioner shall, to the extent practicable, ensure an 
equitable distribution of payments made under this section among the 
States. To the extent funds are available, the Commissioner shall award 
grants under this section to new projects that will serve individuals 
with disabilities in States, portions of States, Indian tribes, or 
tribal organizations, that are currently unserved or underserved by 
projects.

(f) Indicators for compliance with evaluation standards; annual reports; 
        onsite compliance reviews; analysis included in reports to 
        Congress

    (1) The Commissioner shall, as necessary, develop and publish in the 
Federal Register, in final form, indicators of what constitutes minimum 
compliance consistent with the evaluation standards under subsection 
(d)(1) of this section.
    (2) Each grant recipient shall report to the Commissioner at the end 
of each project year the extent to which the grant recipient is in 
compliance with the evaluation standards.
    (3)(A) The Commissioner shall annually conduct onsite compliance 
reviews of at least 15 percent of grant recipients. The Commissioner 
shall select grant recipients for review on a random basis.
    (B) The Commissioner shall use the indicators in determining 
compliance with the evaluation standards.
    (C) The Commissioner shall ensure that at least one member of a team 
conducting such a review shall be an individual who--
        (i) is not an employee of the Federal Government; and
        (ii) has experience or expertise in conducting projects.

    (D) The Commissioner shall ensure that--
        (i) a representative of the appropriate designated State unit 
    shall participate in the review; and
        (ii) no person shall participate in the review of a grant 
    recipient if--
            (I) the grant recipient provides any direct financial 
        benefit to the reviewer; or
            (II) participation in the review would give the appearance 
        of a conflict of interest.

    (4) In making a determination concerning any subsequent grant under 
this section, the Commissioner shall consider the past performance of 
the applicant, if applicable. The Commissioner shall use compliance 
indicators developed under this subsection that are consistent with 
program evaluation standards developed under subsection (d) of this 
section to assess minimum project performance for purposes of making 
continuation awards in the third, fourth, and fifth years.
    (5) Each fiscal year the Commissioner shall include in the annual 
report to Congress required by section 710 of this title an analysis of 
the extent to which grant recipients have complied with the evaluation 
standards. The Commissioner may identify individual grant recipients in 
the analysis. In addition, the Commissioner shall report the results of 
onsite compliance reviews, identifying individual grant recipients.

(g) Technical assistance to entities conducting or planning projects

    The Commissioner may provide, directly or by way of grant, contract, 
or cooperative agreement, technical assistance to--
        (1) entities conducting projects for the purpose of assisting 
    such entities in--
            (A) the improvement of or the development of relationships 
        with private industry or labor; or
            (B) the improvement of relationships with State vocational 
        rehabilitation agencies; and

        (2) entities planning the development of new projects.

(h) Definitions

    As used in this section:
        (1) The term ``agreement'' means an agreement described in 
    subsection (a)(4) of this section.
        (2) The term ``project'' means a Project With Industry 
    established under subsection (a)(2) of this section.
        (3) The term ``grant recipient'' means a recipient of a grant 
    under subsection (a)(2) of this section.

(Pub. L. 93-112, title VI, Sec. 611, as added Pub. L. 105-220, title IV, 
Sec. 409, Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1210.)

                       References in Text

    The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. 
(a)(2)(C)(ii), (6)(C), is Pub. L. 101-336, July 26, 1990, 104 Stat. 327, 
as amended, which is classified principally to chapter 126 (Sec. 12101 
et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out 
under section 12101 of Title 42 and Tables.


                            Prior Provisions

    Provisions similar to this section were contained in section 795g of 
this title prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 
105-220.
    A prior section 795, Pub. L. 93-112, title VI, Sec. 611, as added 
Pub. L. 95-602, title II, Sec. 201, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2989; amended 
Pub. L. 99-506, title I, Sec. 103(d)(2)(C), title X, Sec. 1002(f), Oct. 
21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1810, 1844; Pub. L. 102-569, title I, 
Sec. 102(p)(36), title VI, Sec. 601, Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4360, 
4434, authorized community service employment pilot programs for 
individuals with disabilities, prior to the general amendment of this 
subchapter by Pub. L. 105-220.


                               Short Title

    For short title of this subchapter as the ``Employment Opportunities 
for Individuals With Disabilities Act'', see section 601 of Pub. L. 93-
112, as amended, set out as a note under section 701 of this title.
