SECTION 21.702. Employer Eligibility and Participation Requirements

(a) In order to participate in the WORKS Internship Program, an employer must:

(1) be a private nonprofit or for-profit entity or a governmental entity;

(2) enter into an agreement with the Coordinating Board;

(3) provide employment to a student placed through the program in nonpartisan and nonsectarian activities that relate to the student's career interests with identifiable marketable skills;

(4) use program positions only to supplement and not supplant positions normally filled by persons who are not eligible to participate in the program, as provided by this subchapter;

(5) provide the entirety of an employed student's wages and employee benefits as well as submit eligible wages to the Coordinating Board for reimbursement;

(6) follow the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI (Public Law 88-353) in avoiding discrimination in admission or employment;

(7) Demonstrate the administrative and financial capacity to carry out the employer's responsibilities under the program, including the ability to pay full wages and benefits to a student employed through the program.

(A) An employer must demonstrate its ability to properly administer the Texas WORKS Internship program. Administrative capability focuses on the processes, procedures, and personnel used in administering the program and comply with reporting requirements. Eligible employers must have an adequate internal system of checks and balances, monitoring and evaluating marketable skills, authorizing, and disbursing funds, and reporting data accurately and in a timely manner.

(B) The Coordinating Board determines an employer's financial capacity based on its ability to meet all its financial obligations, meet third-party financial audit requirements, and satisfactorily resolved any past internship performance violations.

(b) An employer is not eligible to participate in the program if the employer is:

(1) a public or private institution of higher education in Texas; or

(2) a career school or college, as defined by TEC §132.001.

Source Note: The provisions of this §21.702 adopted to be effective March 2, 2020, 45 TexReg 1412