SECTION 75.1033. Certified Program Agreements

(a) A certified program must be conducted under a signed written agreement between each participant and the employer. The agreement may include the following:

(1) the name and signature of the participant, the sponsor, the employer, and a parent or guardian of the participant if the participant is under 18 years of age;

(2) a description of the career field in which the participant is to be trained, the academic and technical skills to be attained, and the beginning date and duration of the broad-based training; and

(3) the employer's agreement to provide paid employment, at a base wage not less than the minimum wage, for the participant during the participant's junior and senior years in high school. The agreement may extend after the participant's first year of postsecondary education.

(b) A participant's time spent at the worksite in a certified program prescribed under §75.1031(a) of this title (relating to Voluntary Workforce Training Standards and Agreements) will be limited to 15 hours during the school week. A school week is defined as the week beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the first instructional day of a calendar week and ends at the close of instruction on the last instructional day of the calendar week, excluding holidays.

(c) A participant may, but is not required to, enter into a postsecondary education agreement with the participant's employer. A postsecondary education agreement must include at least the following:

(1) the participant's agreement to pay half of the participant's wages to be held in trust to be applied toward the participant's postsecondary education and the employer's agreement to pay into the trust an additional amount equal to the amount paid by the participant;

(2) the participant's agreement to work for the employer for at least two years immediately following the date of completion of the participant's postsecondary education;

(3) the employer's agreement to pay the participant during the period described under paragraph (2) of this subsection at least the prevailing wage for employees having a similar education or license and performing similar work and to provide other employee benefits to which employees performing similar work are entitled; and

(4) the participant's agreement to reimburse the employer if the participant does not perform the two years of employment described by paragraph (2) of this subsection for the employer's contribution to the trust, plus interest at the prime interest rate at the time the participant defaults on the agreement. Terms of the reimbursement arrangements should be mutually determined by the employer, participant, and parent or guardian if the participant is under 18 years of age, and formalized through a written agreement.

(d) The agreement between the participant and employer may be modified through mutual written consent at any time.

(e) If a participant decides not to continue in the program before beginning postsecondary education, the participant and employer each shall be refunded, not later than the 30th day after the last date of participation in the program, their respective contributions to the trust and a pro rata share of the interest earned on the money in the trust.

(f) The money held in trust under subsection (c)(1) of this section must be held for the benefit of the participant. The fund must be specified in the written agreement between the participant and the employer. The trust funds must be held in an account or fund with the beneficiary identified by name. The trust fund agreement must prohibit access to trust fund assets by a creditor of the employer, the participant, or the trustee. In developing a trust agreement, the employer and participant shall consider the qualifications and powers of the trustee, the method of and schedule for transferring funds to the trust, the investment of the trust fund, accounting requirements for the fund, requirements for and the method of disbursing funds from the trust, and requirements and procedures for the termination of the trust. Payment into a trust approved under 29 United States Code, §1103, for the benefit of the participant satisfies the requirements of this subsection.

(g) An employer who enters into an agreement under this section may not retain participants solely to replace the employer's current employees.

Source Note: The provisions of this §75.1033 adopted to be effective September 7, 2000, 25 TexReg 8642; amended to be effective July 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 5132