Section 178.03 Division of Labor Standards and Apprenticeship

178.03 DIVISION OF LABOR STANDARDS AND APPRENTICESHIP.

Subdivision 1.Establishment of division.

There is established a Division of Labor Standards and Apprenticeship in the Department of Labor and Industry. This division shall be administered by a director, and be under the supervision of the commissioner of labor and industry, hereinafter referred to as the commissioner.

Subd. 2.Director of labor standards and apprenticeship.

The commissioner shall appoint a director of the Division of Labor Standards and Apprenticeship, hereinafter referred to as the director, and may appoint and employ such clerical, technical, and professional help as is necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. The director and division staff shall be appointed and shall serve in the classified service pursuant to civil service law and rules.

Subd. 3.Duties and functions.

The director, under the supervision of the commissioner, and with the advice and consultation of the Apprenticeship Board, is authorized: to administer the provisions of this chapter; to promote apprenticeship and other forms of on-the-job learning; to establish, in cooperation and consultation with the Apprenticeship Board and with the apprenticeship committees, conditions, training, and learning standards for the approval of apprenticeship programs and agreements, which conditions and standards shall in no case be lower than those (1) prescribed by this chapter, and (2) established under Code of Federal Regulations, title 29, part 29; to promote equal employment opportunity in apprenticeship and other on-the-job learning and to establish a Minnesota plan for equal employment opportunity in apprenticeship which shall be consistent with standards established under Code of Federal Regulations, title 29, part 30, as amended; to issue certificates of registration to sponsors of approved apprenticeship programs; to act as secretary of the Apprenticeship Board; to approve, if of the opinion that approval is for the best interest of the apprentice, any apprenticeship agreement which meets the standards established hereunder; to terminate any apprenticeship agreement in accordance with the provisions of such agreement; to keep a record of apprenticeship agreements and their disposition; to issue certificates of completion of apprenticeship; and to perform such other duties as the commissioner deems necessary to carry out the intent of this chapter; provided, that the administration and supervision of supplementary instruction in related subjects for apprentices; coordination of instruction on a concurrent basis with job experiences, and the selection and training of teachers and coordinators for such instruction shall be the function of state and local boards responsible for vocational education. The director shall have the authority to make wage determinations applicable to the graduated schedule of wages and journeyman wage rate for apprenticeship agreements, giving consideration to the existing wage rates prevailing throughout the state, except that no wage determination by the director shall alter an existing wage provision for apprentices or journeymen that is contained in a bargaining agreement in effect between an employer and an organization of employees, nor shall the director make any determination for the beginning rate for an apprentice that is below the wage minimum established by federal or state law.

Subd. 4.Reciprocity approval.

The director, if requested by a sponsoring entity, shall grant reciprocity approval to apprenticeship programs of employers and unions who jointly form a sponsoring entity on a multistate basis in other than the building construction industry if such programs are in conformity with this chapter and have been registered in compliance with Code of Federal Regulations, title 29, part 29, by a state apprenticeship council recognized by or registered with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, United States Department of Labor, when such approval is necessary for federal purposes under Code of Federal Regulations, title 29, section 29.13(a).

Subd. 5.

[Repealed, 1987 c 403 art 2 s 164]

History:

(4260-33) 1939 c 363 s 3; Ex1967 c 1 s 6; 1974 c 144 s 3; 1979 c 130 s 2,3; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 10; 1986 c 444; 2003 c 128 art 11 s 5,6; 2007 c 135 art 7 s 3; 2007 c 140 art 11 s 3; 2010 c 280 s 3,4