The California Legislature expanded the Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative by passing Assembly Bill 628, which amends Section 14033 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
AB 628 builds on the 2017 California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which made programs and services available to assist individuals with employment barriers with finding opportunities to join the workforce. Specifically, AB 628 seeks to enhance racial and economic justice, in addition to promoting employment. In doing so, AB 628 revises the 2017 grant selection criteria requirements, the grant application requirements, the grant evaluation criteria, the populations that are eligible to be served by grants, and the activities eligible for grant funding.
AB 628 further requires the California Workforce Development Board to issue an interim and a final report containing information on the Initiative on the target populations and the fiscal savings associated with the program, and other specified information.
AB 628 also expands the list of eligible populations who may be served by the Initiative to include:
- Persons who reside in cities that are disproportionately impacted by violence or are enrolled in violence prevention or mitigation programs;
- Population groups that are disproportionately impacted by occupational segregation and who are underrepresented in jobs as defined by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing in their enforcement of the California Equal Pay Act;
- Populations that have been disproportionately impacted by unemployment, job interruption and displacement during the pandemic; and
- Persons diagnosed with autism.
The groups that were already eligible for programs and grants under the 2017 law include:
- Youths who are at risk of disconnection or disconnected from the education system or employment;
- Women seeking training or education to move into nontraditional fields of employment’
- Displaced workers and long-term unemployed;
- Low-wage workers;
- Persons for whom English is not their primary language;
- Economically disadvantaged persons;
- CalWORKs participants;
- Persons who are incarcerated and soon to be released or formerly incarcerated;
- Armed services veterans;
- Native Americans;
- Migrants or seasonal farmworkers;
- Persons with developmental or other disabilities’
- Any other population with barriers to employment identified in subdivision (j) of Section 14005;
- Immigrants;
- Persons who are victims of domestic violence or community violence;
- Persons over 50 years of age who need retraining for in-demand skills; and
- Population groups with disproportionate numbers of people living in ZIP Codes of concentrated poverty.
- Partner
Pooja S. Nair is a business litigator and problem solver with a focus on the food and beverage sector. She advises food and beverage clients, including restaurant groups, mid-market food brands, and food manufacturers on a ...
Subscribe
Recent Posts
- Entertainment Vendors Must Certify Safety Training for Employees By: Jared W. Slater
- California Employers Prohibited from Mandatory Religious or Political Meetings | By: Jared W. Slater
- California Expands Reach Of Crown Act to Prevent Discrimination Based On Natural and Protective Hairstyles | By: Cate A. Veeneman
- SB 1340 Allows Enforcement Of Local Employment Discrimination Laws | By: Kelly O. Scott
- Landlord: Look Out and Take Notice | By: Geoffrey M. Gold
- New Cal/OSHA Indoor Heat Standards Require New Prevention Measures and Written Prevention Plan | By: Joanne Warriner
- California Bans All Plastic Bags at Grocery Stores | By: Pooja S. Nair
- FTC’s Nationwide Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Stopped by Federal Court Ruling | By: Cate A. Veeneman
- Can the IRS Obtain a Receiver to Help Collect Taxes Owed? | By: Peter Davidson
- Severing Unconscionable Terms in Employment Arbitration Agreements | By: Jared W. Slater
Blogs
Contributors
Archives
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014