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On January 5, the Departments of Labor (DOL) and Education (ED) announced that draft implementation regulations for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) will be released in Spring 2015. The draft regulations were initially set to be released on January 18.
WIOA statutorily requires DOL and ED to issue implementation regulations 180 days after the law’s July 22, 2014 enactment. By statute, the final regulations must be in place by January 22, 2016 – 18 months after enactment. The January 5 notice indicates that the final rules will be published in early 2016, though a specific date is not given.
The agencies plan to publish five Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the spring – covering jointly administered activities (including state plans, performance and the one-stop system); DOL provisions of Titles I and III; DOL and ED provisions of Title II; and DOL and ED provisions of Title IV. The agencies also plan to issue operating guidance, as well information on technical assistance alongside the draft regulations. Once the draft regulations are released, there will be an opportunity for public comment.
WIOA takes effect on July 1, 2015, though implementation will not be completed until the following year. See Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 05-14 for a detailed list of key WIOA statutorily-required implementation dates and the DOL WIOA page for further information on implementation.
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