7 CCR 1108-1.7 - Apprenticeship Agreement Contents and Approval Process

A. Required Individual Apprenticeship Agreements

1. No apprentice shall be employed under a registered apprenticeship program unless an individual Apprenticeship Agreement for that apprentice has been registered with the SAA.

2. Registration of the individual apprentice must be entered into the SAA management system by one of the following mechanisms:

a. direct entry of the sponsor, or their designee (preferred)

b. providing a .CSV of secure data elements

3. The names of persons in the probationary period as an apprentice under a registered apprenticeship program certified by the SAA if not registered individually must be submitted within 45 days of the program start date to the SAA for certification to establish the apprentice as eligible for such probationary period.

B. Individual Apprenticeship Agreements

1. Contents. The Apprenticeship Agreement must contain, explicitly or by reference:

a. Names and signatures of the contracting parties (apprentice, and the program sponsor or employer), and the signature of a parent or guardian if the apprentice is a minor.

b. The apprentice's date of birth.

c. A Social Security number, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or other unique identifier of the apprentice, unless a state policy or established agreement with the SAA protects the inclusion of such a field.

d. Contact information of the Program Sponsor and SAA:

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment

Attention: State Apprenticeship Agency Director

Office of the Future of Work

633 17th St., Suite 201

Denver, CO 80202

e. A statement of the occupation in which the apprentice is to be trained, and the beginning date and term (duration) of registered apprenticeship.

f. A statement showing:

i. The number of hours to be spent by the apprentice in work on the job in a time-based program; or a description of the skill sets to be attained by completion of a competency-based program, including the on-the-job learning component; or the minimum number of hours to be spent by the apprentice and a description of the skill sets to be attained by completion of hybrid program; and

ii. The number of hours to be spent in related instruction in technical subjects related to the occupation, which is recommended to be not less than 144 hours per year.

g. A statement setting forth a schedule of the work processes in the occupation or industry divisions in which the apprentice is to be trained and the approximate time to be spent at each process.

h. A statement of the graduated scale of wages to be paid to the apprentice and whether or not the required related instruction is compensated.

i. Statements providing:

i. For a specific probationary period during which the Apprenticeship Agreement may be canceled by either party to the agreement upon written notice to the SAA, without adverse impact on the sponsor.

ii. That, after the probationary period, the agreement may be:

a. Canceled at the request of the apprentice, or

b. Suspended or canceled by the sponsor, for good cause, with due notice to the apprentice and a reasonable opportunity for corrective action, and with written notice to the apprentice and to the SAA of the final action taken.

j. A reference incorporating as part of the agreement the standards of the registered apprenticeship program as they exist on the date of the agreement and as they may be amended during the period of the agreement.

k. A statement that the apprentice will be accorded equal opportunity in all phases of registered apprenticeship employment and training, without discrimination because of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), gender expression, childbirth and related conditions, sexual orientation, genetic information, age (40 or older), or disability.

l. Contact information (name, address, phone, and e-mail if appropriate) of the appropriate authority designated by the registered apprenticeship program to receive, process and make disposition of controversies or differences arising out of the Apprenticeship Agreement when the controversies or differences cannot be adjusted locally or resolved in accordance with the established procedure or applicable collective bargaining provisions.

m. Option for the apprentice to disclose demographic data, including the apprentice's race, sex, and ethnicity, and disability status.

2. The SAA will use the USDOL Appendix B (ETA 671 or subsequent form) Apprenticeship Agreement for registering apprentices as the preferred standard agreement for all new and existing programs.

a. New and existing programs have the option to create a state-approved Apprenticeship Agreement that meets, at minimum, the requirements of this part, for purposes of reducing administrative burden, enhancing their program, increasing equity, or complying with industry or employer/human resources standards or regulations impacting effective and equitable apprenticeship administration.

i. The SAA, as part of the registration process, will require programs to indicate whether or not they will be using the ETA 671, an alternative state-approved agreement, or, in the case of multi-employer programs, a combination.

ii. During the approval process, the SAA will indicate to the sponsor which elements of their agreement ensure compliance with federal and state standards and the policy on apprentice agreement review.

b. Sponsors must notify the SAA prior to issuing new agreements if they change the method of Apprenticeship Agreements.

i. The sponsor may make changes to the agreement that do not impact the elements required in federal and SAA requirements. If the sponsor makes adjustments that impact registered apprenticeship elements that are related to compliance, they must notify the SAA for approval of the new form prior to issuing new agreements.

c. Existing programs with alternative Apprenticeship Agreements on file with the USDOL will have the option to continue to use these agreements, provided they conform with this Rule.

i. The SAA will receive a copy of this Apprenticeship Agreement in the transition from the OA to the SAA to ease sponsor burden.

ii. Existing sponsors are responsible as part of quality assurance to maintain individual agreements both prior to and after the transition to the SAA, regardless of the format of the transition.

iii. After the transition to an SAA, the quality assurance team of the SAA will reach out to existing sponsors providing them with the opportunity to transition to the ETA 671, or conduct a review of their agreement for conformance with the requirements of this Rule. The SAA will provide technical assistance to sponsors seeking a transition to the ETA 671.

d. The SAA will offer training to all new programs on the ETA 671 Apprenticeship Agreement and indicate their option to generate an alternative form that at minimum, meets the standards of this part and is state-approved.

3. The SAA Director, or their designee, shall register individual Apprenticeship Agreements, which will meet the requirements of this section.

Notes

7 CCR 1108-1.7

46 CR 11, June 10, 2023, effective 6/30/2023