12-181 C.M.R. ch. 2, § 2 - Definitions-for the purpose of this Chapter

Apprenticeship Committee means those persons designated by the sponsor to administer the program. A committee may be either joint or non-joint, as follows:

* A joint committee is composed of an equal number of representatives of the employer(s) and the employees represented by a bona fide collective bargaining agent(s);

* A non-joint committee, which may also be known as a unilateral or group non-joint (which may include employees) committee, has employer representatives but does not have a bona fide collective bargaining agent as a participant.

Apprenticeship Program means a plan containing all terms and conditions for the qualification, recruitment, selection, employment and training of apprentices as defined in MRS including such matters as the requirement for a written apprenticeship agreement.

Direct threat means a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or other that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. The determination that an individual poses a "direct threat" must be based on an individualized assessment of the individual's present ability to safely perform the essential functions of the job. This assessment must be based on a reasonable medical judgement that relies on the most current medical knowledge and/or on the best available objective evidence. In determining whether an individual would pose a direct threat, the factors to be considered are:

* The duration of the risk;

* The nature and severity of the potential harm;

* The likelihood that the potential harm will occur; and

* The imminence of the potential harm.

Disability means with respect to the individual:

* A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual;

* A record of such impairment; or

* Being regarded as having such impairment.

Note: The definitions for the term 'disability' and related terms are those from title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended, and from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's regulations implementing the ADA at 29 CFR part 1630.

EEO means equal employment opportunity

Electronic Media means media that utilize electronics or electromechanical energy for the end user (audience) to access the content; and includes, but is not limited to, electrical storage media, transmission media, the Internet, extranet, lease lines, dial-up lines, private networks, and the physical movement of removable/transportable electronic media and/or interactive distance learning.

Employer means any person or organization employing an apprentice whether such person or organization is a party to an Apprenticeship Agreement with the apprentice or not.

Ethnicity, for the purposes of recordkeeping and affirmative action, has the same meaning as under the Office of Management and Budget's Standards for Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, or any successor standards. Ethnicity thus refers to the following designations:

* Hispanic or Latino - A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rica, South or Central America, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

* Not Hispanic or Latino

Genetic information means

* Information about:

* An individual's genetic tests;

* The genetic tests of that individual's family members;

* The manifestation of disease or disorder in family members of the individual (family medical history);

* An individual's request for, or receipt of, genetic services, or the participation in clinical research that includes genetic services by the individual or a family member of the individual; or

* The genetic information of a fetus carried by a pregnant woman who is a family member of the individual and the genetic information of any embryo legally held by the individual or family member using an assisted reproductive technology.

* Genetic information does not include information about the sex or age of the individual, the sex or age of family members, or information about the race or ethnicity of the individual or family members that is not derived from a genetic test.

Note: The definition of the term "genetic information" is taken directly from the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) at 42 U.S.C. 2000ff(4) and the EEOC's implementing regulations at 29 CFR 1635.3(c).

Major life activities include, but are not limited to: Caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, reaching, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, interacting with others, and working. A major life activity also includes the operation of major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, special sense organs and skin, normal cell growth, and digestive, genitourinary, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, endocrine, hemic, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and reproductive functions. The operation of a major bodily function includes the operation of an individual organ within a body system.

Physical or mental impairment means:

* Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more body systems, such as neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), and cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, immune, circulatory, hemic, lymphatic, skin and endocrine; or

* Any mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability (formerly termed 'mental retardation'), organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.

Pre-apprenticeship program means a training model designed to assist individuals who do not currently possess the minimum requirements for selection into an apprenticeship program to meet the minimum selection criteria established in a program sponsor's apprenticeship standards required under part 29 of this Chapter and which maintains at least one documented partnership with a Registered Apprenticeship program. It involves a form of structured workplace education and training in which an employer, employer group, industry association, labor union, community-based organization, or educational institution collaborates to provide formal instruction that will introduce participants to the competencies, skills, and materials used in one or more apprenticeable occupations.

Qualified applicant or apprentice is an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the apprenticeship program for which the individual applied or is enrolled.

Race, for purposes of recordkeeping and affirmative action, has the same meaning as under the Office of Management and Budget's Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, or any successor standards. Race thus refers to the following designations:

* White-A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

* Black or African American-A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

* Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander-A person having origins in any of the peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

* Asian-A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

* American Indian or Alaska Native-A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Reasonable accommodation

* The term reasonable accommodation means:

* Modifications or adjustments to a job application process that enable a qualified applicant with a disability to be considered for the position such qualified applicant desires;

* Modifications or adjustments to the work environment, or to the manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is customarily performed, that enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform the essential functions of that position; or

* Modifications or adjustments that enable a sponsor's apprentice with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of apprenticeship as are enjoyed by its other similarly situated apprentices without disabilities

* Reasonable accommodation may include but is not limited to:

* Making existing facilities used by apprentices readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and

* Job restructuring; part-time or modified work schedules; reassignment to a vacant position; acquisition or modifications of equipment or devices; appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials, or policies; the provision of qualified readers or interpreters; and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

* To determine the appropriate reasonable accommodation, it may be necessary for the sponsor to initiate an informal, interactive process with the qualified individual in need of the accommodation. This process should identify the precise limitations resulting from the disability and potential reasonable accommodations that could overcome those limitations.

Registration Agency means Maine Apprenticeship Program, that has responsibility for registering apprenticeship programs and apprentices; providing technical assistance; conducting quality assurance assessments and reviews of registered apprenticeship programs in compliance with the Federal requirements.

Selection procedure means any measure, combination of measures, or procedure used as a basis for any decision in apprenticeship. Selection procedures include the full range of assessment techniques from traditional paper and pencil tests, performance tests, training programs, or probationary periods and physical, educational, and work experience requirements through informal or casual interviews and unscored application forms.

Sponsor means any person, association, committee or organization, operating an apprenticeship program, and in whose name the program is (or is to be) registered or approved.

State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA) means an agency of a State government that has responsibility and accountability for apprenticeship within the State. Only an SAA may seek recognition from OA as an agency which has been properly constituted under an acceptable law or Executive Order (E.O.), and authorized by OA to register and oversee apprenticeship programs and agreements for Federal purposes. The Maine Apprenticeship Program is the recognized SAA for Maine and is administered by the Maine Department of Labor.

Undue hardship:

* In general, undue hardship means, with respect to the provision of an accommodation, significant difficulty or expense incurred by a sponsor.

* Factors to be considered in determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on a sponsor, include:

* The nature and net cost of the accommodation needed under this part, taking into consideration the availability of tax credits and deductions, and/or outside funding;

* The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation, the number of persons employed at such facility, and the effect on expenses and resources;

* The overall financial resources of the sponsor, the overall size of the registered apprenticeship program with respect to the number of apprentices, and the number, type and location of its facilities;

* The type of operation or operations of the sponsor, including the composition, structure and functions of the workforce of such entity, and the geographic separateness and administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the sponsor; and

* The impact of the accommodation upon the operation of the facility, including the impact on the ability of other apprentices to perform their duties and the impact on the facility's ability to conduct business.

Notes

12-181 C.M.R. ch. 2, § 2