Labor and Employment - Workforce Development and Local Workforce Development Boards (Local Workforce Solutions Investment Act

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb1358*

HOUSE BILL 1358
K3 6lr2957
CF 6lr2959
By: Delegates Nkongolo, Buckel, Chang, Ciliberti, Hornberger, McComas, Miller,
T. Morgan, Roberson, and Schmidt
Introduced and read first time: February 13, 2026
Assigned to: Government, Labor, and Elections and Health

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Labor and Employment – Workforce Development and Local Workforce 2
Development Boards 3
(Local Workforce Solutions Investment Act) 4

FOR the purpose of requiring the Maryland Department of Labor to allocate money from 5
the Hospital Employees Retraining Fund to local workforce development boards 6
under certain circumstances ; altering certain workforce developme nt programs to 7
require inclusion of local workforce development boards; requiring, if funding is 8
available, the Department to provide funding to a local workforce development board 9
as part of the State’s quick response program for certain reductions in operations; 10
requiring local workforce development boards to provide grants to employers under 11
the Apprenticeship Career Training in Our Neighborhoods Program; and generally 12
relating to workforce development in the State. 13

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 14
Article – Labor and Employment 15
Section 11–201, 11–304, 11–305(a), 11–601(d), and 11–1405(d) 16
Annotated Code of Maryland 17
(2025 Replacement Volume) 18

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 19
Article – Labor and Employment 20
Section 11–303, 11–601(a) through (c) and (e), and 11–1403 21
Annotated Code of Maryland 22
(2025 Replacement Volume) 23

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 24
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 25

Article – Labor and Employment 26
2 HOUSE BILL 1358

11–201. 1

(a) The Department shall establish a program for the retraining and placement 2
of hospital employees who are unemployed or who may become unemployed as a result of 3
the closing, delicensing, downsizing, or possible downsizing of a hospital or the merging of 4
hospitals under § 19–325 of the Health – General Article. 5

(b) The Secretary and the Secretary of Health sh all adopt regulations to 6
implement this section. 7

(c) (1) There is a Hospital Employees Retraining Fund. 8

(2) The Fund shall be used: 9

[(1)] (I) for the purposes described in this section; and 10

[(2)] (II) to pay any and all expenses of the Department in administering 11
this section. 12

(D) IF A CLOSING, DELICENSING, DOWNSIZING, OR POSSIBLE DOWNSIZING 13
OF A HOSPITAL, OR THE MERGING OF HOSPITALS DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (A) OF 14
THIS SECTION OCCURS , THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ALLOCAT E MONEY FROM THE 15
FUND TO THE LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMEN T BOARD IN THE COUNTY OR 16
REGION AFFECTED. 17

[(d)] (E) Any unexpended funds remaining in the Hospital Employees 18
Retraining Fund at the end of the fiscal year may not revert to the General Fund of the 19
State. 20

11–303. 21

There shall be a quick response program to provide both employers and employees 22
with services to assist in mitigating the impact on employees that occurs with a reduction 23
in operations. 24

11–304. 25

(a) The State’s quick response program is under the direction of the Secretary. 26

(b) (1) The Secretary in cooperation with the Workforce Development Board 27
shall develop mandatory guidelines for employers faced with a reduction in operations. 28

(2) The guidelines developed under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall 29
include: 30

HOUSE BILL 1358 3

(i) subject to § 11 –305 of this subtitle, a written notice that an 1
employer expects to terminate employees due to a reduction in operations; 2

(ii) the continuation of benefits, such as health, severance, and 3
pension, that an employer shoul d provide to employees who will be terminated due to a 4
reduction in operations; or 5

(iii) the specific mechanisms that employers can use to ask for the 6
assistance of the State’s quick response program. 7

(c) (1) The Department shall maintain the capacit y to provide employment 8
and training services through the quick response program. 9

(2) This capacity shall include[, but not be limited to]: 10

[(1)] (I) on–site unemployment insurance bulk claims registration: for 11
incidents where 25 or more workers are laid off at 1 time, taking initial unemployment 12
insurance claims at the employee’s place of business; 13

[(2)] (II) registration for federal Trade Readjustment Act services: if the 14
business closing is due to foreign competition, assisting workers in seeking federal training 15
benefits and additional unemployment insurance compensation benefits; 16

[(3)] (III) provision of labor market and retraining information: in 17
conjunction with local [service providers ] WORKFORCE DEVELOPMEN T BOARDS, 18
providing both local labor market information and retraining information that can assist 19
the workers to obtain reemployment [and/or] OR retraining; 20

[(4)] (IV) job placement services: through the regular office services or 21
through special on–site services, providing a range of job placement services utilizing the 22
“job bank”; 23

[(5)] (V) job seeking and finding information: providing 1–day workshops 24
to assist job seekers in learning how to seek and secure jobs; or 25

[(6)] (VI) referral to retraining op portunities: through LOCAL 26
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMEN T BOARDS, liaisons with the private industry 27
[councils/service] COUNCILS OR SERVICE delivery areas , and the community college 28
network, providing referrals for dislocated workers for retraining opportunities. 29

(D) TO THE EXTENT FUNDING IS AVAILABLE , THE DEPARTMENT SHALL 30
PROVIDE FUNDING TO T HE LOCAL WORKFORCE D EVELOPMENT BOARD IN THE 31
AFFECTED COUNTY OR REGION FOR DIRECT DEPLOYMENT TO SERVE WORKERS 32
AFFECTED BY A REDUCTION IN OPERATIONS. 33

4 HOUSE BILL 1358

[(d)] (E) (1) The Depar tment shall distribute the reduction in operations 1
guidelines to all employers in the State every 2 years. 2

(2) The distribution shall begin no later than July 1, 1986. 3

[(e)] (F) The Department shall monitor layoff and employment patterns and 4
payments of unemployment compensation contributions to identify employers that are 5
likely to experience large losses in employment or a reduction in operations. 6

[(f)] (G) If the Department identifies an employer that is likely to experience 7
large losses in employment or a reduction in operations, the Department shall 8
confidentially contact the employer and offer the assistance of the Department in providing 9
alternative employment and retraining opportunities, including coordinating the delivery 10
of available State and federal resources and services. 11

[(g)] (H) The Secretary shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions of 12
this subtitle. 13

11–305. 14

(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, an employer shall 15
provide written notice at least 60 days before initiating a reduction in operations to: 16

[(1)] (I) all employees at the workplace that are subject to the reduction 17
in operations; 18

[(2)] (II) each exclusive representative or bargaining agency that 19
represents the employees at the workplace that are subject to the reduction in operations; 20

[(3)] (III) individuals who work less than 20 hours on average each week 21
or have worked for the employer for less than 6 months in the immediately preceding 12 22
months at the workplace that is subject to the reduction in operations; 23

[(4)] (IV) the Division’s dislocated worker unit; and 24

[(5) (i)] (V) 1. the chief elected official of the political subdivision 25
where the workplace that is subject to the reduction in operations is located; or 26

[(ii)] 2. if the workplace is located in more than one political 27
subdivision, the chief elected official of the political subdivision to which the employer paid 28
the most taxes for the fiscal year immediately preceding the year in which the reduction in 29
operations occurs. 30

(2) IF THE DIVISION’S DISLOCATED WORKER UNIT RECEIVES NOTICE 31
UNDER PARAGRAPH (1)(IV) OF THIS SUBSECTION, THE UNIT SHALL FORWA RD THE 32
NOTICE TO THE LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMEN T BOARD IN THE POLIT ICAL 33
HOUSE BILL 1358 5

SUBDIVISION WHERE TH E WORKPLACE THAT IS SUBJECT TO THE RE DUCTION IS 1
LOCATED. 2

11–601. 3

(a) In this section, “ACTION Program” means the Apprenticeship Career 4
Training in Our Neighborhoods Program established under this section. 5

(b) There is an Apprenticeship Career Training in Our Neighborh oods Program 6
in the Department. 7

(c) The purposes of the ACTION Program are: 8

(1) to develop a well –trained, productive construction workforce which 9
meets the needs of the State’s economy; 10

(2) to encourage employers to hire apprentices in the construction industry; 11
and 12

(3) to help employers offset additional costs, if any, associated with hiring 13
apprentices. 14

(d) (1) (I) The Department shall administer the ACTION Program [and] 15
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS. 16

(II) LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS SHALL provide 17
grants [on a competitive basis] to employers that meet the requirements under paragraph 18
(2) of this subsection. 19

(2) An employer is eligible to receive a grant if the employer employs one 20
or more apprentices who: 21

(i) have been employed by the employer for at least 7 months; 22

(ii) are engaged in a building or construction trade; 23

(iii) are enrolled in the first year of an apprenticeship program 24
registered with the Maryland Apprenticeship and Train ing Council under § 11 –405(b) of 25
this title; and 26

(iv) live in a zip code in which the percentage of poverty is at least 27
20% as established by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, in the 28
most recently released data. 29

(e) (1) As provid ed in the State budget, the ACTION Program shall award 30
grants to eligible employers. 31
6 HOUSE BILL 1358

(2) It is the intent of the General Assembly that, for fiscal year 2017 and 1
each fiscal year thereafter, the State budget include an appropriation of at least $100,000 2
for the ACTION Program to: 3

(i) provide grants to eligible employers; and 4

(ii) cover administrative costs. 5

11–1403. 6

(a) The purpose of the Program is to provide matching grants to eligible entities 7
to create and expand on successful recruitment and retention strategies that address the 8
range of potential barriers to increasing the number of direct care workers. 9

(b) The goal of the Program is to ensure the availability of trained direct care 10
workers across the State. 11

11–1405. 12

(d) The Division shall encourage each eligible entity receiving a matching grant 13
under the Program, in developing and carrying out a project, to consult with: 14

(1) institutions of higher education; 15

(2) the Maryland Department of Health; 16

(3) [one–stop career center s] LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMEN T 17
BOARDS; and 18

(4) organizations with expertise in the needs of women, racial minorities, 19
immigrants, and the impoverished. 20

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 21
October 1, 2026. 22