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PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE TO FILE 16-5674
COOK COUNTY WORKFORCE RESOURCE ORDINANCE
BE IT ORDAINED, by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, that Chapter 2 Administration, Article XIV. Cook County Workforce Resource, Sec. 2-1030 through Sec. 2- 1039 of the Cook County Code is hereby created as follows:
Sec. 2-1030. Short Title.
This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the Cook County Workforce Resource Ordinance.
Sec. 2-1031. Purpose.
The Cook County Real Property Assessment Classification Ordinance provides property tax incentives to encourage industrial and commercial development of new facilities, the rehabilitation of existing structures and the reutilization of abandoned buildings. The goal is to attract new industry, stimulate expansion and retention of existing industry and increase employment opportunities. This Cook County Workforce Resource Ordinance is intended to facilitate the recruitment, training and placement of Cook County residents to fill position vacancies that are created as a result of such industrial and commercial development, rehabilitation or expansion.
The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (“The Partnership”) is a non-profit administrative agency which administers the County’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs as well as federal subsidies that benefit employers and enable successful recruitment, training, placement and retention of current and prospective employees. Under this Workforce Resource Ordinance, recipients of County Tax Incentives, as defined below, shall use The Partnership as a resource to identify, recruit, train and/or hire Cook County residents to fill position vacancies.
Sec. 2-1032. Definitions.
For the purposes of this Article the term:
Beneficiary means the applicant for any County Tax Incentives, the recipient of any County Tax Incentives or a tenant or lessee of a recipient of any County Tax Incentives that employs twenty (20) or more total individuals at the site at which the County Tax Incentives will be received.
County Tax Incentives means any Cook County property tax incentives reviewed by the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development for Classes 6b, 6b TEERM, 6b SER, and 7a that are defined as special circumstances in Chapter 74 Taxation, Article II Real Property Taxation, Division 2 Classification System For Assessment and all applications for property tax incentives for Classes 7b and 7c.
Employer means a Beneficiary with position vacancies or job openings at the site at which property tax incentives will be received.
Government-assisted project means any project funded in whole or in part with County Tax Incentives.
Long Term jobs means those positions expected to last 180 days or more.
Temporary jobs means those positions expected to last less than 180 days.
Sufficient lead time means at least seven (7) business days from the opening of the job application, except in emergency situations.
Workforce Resource Agreement means an agreement executed by The Partnership and the Employer in the form and manner as attached to this Ordinance as Exhibit A. Any modifications to the terms and conditions of such agreement are subject to the approval of the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development.
Workforce Resource Database means a database maintained by The Partnership consisting of unemployed or underemployed Cook County residents that have relevant skills, knowledge, abilities or qualifications to merit consideration for Long Term Job vacancies.
Youth means “in school youth” and “out of school youth” as defined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (“WIOA”), Pub.L. 113-128,
Sec. 2-1033. Limitations.
This Workforce Resource Ordinance shall not apply to positions filled by internal transfers, promotions or recall of laid off employees on recall status from the Employer.
Sec. 2-1034. Workforce Resource Agreement with The Partnership:
(a) Except for the limitations set forth in Section 2-1033 above, The Partnership shall serve as the first resource for finding employees to fill position vacancies created by the government-assisted project. The Partnership’s candidate pool will be comprised of County residents sourced from The Partnership’s network of workforce development agencies, individuals identified through employer-specific hiring events, and existing and/or future databases of prospective employees (whether said databases be maintained locally or by the State of Illinois); provided however that The Partnership shall give priority to candidates that reside within the District in which the County Tax Incentives will be received.
(b) The Partnership will leverage its County-wide network of workforce development agencies for the purpose of sourcing unemployed or underemployed County residents who meet the desired qualifications identified by the Employer as set forth in the Workforce Resource Agreement.
(c) In accordance with federal law, and state and local policy, The Partnership may also offer the Employer additional resources for the recruitment, training and retention of new hires, including access to federal subsidies where appropriate.
(d) After sufficient lead time, as defined herein, or as mutually agreed upon by the Employer and The Partnership, as specified in the Workforce Resource Agreement, the Employer shall be free to seek other sources to fill position vacancies.
Section 2-1035. Data Collection and Reporting
(a) The Partnership shall compile and maintain a Workforce Resource Database of available candidates for employment from the County’s public workforce system that includes Youth participants in WIOA or other Youth programs as permitted by law.
(b) The Partnership will leverage its delegate agencies located throughout Cook County for the purpose of sourcing unemployed or underemployed County residents who have the skills qualifications to merit consideration by Employer.
(c) The Partnership will offer additional employment resources to the Employer for the recruitment and training of new hires and incumbent employees.
Sec. 2-1036. Workforce Resource Agreement.
(a) Every Employer awarded a County Tax Incentive on or after April 16, 2017 shall be required to enter into a Workforce Resource Agreement with The Partnership as a condition of its receipt of County Tax Incentives.
(b) After sufficient lead time, as defined herein, or as mutually agreed upon by an Employer and The Partnership, as specified in the Workforce Resource Agreement, the Employer shall be free to fill remaining Long Term job vacancies by hiring individuals without The Partnership’s assistance.
(c) Notwithstanding the above, an Employer may utilize The Partnership’s services to fill Temporary job vacancies.
Sec. 2-1037. Reports.
The Partnership shall submit a bi-annual report to the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Bureau of Economic Development detailing the employment outcomes attained on behalf of the Employer; however, if no Workforce Resource Agreements have been executed, no report shall be submitted. The report shall include the name of the Employer, including but not limited to:
(a) The number of government-assisted projects for which Workforce Resource Agreements were executed;
(b) The number and nature of Long Term Job vacancies covered by the Workforce Resource Agreement, including, but not limited to, total full time, part time, seasonal, and/or temporary positions.
(c) Average wages of new hires;
(d) Total new hires and wages earned;
(e) The number of youth hired and/or trained in connection with Workforce Resource Agreements; and
(f) The nature and amount of any federal resource utilized to support the hiring, training and/or retention of individuals in accordance with the Workforce Resource Agreement.
Sec. 2-1038. Transfers and Assignments.
In the event of a transfer or assignment by an Employer of all or a portion of its business to a third party in connection with a sale, assignment, lease or otherwise, during the term of the Agreement, such Employer shall notify The Partnership of the effective date of the transfer of its business and the identity of the transferee. This Ordinance and any executed Workforce Resource Agreements are fully binding upon any transferee or successor to such Employer’s business.
Sec. 2-1039. Enforceability and Penalties.
In those instances of an Employer’s failure to comply with the terms of the Workforce Resource Agreement, The Partnership will notify such Employer specifying areas of noncompliance and provide a period of sixty (60) days in which the Employer may refute or remedy such noncompliance. Failure to refute or remedy said noncompliance may result in a recommendation to the appropriate municipality or, if the property is located in unincorporated Cook County, the Bureau of Economic Development, for withdrawal of County Tax Incentives and denial of future opportunities for said Employer to obtain and utilize County Tax Incentives unless and until such noncompliance has been remedied or successfully refuted.
Effective Date: This Ordinance shall be in effect as of May 1, 2017.
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