STATE OF
WASHINGTON
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY DEPARTMENT
WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
NUMBER: 4008
DATE: 03-20-02
Revised
This document has been formatted for use on this web site. It contains hyperlinks that enable the user to jump directly to specific areas within the document or to related documents. The information and guidance it contains has been revised. There are definitions for terms that may be unfamiliar. This communication applies to ESD staff, however, Workforce Development Council (WDC) and partner agencies are welcome and encouraged to use the information when developing local policies and procedures.
BACKGROUND
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SUBJECT: Selection and Referral
ORIGINATOR: WIA Title III (Wagner-Peyser) (Labor Exchange Unit)
Historically, selection and referral activities have been centered around the Employment Security Department (ESD) acting as gatekeeper between employers and job seekers. Job seekers could not access suppressed job orders and employers could not access registered job seekers without point-of-service staff intervention.
It is the policy of the Employment Security Department (ESD), upon request by employer, to select qualified applicants for, and to refer qualified applicants to, employer job openings, as long as the services to be performed and/or the conditions of employment are not contrary to federal, state, or local laws or regulations, or ESD policies and procedures.
Conducting
a Job Match | Suitability
| Contacting
Applicants
Screening Applicants
| Referring Applicants | Referring UI
Claimants
Referring Applicants in Special Situations | Recruiting Applicants | Advertising
for Applicants
Job matching provides SKIES trained staff a method to search job seeker records to identify qualified applicants for possible referral.
The following method for conducting job matching is available:
The SKIES system allows job matching on the following levels:
By Workforce Development Areas (WDA)
By office
By staff person name
Statewide
If job matching by local office name fails to identify sufficient qualified applicants, job matching is expanded to include the whole WDA. If a WDA search does not result in qualified job seekers, search can be extended to other WDAs statewide.
NOTE: Expanding matching on temporary agricultural job orders follow the procedures outlined in Policies and Procedures communication number 4061, Recruitment of Temporary Agricultural Workers.
If job matching fails to identify sufficient qualified applicants, selection can be extended upon employer record approval to include:
Recruiting qualified applicants from within the community.
Referring available workers that have less closely-related qualifications or less experience; and/or
Extending the usual time limit (five days) for referral of qualified applicants.
Staff have the expertise to evaluate and compare employer requirements and worker qualifications. More specifically, staff:
Review the employer detailed requirements of the job order.
Review all sections of a job seeker record to determine the suitability of an applicant for referral.
Decide whether the requirements of the job and the qualifications of the applicant match closely enough to merit referral.
Compare all qualified applicants and select those to be offered referral to the job opening. This involves a careful summarizing of all applicant information to ensure referral of only the most qualified individuals.
NOTE: If the applicant is an Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimant, strong personal preferences that limit the claimant's availability for employment are a potentially disqualifying issue. Additional information can be found in the section entitled Referring UI Claimants.
Contacting applicants by telephone is the quickest and most efficient method. Staff can inform the applicant that a referral possibility exists and request that the individual report to the local service delivery site.
SKIES allows staff to reserve referral slots on job orders while they are attempting to contact the applicants or are waiting for the applicants to report to the local service delivery site for job referral. Reserved referrals for job seekers are automatically deleted after twenty four hours, unless it is Friday or is the last working day of the week, at which time the referral would be deleted the following Tuesday.
Information
to the Applicant | Decision to Refer
Staff have the responsibility to screen an applicant before making a final decision to offer the applicant a referral to a job opening. Staff question the applicant as necessary to clarify the applicant's qualifications. A referral is not made until staff have determined that the applicant clearly meets the employer job qualifications and that a referral is appropriate.
Information to the Applicant - The pre-referral interview includes giving the applicant information as well as obtaining information. Staff provide the applicant with a thorough description of the content of the job and employment conditions including wages, hours, working conditions, duration of the employment, possibilities of promotion, if known, as well as other factors which may influence the applicant's consideration of the job if offered. A further consideration when referring on affirmative action job orders is to explain the meaning of affirmative action and what the employer is trying to accomplish under this program.
As a public employment service, ESD also has a responsibility to inform applicants of all aspects of the employer's application process as relayed to the order taker by the employer. Such aspects of the employer's application process may include psychological tests, drug tests, credit checks, background checks, etc. If staff have been informed by the employer that this type of activity will be performed, staff have an obligation to inform the applicant. Often, an applicant may elect to not accept a job referral because of personal reservations or beliefs about the application process. This responsibility to the applicant takes precedence over an employer's request to suppress or withhold that type of information from applicants being referred. Employer Record identity and contact information are not provided until decision to refer has occurred.Decision to Refer - As the result of the pre-referral interview, staff may decide to offer a job referral to the applicant. If so, and if the applicant indicates a desire to meet with the employer for an employment interview, staff arrange the referral. If the applicant is a UI claimant, see section entitled Referring UI Claimants.
Staff will provide the selected applicant with all appropriate contact instructions and information and will record the referral information in the ......section of SKIES.
NOTE: It is the responsibility of staff to ensure that only qualified applicants are referred. This necessitates that staff exercise judgment in refusing to refer, and tact in explaining to applicants that they cannot be referred. In no instance are unqualified applicants referred simply because they demand referral. Local managers and supervisors are responsible to ensure that staff are adequately trained in refusing to refer unqualified applicants.
Number of Referrals | Referral Priorities
A job order in SKIES is generally available for referral statewide as long as there are referral slots open. Any special instructions regarding referrals are identified on the Job Order and are adhered to by any staff making referrals.
NOTE: The only exceptions to the statewide availability of job orders are agricultural and food processing job orders. Complete information regarding these types of orders can be found in Policies and Procedures communication number 4002, Job Order-Taking.
Number of Referrals - The number of qualified applicants an employer wants to interview (and only that number) are referred no later than five working days following the day the job order was received. If a sufficient number of referrals cannot be made, the employer is contacted immediately (unless other arrangements have been agreed upon with the employer and documented on the Job Order.
Referral Priorities - All referrals are consistent with the following priorities:
Special Disabled Veterans;
Disabled Veterans;
All Other Veterans and Eligible Persons;
Persons with Disabilities;
UI Claimants, Agricultural Workers, MSFWs, and Food Processing Workers; and
All Others.
The Work Test | Eligibility Issues | Handling Issues Once Detected
Before discussing any possible referral, staff determine if the applicant is receiving UI benefits. This can be done quickly and simply by either asking the applicant, or by accessing the appropriate UI benefit screen.
Once an applicant is identified as a claimant, the referral process takes on an added dimension. Staff, as mandated by the Wagner-Peyser Act, have a responsibility to conduct the UI Work Test. The purpose of the Work Test is to detect issues that could potentially deny benefits to those who do not meet UI eligibility by demonstrating that they are not fully ready to work.
Unemployment Compensation law requires that an unemployed individual is eligible to receive benefits only if the individual is able to work, available for work, and is actively seeking suitable work.
The Work Test - The work test consists of:
Referring or attempting to refer claimants to jobs for which they are qualified;
Detecting any possible issues that affect the claimant's eligibility to receive benefits and promptly reporting them according to established procedures.
NOTE: In this process, staff at the local service delivery site are not expected to make decisions about the claimant's eligibility to receive benefits. That decision is made by a UI staff person at an Adjudication Center.Monitoring the accepted referral using regular verification procedures to determine whether the claimant contacted the employer and reported for the interview; the claimant's conduct during the interview; whether the claimant accepted the offer of a job; and whether the claimant, if hired, actually went to work.
The work test is completed when any information that could affect the claim is routed to appropriate staff and recorded in the Job Seeker records.entered on the Add Applicant Services screen (Codes 1 through 4).
The Claimant Directive, EMS 5688, can be used when offering a referral to a claimant because it contains all of the information that is documented. A written report by staff of the details concerning the refusal of a referral or of a job is insufficient to impose a denial under RCW 50.20.080 unless it includes all of the required elements. A written report by staff of other types of eligibility issues discovered during the referral interview are reported to the appropriate unit.
A claimant cannot be denied benefits for failure to accept a job referral, failing to appear for an interview, or failing to engage in a bona fide interview unless directed in writing to apply for the work and advised that failure to comply may result in a denial of benefits. The directive also includes the particulars of the job. If the claimant is contacted by telephone, it is documented and shown that the claimant was advised that failure to comply could result in a denial of benefits.
Eligibility Issues - Eligibility issues arise when a staff person attempts to make a referral but the claimant:
Imposes restrictions that preclude the referral (e.g., lack of transportation, lack of child care);
Loses interest in the job after hearing about wages or shifts that are undesirable;
does not allow the full details of the job to be explained--hangs up the phone, walks away from the desk/counter; or
Refuses the job referral.
Eligibility issues also arise when the claimant:
Accepts the job referral but fails to contact the employer to apply for work;
Fails to report for the job interview;
Behaves in such a way during the interview that preclude the employer from offering the job; e.g., demonstrates lack of interest in the job, makes negative remarks about the job or firm, dresses inappropriately, etc.;
Refuses the job offered by the employer; or
Does not report for work after being hired.
A failure to report for scheduled Job Search Assistance when available at no cost to the claimant is also an eligibility issue.
Handling Issues Once Detected - If a claimant refuses a job referral or a potentially disqualifying issue is detected, staff make a written report of the details regarding the issue to the appropriate staff or unit for possible adjudication.
Referring Applicants in Special Situations
Labor Disputes | Alien Employment Certification (AEC)
Labor Disputes - The local service delivery site makes no referral that aids directly or indirectly in filling a job opening that is vacant because the former occupant is on strike or has been locked out, or the filling of the opening is otherwise an issue in a labor dispute involving a work stoppage.
The local service delivery site may make a referral to a job opening not involved in a labor dispute, even though the job may be with an employer who is involved in a labor dispute affecting other jobs, provided the job to which the applicant is referred is not vacant because the former occupant is on strike or has been locked out, and the filling of the opening is not otherwise an issue in the labor dispute.
When such a referral is made, the applicant is provided written notification that a labor dispute exists, but that the job to which the applicant is being referred is not vacant because the former occupant is on strike or has been locked out, and the filling of the opening is not otherwise an issue in the labor dispute.
Alien Employment Certification (AEC) - AEC is a federal program designed to make it possible for U.S. employers to hire aliens if they cannot find qualified and available U.S. workers.
Upon receipt of a completed AEC application, the E&T Division's AEC Unit makes efforts to assist the employer in finding able, willing, and qualified U.S. workers who are available for the job. The AEC Unit prepares a job order for selection and referral activity and enters it into the SKIES Job Order description field. The job order remains open for 30 calendar days for a permanent job and 10 calendar days for a temporary job of less than one year.
For permanent jobs, the job order directs that résumés be sent to the E&T Division, attention AEC Unit. The AEC Unit reviews and transmits résumés to the employer at the appropriate time. For temporary jobs, the job order shows that résumés are to be sent to the employer.
Point-of-service staff may feel that the employer is not interested in hiring anyone but the alien, and that the job order is merely a formality to comply with AEC regulations. However, the effort to find U.S. workers is in earnest and local service delivery sites should encourage job seekers to submit their résumés to the AEC Unit.
Additional information can be found in Policies and Procedures communication number 4080, Alien Employment Certification.
Recruitment is performed only when a sufficient number of applicants cannot be supplied through existing ESD programs. The recruitment process requires a thorough knowledge of the community, particularly its labor resources, and considerable ingenuity in making the best use of sources to discover workers with the occupational qualifications required.
Before conducting recruitment, staff make a decision regarding:
The recruitment source from which workers most probably can be secured for the particular occupations; and
The recruitment method most likely to be effective for that particular source.
Staff may use several sources to ensure that sufficient qualified applicants are available. The order in which sources are used, or whether or not several sources are used, depends upon the particular job opening. The factors include:
Time allowed for filling the job order;
Condition of the labor market;
Urgency of the labor needs;
If the job order is an affirmative action job order; and
The kinds of skills or occupations for which the employer is recruiting.
In recruiting for a specific job opening, regardless of the sources used, staff make sure that the specific skills for the job opening are clearly explained. This is done in order to focus the recruitment efforts on only workers with the necessary skills.
Local Service delivery sites conduct no recruitment for job openings that offer wages, hours or working conditions that are clearly below the usual or prevailing standard in the community for the class of work involved. In addition, recruitment efforts are conducted without discrimination regarding race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, physical, sensory, or mental disability, or national origin.
NOTE: Recruitment on temporary agricultural job orders must follow the procedures outlined in Policies and Procedures communication number 4061, Recruitment of Temporary Agricultural Workers.
Local service delivery sites recruit through a variety of sources within the community. Some examples are:
Schools and training institutions
Labor organizations
Professional organizations
Civic and community service organizations
Employment and training organizations
Veterans groups
Vocational Rehabilitation
Local service delivery sites needing or desiring assistance in advertising for applicants can contact ESD’s Office of Public Affairs.
DEFINITIONS
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O*NET/SOC Code - As the replacement for the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), O*NET is a comprehensive database of worker attributes and job characteristics.
http://www.wa.gov/esd/policies/
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (WorkSource); the Wagner-Peyser Act as amended by WIA (Labor Exchange); Title 38, USC, Chapters 41 and 42 (Veterans); the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 20, Chapter V, Part 652 (Labor Exchange) and Chapter IX, Parts 1001 and 1005 (Veterans).
This communication cancels and supersedes Policies and Procedures communication number 7006, Selection and Referral, dated January 4, 1993.
Oscar Trevino
Employment Security Department
WorkSource Operations Division
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title III (Wagner-Peyser)
P.O. Box 9046, Mail Stop 6000
Olympia , WA 98507-9046
E-Mail: otrevino@esd.wa.gov
Telephone: (360) 438-4653
Fax: (360) 438-4014
TTY: (360) 438-3167 (temporarily)
