Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums
| Published date | 11 March 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-05220 |
| Citation | 89 FR 17265 |
| Court | Executive Office Of The President |
| Section | Presidential Documents |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 48 (Monday, March 11, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 48 (Monday, March 11, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 17265-17270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05220] Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 48 / Monday, March 11, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 17265]]
Executive Order 14119 of March 6, 2024
Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered
Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal
Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. My Administration's Investing in
America agenda includes a once-in-a-generation
investment in our Nation's infrastructure. This agenda
is also driving the creation of well-paying jobs and
growing the economy sustainably and equitably, and it
will continue to do so for decades to come. To fully
realize the benefits of these investments, students and
workers at all stages of life need equitable access to
education and training for the good jobs in their
communities.
Critical to achieving these goals is promoting
Registered Apprenticeships, as described in title 29,
parts 29 and 30, of the Code of Federal Regulations,
which provide substantial benefits to both workers and
employers. As the Nation's largest employer and
procurer of goods and services, the Federal Government
can be a model for the use and promotion of skills-
based hiring, such as the use of Registered
Apprenticeships, which reduces barriers to employment
and attracts a diverse workforce to meet our Nation's
critical needs. My Administration has made
strengthening and empowering the Federal workforce a
management priority. As a part of its overall strategy
to hire, retain, and develop the people needed to
accomplish executive department and agency (agency)
missions and to create equitable, transparent, and
transferable career-development pathways, the Federal
Government can scale and expand Registered
Apprenticeship programs to modernize and broaden
avenues to Federal jobs, thereby improving access to
opportunities for underserved workers.
Additionally, Labor-Management Forums provide an
opportunity for managers, employees, and employees'
union representatives to discuss how Federal Government
operations can promote satisfactory labor relations and
improve the productivity and effectiveness of the
Federal Government. Labor-Management Forums, as
complements to the existing collective bargaining
process, allow managers and employees to collaborate in
order to continue to deliver the highest quality goods
and services to the American people.
It is the policy of my Administration to promote
Registered Apprenticeships to meet employer needs while
investing in workers' skills; reducing employment
barriers; and promoting job quality, equity, inclusion,
and accessibility for the benefit of the Federal
Government and the Nation. Further, it is the policy of
my Administration to establish cooperative and
productive labor-management relations throughout the
executive branch.
Sec. 2. Definitions. For purposes of this order:
(a) The term ``Registered Apprenticeship'' means an
industry-driven career pathway through which employers
can develop and prepare their future workforces and
individuals can obtain paid training, work experience,
progressive wage increases, classroom instruction, and
a portable, nationally recognized credential. A
Registered Apprenticeship must meet the requirements
for registration as set forth in 29 CFR parts 29 and
30.
(b) The term ``Pre-Apprenticeship'' has the meaning
set forth in 29 CFR 30.2.
[[Page 17266]]
(c) The term ``Labor-Management Forum'' means a
nonadversarial forum for managers, employees, and
employees' union representatives to discuss how Federal
Government operations can promote satisfactory labor
relations and improve the productivity and
effectiveness of the Federal Government.
(d) The term ``agencies'' means the Department of
State, the Department of the Treasury, the Department
of Defense, the Department of the Interior, the
Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce,
the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and
Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, the Department of Transportation, the
Department of Energy, the Department of Education, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of
Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency,
the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of the
United States Trade Representative, the Office of
Science and Technology Policy, the Council on
Environmental Quality, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy, the Office of the National Cyber
Director, the National Science Foundation, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM), the General Services
Administration, and the Corporation for National and
Community Service.
(e) The term ``participating agencies'' means
agencies led by the heads of agencies listed in section
3(b) of this order.
(f) The term ``interested agencies'' means agencies
as defined in subsection (d) of this section, the heads
of which are not listed in section 3(b) of this order
but that are interested in expanding the use of
Registered Apprenticeships by either adding Registered
Apprenticeship criteria to grants or contracts or
including Registered Apprenticeship career
opportunities within their agency.
(g) The term ``Labor-Management Forum agencies''
means all agencies subject to chapter 71 of title 5,
United States Code.
Sec. 3. Registered Apprenticeship Interagency Working
Group. (a) There is established within the Executive
Office of the President the Registered Apprenticeship
Interagency Working Group (Working Group). The function
of the Working Group is to coordinate policy
development with regard to Registered Apprenticeships
and the effective implementation of this order. The
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and
Director of the National Economic Council, and the
Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic
Policy Council shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Working
Group. The Secretary of Labor and the Director of OPM
shall serve as Vice Chairs of the Working Group.
(b) In addition to the Co-Chairs and Vice Chairs,
the Working Group shall consist of the following
members:
(i) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(ii) the Secretary of Defense;
(iii) the Secretary of the Interior;
(iv) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(v) the Secretary of Commerce;
(vi) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(vii) the Secretary of Transportation;
(viii) the Secretary of Energy;
(ix) the Secretary of Education;
(x) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
(xi) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(xii) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xiii) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
[[Page 17267]]
(xiv) the Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy
Council;
(xv) the National Cyber Director;
(xvi) the Director of the National Science Foundation;
(xvii) the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration;
(xviii) the Administrator of General Services; and
(xix) the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and
Community Service.
The Co-Chairs may from time to time invite heads of
interested agencies to participate in the Working
Group.
(c) The Working Group shall support the
implementation of this order by providing guidance and
technical assistance to agencies.
(d) The Working Group shall submit an initial
report to the President within 180 days of the date of
this order. This report shall contain:
(i) initial findings and recommendations on potential opportunities for
Registered Apprenticeship programs at participating and interested
agencies, including an assessment of the need for new hiring and promotion
authorities;
(ii) initial findings and recommendations on the promotion of hiring and
career advancement in the Federal Government for individuals who have
completed a Registered Apprenticeship;
(iii) an assessment of how Registered Apprenticeships may enable agencies
to address hiring needs and improve employee retention for roles that are
important to the mission of participating agencies and the operations of
the Federal Government; and
(iv) an assessment of how Registered Apprenticeships may expand equity and
accessibility and provide pathways into and up through Federal employment
for individuals in underserved communities.
(e) The Working Group shall assist agencies,
consistent with applicable law, in promoting and
utilizing Registered Apprenticeships in Federal grant
programs and procurement as described in section 4 of
this order. To do so, the Working Group:
(i) may consult with stakeholders from industry, education, labor, and
other areas of society to assess demand for Registered Apprenticeships in
specific occupations and sectors identified by the Working Group;
(ii) shall review available data provided by the Department of Labor and
other relevant agencies on a periodic basis to evaluate the prevalence and
growth of Registered Apprenticeships in specific occupations and sectors
identified by the Working Group;
(iii) shall encourage the use of common reporting criteria to support
agency data collection and measurement of the utilization of Registered
Apprenticeships in grants and procurement, including, where permissible,
data on demographics and occupation;
(iv) shall collect information from participating agencies on best
practices for the utilization of Registered Apprenticeships in grants and
contracts, including for expanding job quality, equity, and access to
employment for all individuals in underserved communities, and, consistent
with applicable law, shall report this information publicly to assist
agencies in fulfilling their responsibilities under this order;
(v) shall identify agency programs for which workforce development,
including use of Registered Apprenticeships, is an allowable use of funds;
and
(vi) shall identify agency programs for which grantees and contractors
could be provided incentives, consistent with agency authorities, to adopt
or expand Registered Apprenticeship programs for their workforces.
[[Page 17268]]
Sec. 4. Procurement and Grants. (a) Agencies shall
review their Federal financial assistance programs and
procurement plans and identify where, as appropriate
and consistent with applicable law, they could include
requirements, application evaluation factors, or
incentives in appropriate program documents or
solicitations for grantees or contractors to employ
workers on projects receiving Federal funding who are
participating in, or who have completed, either a
Registered Apprenticeship or Pre-Apprenticeship.
(b) Agencies shall, as appropriate and consistent
with applicable law, apply the requirements,
application evaluation factors, or incentives that they
have identified pursuant to the review conducted in
subsection (a) of this section in appropriate program
documents or solicitations for grantees or contractors.
Agencies may consult the Working Group for technical
assistance and other appropriate support in these
efforts.
(c) Agencies shall annually report to the Working
Group on the programs and solicitations that included
the terms described in subsection (a) of this section
and the awards and contracts that promoted the use of
Registered Apprenticeships and Pre-Apprenticeships
pursuant to a requirement, application evaluation
factor, or incentive.
Sec. 5. Expanded Use of Registered Apprenticeships at
Agencies. Based on recommendations from the initial
report described in section 3(d) of this order and in
consultation with the Working Group, agencies, as part
of their strategic workforce planning, shall take steps
to develop and expand the use of Registered
Apprenticeship programs, where practicable, to train
and develop incumbent workers and candidates for
employment to obtain the skills necessary to meet the
current and emerging needs of the agency workforce.
With respect to those programs:
(a) Agencies shall identify, in consultation with
OPM, existing authorities that can support both the
hiring of new employees for Registered Apprenticeships
and the training of incumbent workers through
Registered Apprenticeship programs.
(b) Based on recommendations from the initial
report described in section 3(d) of this order and in
consultation with the Working Group, agencies shall
identify top occupations, including those occupations
for which the agency faces challenges in recruitment
and training, for which the agency may benefit from the
use of Registered Apprenticeship programs. Any such
actions shall be consistent with section 6 of Executive
Order 14035 of June 25, 2021 (Diversity, Equity,
Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce).
(c) Agencies shall develop outreach and recruitment
strategies to attract individuals who may not otherwise
have considered a Registered Apprenticeship program for
Federal employment or advancement.
(d) In consultation with Federal unions through
Labor-Management Forums, agencies shall identify
opportunities for current Federal employees to access
and benefit from a Registered Apprenticeship program.
(e) Agencies shall establish training, mentorship,
and career-development services within Registered
Apprenticeship programs to support employee development
and retention.
Sec. 6. Implementation of Labor-Management Forums
Throughout the Executive Branch. (a) Executive Order
13812 of September 29, 2017 (Revocation of Executive
Order Creating Labor-Management Forums), is hereby
revoked.
(b) Each Labor-Management Forum agency, consistent
with any guidance issued by OPM, shall:
(i) establish Labor-Management Forums by creating joint labor-management
committees or councils at the levels of recognition and other appropriate
levels agreed to by the employee union and management, or by adapting
existing councils or committees if such groups exist, to help identify
problems and propose solutions to better serve the public and agency
mission;
[[Page 17269]]
(ii) allow employees and their union representatives to have pre-decisional
involvement in workplace matters, including consultation on Registered
Apprenticeship recommendations and discussions with management for the
development of joint solutions to workplace challenges; and
(iii) evaluate and document, in consultation with union representatives and
any further guidance provided by OPM, changes in employee satisfaction,
manager satisfaction, and organizational performance resulting from the
Labor-Management Forums.
(c) Each head of a Labor-Management Forum agency
for which there exists one or more exclusive
representatives, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 7103(a)(16),
shall, in consultation with union representatives,
prepare and submit to OPM, within 180 days of the date
of this order, a written implementation plan that
addresses the requirements of subsection (b) of this
section. The Office of Personnel Management shall
review each plan within 60 days of receipt and shall
determine whether to certify that the plan satisfies
the requirements of this order and any further guidance
issued by OPM. Upon certification, the head of each
Labor-Management Forum agency shall ensure that the
certified plan is faithfully executed. Any plan that is
determined by OPM to be insufficient shall be returned
to the Labor-Management Forum agency with guidance for
improvement, and the agency shall resubmit its revised
plan to OPM within 30 days of receipt of the original
plan from OPM.
Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) This order supersedes
Executive Order 13522 of December 9, 2009 (Creating
Labor-Management Forums to Improve Delivery of
Government Services).
(b) Nothing in this order shall abrogate any
collective bargaining agreements in effect as of the
date of this order.
(c) Nothing in this order shall be construed to
limit, preclude, or prohibit the head of any executive
department or agency from electing to negotiate over
any or all of the subjects set forth in 5 U.S.C.
7106(b)(1) in any negotiation.
(d) Nothing in this order shall be construed to
impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(e) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
[[Page 17270]]
(f) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 6, 2024.
[FR Doc. 2024-05220
Filed 3-8-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
