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The
One-Stop Advantage
The
One-Stop Centers work in more ways than one. Businesses
not only gain access to qualified job candidates,
they also may qualify for special hiring and training
incentives.
Business
Incentives
Several
tax and cash incentives are available to companies
that hire from select labor pools, including former
welfare recipients. Additionally, employees hired
through the one-stop centers may also be eligible
for subsidized childcare, transportation and education-services
that benefit businesses because they help ensure
that entry-level workers can focus on their jobs.
Enterprise
Zone Incentives
Business
located in an Enterprise Zone may be eligible
for various tax credits if they hire new employees
from groups including welfare recipients and graduates
of Workforce Investment Act classroom training
programs. Businesses can claim a percentage of
the employee's wages against either their corporate
income tax or to offset property or sales tax
on building materials and business equipment.
On-The-Job
Training (OJT)
On-the-Job Training (OJT) means paid training
that is provided by an employer to a participant
while engaged in productive work in a job that
allows the participant to acquire knowledge or
skills essential to the full and adequate performance
of the job. The training is limited in duration
as appropriate to the occupation for which the
participant is being trained. The employer
is reimbursed up to fifty percent of the participant's
wage, for the costs of providing the training
and additional supervision related to the training.
Work
Opportunity Tax Credit
This incentive, available to employers hiring
welfare recipients and individuals from other
groups including food stamp recipients as well
as some veterans, vocational rehabilitation clients
and people receiving Supplemental Security Income,
can earn up to $2,400 per employee in federal
income taxes.
Employers
receive up to 40 percent of qualified wages for
a maximum credit of $2,400 per employee for employees
working more than 400 hours. For individuals who
work between 120 and 400 hours, employers are
eligible for tax credits of up to 25 percent.
Employers should complete a pre-screening notice
before hiring a qualified applicant and must complete
ETA form 9061 if the employee has been conditionally
certified by the state. Additionally, a one-page
form (such as payroll stubs or other proof of
employment) must be filed to document the employee's
eligibility. All forms must be filed within 21
days of employee's start date.
Welfare
Transition Business Bonus
Florida's
welfare transition bonus is a simple cash-back
bonus for employers who hire welfare recipients
with less than six months of eligibility remaining
at wages that preclude them from receiving cash
benefits. Employers may receive $250 after
30 days of employment and an additional $500 after
the first 90 days.
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Quick
Response Training
The Quick Response Training Program (QRT) provides
grant funding for customized training for new
or expanding businesses. Through this customer-driven
program, Florida is able to effectively retain
and attract businesses creating new high-quality
jobs. Workforce Florida, Inc. administers
the program. Created in 1993 by Florida
Statute 288.047.(3), Quick Response has provided
customized training for over 85,000 employees
for more than 300 businesses and industries throughout
the state.
The
program has been structured to be flexible and
to "respond quickly" to meet the business's
training objectives. A local fiscal agent
- community college, area technical center, or
university - is selected and is available to help
develop or deliver the customized program and
to provide assistance in the application process.
If the business already has a training program
in place, the local training provider will supervise
and manage the training program and serve as the
fiscal agent for the grant funds.
Incumbent
Worker Training
The Incumbent Worker Training Program provides
grant funding for customized training for existing
for profit businesses.
Through this customer-driven program, Florida
is able to effectively retain and keep businesses
competitive through upgrade skills training for
existing full-time employees. Workforce
Florida, Inc. administers the program.
Established
in 1999, the Incumbent Worker Training Program
has provided customized training for over 23,000
employees for more than 300 businesses throughout
the state. The program has been structured
to be flexible to meet the business's training
objectives. The business may use public,
private, or its own in-house training provider
based on the nature of the training.
Welfare
to Work Tax Credit
On March 9, 2002, the President signed into law,
P.L. 107-147, the "Job Creation and Worker
Assistance Act of 2002," reauthorizing
the WtWTC and the WOTC for 24 additional months
through December 31, 2003, to encourage employers
to hire members of the targeted groups with barriers
to employment. This reauthorization is retroactive
to the WtWTC and the WOTC's expiration date of
December 31, 2001.
The
Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit is an important tool
in a diverse toolbox of flexible strategies designed
to help people move from welfare to work and economic
self-sufficiency. It joins the WOTC and
other targeted tax credits and employment program
initiatives that both help American workers and
increase American productivity and economic growth.
Relocation
Benefits
Workforce
Florida offers special assistance to new and existing
businesses creating quality jobs in growth business
sectors or retraining workers to meet the changing
demands of technology. Enterprise Florida, the
state’s economic development agency, also
offers incentives for companies considering relocation
to Florida.
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