2013 Maryland Code
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
§ 11-405 - Apprenticeship and Training Council -- Duties; approval of apprenticeship or on-the-job training programs; reciprocity

§11-405.

(a) The duties of the Council shall be to:

(1) determine the apprenticeability of trades in the State of Maryland;

(2) encourage the establishment of local apprenticeship committees where such committees are needed and approve their programs;

(3) formulate and adopt standards of apprenticeship which safeguard the welfare of apprentices, being guided, but not controlled, by the standards of apprenticeship recommended by the federal committee on apprenticeship and provide guidance and counsel on the establishment of other forms of on-the-job training;

(4) formulate policies for the overall apprenticeship program;

(5) register standards of apprenticeship of such groups or employers as elect to conform with the provisions of this subtitle;

(6) register apprenticeship agreements which conform to the standards of apprenticeship adopted by the Council;

(7) issue certificates of completion of apprenticeship to apprentices who are registered with the Council when such apprentices have completed successfully their apprenticeship;

(8) seek all information pertaining to apprenticeship training in the State;

(9) prescribe its rules of procedure and duties of the Chairman, Director, and Secretary subject to the provisions of this law; and

(10) perform such other functions as the Governor or the Secretary may direct or as may come within the scope of the Council.

(b) (1) No person, firm, or corporation may offer, establish, maintain, or operate an apprenticeship or on-the-job training program for any occupation recognized as an apprenticeable occupation by the Council for which tuition, charges, or fees are charged to or are payable by an enrollee or student, or which is financed in whole or in part by State funds, unless the program is first approved by the Council.

(2) The Council shall issue a certificate of approval to an applicant operating or proposing to operate the program if it is satisfied that the conditions of entrance, the qualifications of the administrators and instructors, the content of the program, the facilities, and the financial aspects of the program are adequate and appropriate for the purpose of the program.

(3) The Council, after notice and hearing, may suspend or revoke its approval of a program or course if it finds that the program or course has ceased to meet the conditions of approval.

(4) Any person, firm, or corporation whose application for approval is rejected or whose certificate of approval is suspended or revoked has a right of judicial review as provided in the Administrative Procedure Act.

(5) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Council, after notice and hearing, may adopt rules and regulations for the implementation of this section, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations requiring the furnishing of periodic relevant information about approved and proposed programs and the operator or proposed operator thereof.

(6) Any person, firm, or corporation that knowingly offers, establishes, maintains, or operates a program in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or be imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

(7) The Council, in addition, shall apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for an injunction restraining violations of this section.

(8) (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the Council may not deny any otherwise qualified application where apprentices constitute a number equal to or less than 25 percent of the total number of apprentices and journeymen employed.

(ii) For the purpose of equal opportunity employment, the Council may not deny any otherwise qualified application where apprentices constitute a number equal to or less than 50 percent of the total number of apprentices and journeymen employed.

(c) The Council may negotiate and adopt agreements permitting reciprocity with apprenticeship and training councils of another state, or the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training.