Title 2.2. Administration of Government
Chapter 20.2. Workforce Development and Advancement
Article 4. Job Services.
§ 2.2-2054. Virginia State Job Service; cooperation with U.S. Employment Service agencies.A. The Department shall have all rights, powers, and duties with respect to the establishment, maintenance, and operation of free employment offices in the Commonwealth and shall possess, exercise, and perform the same through a division known as the Virginia State Job Service. The Department through the division shall establish and maintain free public employment offices in such number and in such places as may be necessary for the proper administration of this chapter.
B. The Department, through the Virginia State Job Service, is designated as the state agency and vested with all powers necessary to cooperate with the U.S. Employment Service in accordance with the terms and conditions expressed in 29 U.S.C. § 49 et seq.
C. The Department may cooperate with or enter into agreements with the Railroad Retirement Board, or any other agency of the United States charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation law, with respect to the maintenance and use of free employment service facilities.
D. Chapter 13 of the Acts of Assembly of 1933 providing for cooperation between the Commonwealth and the U.S. Employment Service is, subject to the provisions of this article, continued in effect.
§ 2.2-2055. Veterans Skills Database.A. For purposes of this section, "veteran" means an individual who has served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.
B. The Department, in cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and the Department of Veterans Services, shall establish the Veterans Skills Database (the Database), an Internet-accessible database of veterans and their workforce skills, for the purpose of marketing and promoting the workforce skills of veterans to potential employers.
C. The Department may contract with one or more third parties to develop, implement, and maintain the Database. The Database provider shall (i) maintain the Database and (ii) take all actions to ensure the protection of the confidentiality and security of the information contained in the Database in accordance with the requirements established by the Department.
D. Any veteran may register with the Department to create a free profile on the Database in order to supply information relating to his workforce skills and experience. Potential employers may register with the Department to create a free profile in order to gain access to the Database for the purpose of identifying potential employees with relevant workforce skills and experience.
§ 2.2-2056. Employment stabilization.The Department shall have the following duties relating to employment stabilization:
1. Establish a viable labor exchange system to promote maximum employment for the Commonwealth with priority given to those workers drawing unemployment benefits;
2. Provide Virginia State Job Service services, as described in this article, according to the provisions of the federal Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. § 49 et seq.), as amended by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-128);
3. Coordinate and direct all workforce development program services, policies, grant management, and data analytics across state government that lead to conducting activities that target job placement and respond to industry demand;
4. Coordinate and conduct labor market information research services, programs, and operations, including the development, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information on the social and economic aspects of the Commonwealth, and publish data needed by employers, economic development programs, education and training entities, and government entities and for other users in the public and private sectors;
5. Encourage and assist in the adoption of practical methods of vocational guidance, training, and retraining; and
6. Establish the Interagency Migrant Worker Policy Committee (the Committee), comprised of representatives from appropriate state agencies, including the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, whose services and jurisdictions involve migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their employees. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall be required to cooperate with the Committee upon request.
§ 2.2-2057. Human trafficking hotline; posted notice required.Within each employment office, the Department shall post notice of the existence of a human trafficking hotline to alert possible witnesses or victims of human trafficking to the availability of a means to report crimes or gain assistance. The notice required by this section shall (i) be posted in a place readily visible and accessible to the public and (ii) meet the requirements specified in subsection C of § 40.1-11.3.