Chapter 21, Chapter 21

The provisions of this article are intended to facilitate certification and/or licensure for workers who acquire training via career technical education provided by West Virginia public schools or an employer-sponsored apprenticeship and employer-sponsored training programs.

There shall be a state department of labor, which shall be under the control and management of a state commissioner of labor.

The Legislature finds that employers have the responsibility to verify the legal employment status of all persons who come into their employ and to report their employment to the appropriate governmental agencies. Employers are precluded from hiring unauthorized workers and can b…

This article shall be called the West Virginia Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace Act.

(a) It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this state and the purposes of this article to encourage the practice and procedure of collective bargaining by protecting the exercise by employees of full freedom of association, self-organization and designation of represent…

This article shall be called the "West Virginia Jobs Act".

(a) When used in this article: (1) "Person" includes one or more individuals, labor organizations, partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy or receivers. (2) "Employer" includes any person acting as an agent of an employer,…

As used in this article: (1) The term “commissioner” means the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Labor, or his or her authorized representatives. (2) The term "construction project" means any construction, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, painting, decorating…

(a) The term "alcohol test" means a procedure conducted to determine if an individual is under the influence of alcohol. (b) The term "construction", as used in this article, means any construction, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, painting, decorating or repair of any p…

(a) "Employer" means any individual, person, corporation, department, board, bureau, agency, commission, division, office, company, firm, partnership, council or committee of the state government, public benefit corporation, public authority or political subdivision of the state …

As used in this article and the legislative rules promulgated pursuant to this article: "Apprentice" means someone who is enrolled in an apprenticeship program. "Apprenticeship program" means a program offered by an employer to provide supervised on-the-job training to employees …

The state Commissioner of Labor shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. He or she shall be a competent person, who is identified with and has knowledge and experience in employee issues and interests including employee-employer relati…

(a) It is unlawful for any employer to knowingly employ, hire, recruit or refer, either for him or herself or on behalf of another, for private or public employment within the state, an unauthorized worker who is not duly authorized to be employed by law. (b) Employers shall be r…

Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or pro…

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State of West Virginia to require public improvement contractors to have and implement a drug-free workplace policy that requires drug and alcohol testing.

The Legislature finds that the rate of unemployment in this state is significantly higher than that of most other states and that a majority of West Virginia counties are designated as labor surplus areas by the United States department of labor. The Legislature finds that the em…

The commissioner of labor and his or her authorized representatives shall have the power and authority in the discharge of their duties, to enter any place of employment or public institution, for the purpose of collecting facts and statistics relating to the employment of worker…

(a) Beginning July 1, 2019, applicants for certification or licensure shall be permitted to apply training hours earned via career technical education provided by West Virginia public schools or an apprenticeship program or employer-sponsored training program towards the requirem…

The Commissioner of Labor shall, after consultation with the State Superintendent of Schools, propose rules for legislative approval, in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code, for the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this article. The …

Every employer, firm and corporation shall make such records of the persons he or she employs including records of proof of the legal status or authorization to work of all employees. Such records shall be preserved pursuant to the provisions of section five, article five-c of th…

Except as provided in section eight of this article, no public authority may award a public improvement contract which is to be let to bid to a contractor unless the terms of the contract require the contractor and its subcontractors to implement and maintain a written drug-free …

(a) It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer: (1) To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section three of this article; (2) To dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or …

It shall be the duty of the commissioner of labor to collect, compile and present to the Governor, on or before December 1, of each year, an annual report, with statistical details relating to all departments of labor and the industrial interests of the state, especially in relat…

(a) Employers shall hire at least seventy-five percent of employees for public improvement construction projects domiciled in the local labor market, to be rounded off, with at least two employees from outside the local labor market permissible for each employer per project. (b) …

(a) Any employer who knowingly and willfully fails to maintain records as required by section four of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $100 for each offense. Failure to keep records on each employee constitutes a separate offens…

Pursuant to article ten, chapter four of this code, the Division of Labor shall continue to exist until July 1, 2004, unless sooner terminated, continued or reestablished pursuant to that article.

After July 1, 2008, any solicitation for a public improvement contract shall require each contractor that submits a bid for the work to submit an affidavit that the contractor has a written plan for a drug-free workplace policy prior to being awarded a contract. If the affidavit …

(a) Representatives designated or selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for such purposes shall be the exclusive representatives of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining with re…

(a) This article applies to expenditures for construction projects by any public authority for public improvements as defined by this article. (b) For public improvement projects let pursuant to this article, the public authority shall file, or require an employer as defined in s…

In instances where a worker is required by law to follow United States Department of Transportation drug testing guidelines, no additional drug tests are required under this article.

A clearly legible copy of the contractor's written drug-free workplace policy shall be kept posted in a prominent and easily accessible place at the public improvement construction site thereof by each contractor subject to the provisions of this article.

(a) If, after inspection or investigation, the commissioner determines that an employer has violated any provision of this article, the commissioner shall provide a written notice of violation to the employer and the public authority, setting forth the number of violations, a des…

(a) The commissioner may not disqualify an applicant from initial licensure, as required in this chapter, except under §21-5-5c of this code, because of a prior criminal conviction that remains unreversed unless that conviction is for a crime that directly and specifically relate…

On or after January 1, 2008, no wages or remuneration for services paid to an unauthorized worker of $600 or more per annum may be claimed and allowed as a deductible business expense for state income tax purposes by a taxpayer if the employer has been convicted under this articl…

(a) The board is empowered, as hereinafter provided, to prevent any person from engaging in any unfair labor practice specified in section four of this article. The authority and power to prevent unfair labor practices prescribed in this article is exclusively vested in the board…

Every contractor shall keep an accurate record showing the names, occupation and safety-sensitive status of all employees, in connection with the construction on the public improvement, and showing any drug tests or alcohol tests performed and employee education and supervisor tr…

(a) If, upon examination of the record or records of conviction, the commissioner determines that an employer has been convicted of a third or subsequent offense under subsection (b), section five of this article or has been convicted of the offenses described in subsection (c) o…

(a) Suits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization, or between labor organizations, may be brought in any circuit court of this state having jurisdiction of the parties. (b) It shall be unlawful for any labor organization to engage in any activity o…

All drug testing information specifically related to individual employees is confidential and should be treated as such by anyone authorized to review or compile program records. Drug test results may not be used in a criminal proceeding without the employee's consent.

No less than once per year, or upon completion of the project, every contractor shall provide a certified report to the public authority which let the contract. The report shall include: (1) Information to show that the education and training service to the requirements of sectio…

(a) Any contractor who violates any provision of this article is, for the first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000; for the second offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be…

(a) If, upon inspection or investigation, the commissioner believes that an employer has violated a provision of this article, the commissioner shall issue a notice to produce records or documents to the employer. Each notice shall be in writing and shall describe with particular…

If any provision of this article, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this article, or the application of any such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall n…

This article applies only to contracts for construction on public improvements awarded after the effective date of this article.

The commissioner of labor shall maintain in connection with his department a public agency to be known as the "state public employment agency," for the purpose of receiving and filing applications of persons seeking employment and of persons or firms seeking to employ labor. Ther…

The State Tax Commissioner may revoke any license issued under the provisions of this article, with or without hearing, and may order such license to be returned for cancellation, if the employment agent has violated any of the provisions of this article or the rules and regulati…

A record of all persons directed to employment shall be kept by every employment agent; such records shall set forth the name, age, nationality and material state of each applicant, and also the name of the employer, kind of work and pay. A copy of this record for each month shal…

For the purpose of enforcing this article and the rules and regulations issued thereunder, the commissioner of labor, or his duly authorized agent, may at any time enter any employment office, or place of business of an employment agent or any premises occupied as an employment o…

No employment agent shall furnish employment to any child in violation of the law regulating the labor of children or their compulsory attendance at school.

Any employment agent, as defined in this article, carrying on the business of an employment agency, without first fully complying with the provisions thereof, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than one hundred nor more …