1. (a)

   1. (1) Participants who are employed and paid wages from funds under the act shall be considered area agency on aging employees.
   2. (2) Participants who are employed in any program funded under the act are not state or federal employees.

2. (b)

   1. (1) As soon as possible after the completion of eligibility determination and orientation, area agencies on aging shall assign the individual to useful part-time community service employment.

   2. (2) A community service employment assignment may be:

      1. (A) Created and supervised by the area agencies on aging; or
      2. (B) Developed by or in consultation with a qualified host agency and supervised by the host agency.

3. (c) Hours of community service employment.

   1. (1) Employment provided by an area agency on aging’s program under the act shall not exceed one thousand three hundred (1,300) hours, including paid holidays and sick leave, during the SFY.
   2. (2) Each participant shall be offered an average of no fewer than twenty (20) hours of paid employment per week, unless otherwise agreed to in writing between the participant and the area agency on aging.
4. (d) Participants shall be employed at worksites in or near the communities where they live.

5. (e) Work assignments.

   1. (1) Participants may be employed and/or receive employment assignments in host agencies, projects, or facilities that involve community services as provided in the act.
   2. (2) Area agencies on aging shall, to the extent feasible, give eligible individuals first consideration for work assignments involving the operation of the programs consistent with the individual’s stated preferences and based on their skills and aptitudes.
   3. (3) The area agencies on aging shall give emphasis to work assignments that involve activities designed to directly or indirectly benefit the elderly and particularly the economically needy elderly.
   4. (4) Participants shall not be placed in work assignments involving activities that will result in the displacement of employed workers.

6. (f) Supervision.

   1. (1) The area agencies on aging shall ensure that participants are provided adequate orientation and instruction regarding assigned job responsibilities and job safety.
   2. (2) The area agencies on aging shall ensure that participants receive at least the same level of supervision as regular employees performing similar jobs for the area agency on aging or host agency.

   3. (3)

      1. (A) When a participant is in a work assignment with a host agency, the host agency shall provide supervision.
      2. (B) In such cases, the area agency on aging shall make periodic visits to the job site to determine that the:

7. (i) Host agency’s supervision is adequate;

   1. (ii) Participant’s job duties and hours are consistent with established requirements; and

      1. (iii) Participant’s work performance is satisfactory.
   2. (4) The area agencies on aging and/or the host agency supervising the participant shall maintain supervisory and other personnel records as prescribed by their policies and/or written agreements between the area agencies on aging and host agency.
8. (g) No participant shall be assigned or permitted to work in buildings, surroundings, or under conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to the participant’s health or safety.

9. (h) Nondiscrimination.

   1. (1) No person shall, on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age, except where age is a valid consideration under the act and 20 CAR § 430-3512(b)(1), be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in connection with any program or activity funded, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part with funds made available through the act.
   2. (2) The area agencies on aging shall be responsible for ensuring that no discrimination prohibited by this subsection occurs in its program or employment assignments with host agencies, and shall establish an effective mechanism for this purpose.

   3. (3)

      1. (A) No participant may be placed in an employment assignment involving political activities in the offices of elected officials.

      2. (B)

         1. (i) Where positions are technically located in such offices, but are actually direct community service activities not in any way involved in political function, employment assignment is permissible.
         2. (ii) In such cases, the area agencies on aging shall develop safeguards to ensure that participants in those positions are not involved in the political nature of the position.
         3. (i) Nepotism.
   4. (1) No area agency on aging or host agency may hire, place, or utilize a person in an administrative capacity, staff position, or program participation resulting in employment under the act if a member of that person’s immediate family is engaged in an administrative capacity for that area agency on aging or host agency.

   5. (2) For purposes of this subsection:

      1. (A) “Immediate family” means:

         1. (i) Wife;
         2. (ii) Husband;
         3. (iii) Son;
         4. (iv) Daughter;
         5. (v) Mother;
         6. (vi) Father;
         7. (vii) Brother;
         8. (viii) Sister;
         9. (ix) Brother-in-law;
         10. (x) Sister-in-law;
         11. (xi) Son-in-law;
         12. (xii) Daughter-in-law;
         13. (xiii) Aunt;
         14. (xiv) Uncle;
         15. (xv) Niece;
         16. (xvi) Nephew;
         17. (xvii) Stepparent; and (xviii) Stepchild; and
      2. (B) “Person in administrative capacity” includes those persons who in the administration of the program or host agencies have responsibility for or authority over those responsible for the selection of participants from among eligible individuals.

10. (j) Eligible participant wages and fringe benefits.

    1. (1)

       1. (A) Participants, whether working directly for the area agency on aging or placed with a host agency, shall be considered employees of the area agency on aging.
       2. (B) As such, the area agency on aging shall be responsible for payment of wages to the participants, payments for fringe benefits, maintenance and reporting of all required payroll and related records, maintenance of participants’ personnel records in compliance with federal and state laws, regulations, and rules, and established area agency on aging policies and procedures.
    2. (2) While engaged in part-time community service employment under the act, participants shall receive no less than the minimum wage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.
    3. (3) A participant performing in the same or similar position as a regular employee of the area agency on aging or host agency shall be paid the prevailing rate of pay for that regular position provided the rate is no less than minimum wage.

    4. (4) Area agencies on aging shall ensure that participants receive all fringe benefits required by law, including:

       1. (A) Social Security;
       2. (B) Federal Insurance Contribution Act, 26 U.S.C. § 3101 et seq.;
       3. (C) Workers’ compensation; and
       4. (D) Unemployment insurance.

    5. (5)

       1. (A) Fringe benefits for participants shall be allowable provided they are administered uniformly to all participants within the area agency on aging and conform to established area agency on aging policy.

       2. (B) Such benefits may include:

          1. (i) Paid holidays;
          2. (ii) Vacation and sick leave; and
          3. (iii) Health insurance.

11. (k) Participant travel and incidentals.

    1. (1)

       1. (A) Area agencies on aging, prior to expending program funds for participant travel, must first seek transportation or travel reimbursement from other sources at no cost to the program.
       2. (B) In general, travel expenses related to the participant’s direct performance of their job duties should be provided by the host agency when such expenses are provided for regular employees performing the same or similar duties as the participant.
    2. (2) When travel is an essential part of the participant’s job duties and there is no other source of funds for travel expenditures for such, costs shall be in keeping with the area agency on aging’s policy regarding travel expenses and reimbursement.

    3. (3)

       1. (A) If not available from other sources and when essential to the performance of the participant’s job duties, area agencies on aging may utilize program funds to provide incidentals for the participants.

       2. (B) Examples of items that may be provided include, but are not limited to:

          1. (i) Work shoes;
          2. (ii) Uniforms;
          3. (iii) Safety glasses; and
          4. (iv) Hand tools.

       3. (C) As in the case of travel expenses, when the area agency on aging or host agency provides such incidentals to its regular employees, it should also provide the incidentals to the participant at no cost to the program.

          1. (l) Termination of employment assignment.
    4. (1) A participant may resign his or her position in a specific employment assignment at any time.
    5. (2) The participant shall provide the host agency and the area agency on aging with adequate notice according to the area agency on aging’s procedures.

    6. (3) The area agency on aging and/or host agency may terminate an employment assignment provided:

       1. (A) The termination of the assignment is due to a programmatic and administrative decision to discontinue or reduce the related service and/or as a result of limitation in available resources;
       2. (B) The affected participant is provided written notice according to the area agency on aging’s written procedure;
       3. (C) The area agency on aging or host agency takes such action in accordance with its established policies; and

       4. (D) Participants so terminated shall be given preference over other eligible individuals in employment assignment.

          1. (m) Termination of a participant for cause.

    7. (1)

       1. (A) The area agency on aging or host agency may terminate, for cause, a participant’s employment in a specific position assignment.
       2. (B) Such action shall be in accordance with the agency’s established policies for regular employees and the terminated individual shall have the same right of appeal as a regular employee of the agency.

    8. (2)

       1. (A) The participant shall be given written notice of termination that shall include the reason or reasons for the action and the participant's right of appeal.
       2. (B) When the termination action is taken by a host agency, that agency shall also provide the area agency on aging with a copy of the termination notice.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: “11-1-16” "SFY" means state fiscal year.