1. (a) Active program means a registered program that has:

   1. (1) passed probation;
   2. (2) met the standards for employment and training of apprentices; and
   3. (3) not been granted inactive status.
2. (b) Apprentice means a person who is at least 16 years of age who has entered into a written agreement with a sponsor to provide for his or her participation in an approved program of training through employment and related and supplemental instruction.
3. (c) Apprentice probation means the number of months following the execution of an apprenticeship agreement when such agreement may be cancelled by either party, upon written notice to the department, without any adverse impact on the sponsor’s completion rate. Said period shall be 25 percent of the time set in the apprentice training program registration agreement (program registration agreement) for the length of the program, or one year, whichever is shorter. Program length for purposes of determining the apprentice probation period in competency-based and hybrid programs shall be that which a time-based program in the same trade would require.

4. (d) Apprenticeable occupation means a skilled trade which possesses all of the following characteristics:

   1. (1) is customarily learned in a practical way through training and work on the job;
   2. (2) is, in the judgment of the commissioner, clearly identified and commonly recognized throughout an industry;
   3. (3) is, in the judgment of the commissioner, not a part of an occupation previously recognized as apprenticeable, unless such part is practiced industry-wide as an identifiable and distinct trade;

   4. (4) requires significant on-the-job training to learn and master;

      1. (i) in a program using a time-based approach, involves the progressive attainment of manual, mechanical or technical skills and knowledge which would require a minimum of 4,000 hours of work and on-the-job training. Such hours may include, at the commissioner’s discretion, the time spent at related and supplemental instruction, except that a trade may require a minimum of 2,000 hours if the commissioner finds, after reviewing written substantiation of the sponsor and the recommendation of the apprenticeship council, that the particular trade can be learned within such time;
      2. (ii) in a program using a competency-based or hybrid approach, in order for a trade to be considered apprenticeable, it must be a trade which, if learning were conducted in the traditional time-based approach, would require at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job training;
   5. (5) requires related and supplemental instruction to supplement the on-the-job training, provided in accordance with section 812 of the Labor Law; and
   6. (6) involves the development of skill sufficiently broad to be applicable in like occupations throughout an industry, rather than of restricted application to the products of any one company.
5. (e) Apprenticeship agreement means a written agreement between an apprentice and the sponsor of a registered apprenticeship program which contains the terms and conditions of the employment and training of the apprentice.
6. (f) Apprenticeship Council means the State Apprenticeship and Training Council established pursuant to section 813 of the Labor Law.

7. (g) Apprenticeship program (or program) means a training program subscribed to by a sponsor which implements an organized, written plan which contains all terms and conditions for the qualification, recruitment, selection, employment and training of apprentices in an apprenticeable occupation, including such matters as the requirement for a written apprenticeship agreement. The following types of programs are eligible and recognized by the department:

   1. (1) individual non-joint programs consisting of a single employer without the participation of a union representing employees (irrespective of whether the employees are union represented), in which the employer acts as sponsor;
   2. (2) group non-joint programs consisting of a group or association of employers without the participation of a union representing employees, in which the group or association of employers acts as sponsor, and where the sponsor and its signatories are bound by a department approved agreement signed, collectively or individually, by the sponsor and all the signatories;
   3. (3) individual joint programs consisting of a single employer and a union representing employees in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement which provides for participation in an approved apprenticeship program;
   4. (4) group joint programs consisting of a group or association of employers and a union representing employees in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement which provides for participation in an approved program, in which a joint apprenticeship committee (JAC) acts as the sponsor. JAC means a group composed of an equal number of representatives of the employer and union who are parties to a bona fide collective bargaining agreement and created for the purpose of sponsoring an apprenticeship program(s);
   5. (5) the New York State Department of Correctional Services may sponsor programs for inmates confined to the custody of the Department of Correctional Services pursuant to section 803-b of the Correction Law without the participation of an employer or union.
8. (h) Approach means the method used by each individual program to determine the means by which apprentices progress through the program. There are three permissible approaches: the time-based, the competency-based, and the hybrid approach.
9. (i) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Labor of the State of New York.
10. (j) Competency means the attainment of manual, mechanical, or technical skills and knowledge, as specified by the training outline and demonstrated by appropriate, nationally and industry recognized, written and hands-on proficiency measurements. All testing and evaluation of the identified competencies shall occur in a controlled learning environment that permits accurate and verifiable results and shall be conducted by a competent, independent, third-party provider approved by the department such as, but not limited to, trade associations, community colleges, and industry recognized experts.
11. (k) Completion rate means the percentage of apprentices registered to each program who receive their certificate of apprenticeship completion within one year of the projected completion date.
12. (l) Department means the Department of Labor of the State of New York.
13. (m) Electronic media means any medium of communication that utilizes electronics or electromechanical energy for the end user (audience) to access the content; and includes, but is not limited to, electronic storage media, transmission media, the Internet, extranet, lease lines, dial-up lines, private networks, and the physical movement of removable/transportable electronic media and/or interactive distance learning.
14. (n) Inactive program means a registered program that has not had an apprentice for a period of more than one year, which has submitted a request in writing and received approval from the department to maintain its registration for an additional period of time.
15. (o) Journeyworker means a worker who has mastered the skills, abilities and competencies recognized within a given trade as essential to the trade, and is qualified to supervise and train apprentices.
16. (p) Probation means provisional approval by the department of an apprenticeship program for a two-year period following its initial registration.
17. (q) Projected completion date means a date computed by adding the program duration (stated in months) to an apprentice’s start date (commonly known as the “date of indenture”).
18. (r) Re-certification means the designation granted to a registered program by the department following its review at or about the time that the program completes its first training cycle following program registration, and at least every five years thereafter, to ensure its compliance with apprenticeship training standards set forth in this Part and Part 600 of this Title.
19. (s) Reciprocal approval means recognition of a program registered with another state registration agency or the Federal office of apprenticeship. For sponsors in the construction industry, such recognition is limited to working apprentices on projects that are funded, at least in part, with Federal money.
20. (t) Reinstatement of a program means the registration of an apprenticeship program after it has been deregistered. Programs requesting reinstatement shall file a new application for registration and meet all the requirements of this Part, including probation.
21. (u) Reinstatement of an apprentice means the reregistration of an apprentice in a new program, or back into his/her original program, after having exited a prior program. Reinstated apprentices shall receive appropriate credit for prior training received under this Part.
22. (v) Signatory (signatories) means a person, employer, association, organization, or company executing a written agreement with a program sponsor, or with an association which is itself a signatory to a sponsor, and who has agreed to be bound by the terms, standards and conditions of the program.
23. (w) Sponsor means an employer, a single employer and a union, a group of employers, the New York State Department of Correctional Services, or a joint apprenticeship committee (JAC) representing both employers and a union or unions, which has the ability to train apprentices, and which is recognized as such by the commissioner through the registration of a program.
24. (x) State shall mean the State of New York.

25. (y) Substantially owned-affiliated entity means:

    1. (1) the parent company of an employer;
    2. (2) any subsidiary of the employer; or
    3. (3) any entity in which the parent of the employer owns more than 50 percent of the voting stock; or
    4. (4) an entity in which one or more of the top five shareholders of the employer individually or collectively also owns a controlling share of the voting stock; or
    5. (5) an entity which exhibits any other indicia of control over the employer or over which the employer exhibits control, regardless of whether or not the controlling party or parties have any identifiable or documented ownership interest. Such indicia shall include, power or responsibility over employment decisions, access to and/or use of the relevant entity’s assets or equipment, power or responsibility over contracts of the entity, and influence over the business decisions of the relevant entity.
26. (z) Transfer means the re-assignment of an apprentice from one employer to another within the same registered program, or from one program to another within the same trade.

As used in this Part: