Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)

Public Law 113-128, known as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), was signed by President Obama on July 22, 2014 and is the first legislative reform to the public workforce system in 15 years. WIOA is designed to improve the coordination of employment and training services across federal agencies, strengthen collaboration with state and local partners, and provide Americans with increased access to training, education and other support to succeed in the job market and in their careers. The enactment of WIOA provides opportunity for reforms to ensure the American Job Center (AJC) system is job-driven – responding to the needs of business owners and preparing job seekers for occupations that are available now and in the future.

WIOA supersedes the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, the Wagner-Peyser Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For a WIOA Overview, click here.

USDOL ETA Advisories

USDOL Advisories and Memorandums: VIEW ALL

Employment and Training Administration’s Advisory System

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Advisory system is used to disseminate ETA’s interpretations of Federal laws, procedural, administrative, management, program direction and other information to the states, direct grant recipients and other interested parties.

Training and Employment Guidance Letters (TEGLs) – are used to transmit policy and operational guidance to the Workforce Investment Act state and local workforce systems.

The Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) provides general guidance for the implementation of operational requirements under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) pertaining to the one-stop delivery system, branded nationally as the American Job Center network. Due to the broad scope of the one-stop delivery system, encompassing multiple programs administered by different Federal agencies, this guidance provides the primary components for understanding and implementing an integrated American Job Center network. Consistent with the requirement to promote increased public identification of the one-stop delivery system and the requirement for the use of a common identifier across the nation (WIOA sec. 121(e)(4)), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education (ED), established the “American Job Center” network, a unifying name and brand that identifies online and in-person workforce development services as part of a single network of publicly-funded services. The use of the American Job Center network designation in this guidance establishes a framework for accentuating and implementing an integrated workforce delivery system. DOL and ED, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, the Departments), published the WIOA Joint Rule for Unified and Combined State Plans, Performance Accountability, and the One-Stop System Joint Provisions; Final Rule (Joint WIOA Final Rule) on August 19, 2016, in the Federal Register at 81 FR 55791. The Joint WIOA Final Rule, which became effective on October 18, 2016, can be found at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/08/19/2016-15977/workforce-innovation-and-opportunity-act-joint-rule-for-unified-and-combined-state-plans-performance.

Training and Employment Notices (TENs) – are used to communicate announcements of meetings, publications, or general information.

WIOA Technical Assistance Tools, Resources and Quick Links

• • • WIOA State Plan Work Areas PY2020-2023
    • Key Statutorily Required Implementation Dates
    • WIOA Fact Sheet
    • WIOA Fact Sheet: Governance and Leadership
    • WIOA Fact Sheet: One-Stop Career Centers
    • WIOA Fact Sheet: Youth Program
    • WIOA 101 Webcast Series
    • Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
    • Frequently Asked Questions – Round 2
    • The HHS Office of the Administration for Children and Families’ report on WIOA and TANF
    • The HHS Office of the Administration for Children and Families’ issue brief on WIOA and TANF
    • Conference Call on Next Steps for WIOA Implementation with the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services – Transcript
    • Notices of Proposed Rulemaking
    • WIOA Quick Start Action Planner (QSAP)

Job-Driven Vision

• • • Vice President’s Job-Driven Training Report
    • Implementing a Job-Driven Workforce System, Training Employment Guidance Letter 03-14
    • Job Driven National Emergency Grants, Training Employment Notice 29-13
    • Letter to Governors from the Secretaries of Labor, Education, Commerce, and Health and Human Services
    • Letter to Mayors from the Secretaries of Labor, Education, Commerce, and Health and Human Services
    • Job-Driven Evidence Synthesis Report

Additional WIOA Resource Pages

• • • National Skills Coalition
    • U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration
    • The Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration – WIOA Resource Page
    • The Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education – WIOA Resource Page
    • Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities
    • Workforce3One.org
    • National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB)
    • National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA)
    • NAWB: WIOA Driving Innovation Collaboration and Performance Overview