Texas Workforce Commission

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] About

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is the state government agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. For employers, TWC offers recruiting, retention, training and retraining, and outplacement services as well as valuable information on labor law and labor market statistics. For job seekers, TWC offers career development information, job search resources, training programs, and, as appropriate, unemployment benefits. While targeted populations receive intensive assistance to overcome barriers to employment all Texans can benefit from the services offered by TWC and our network of workforce partners.

The Texas Workforce Commission is part of a local/state network dedicated to developing the workforce of Texas. The network is comprised of the statewide efforts of the Commission coupled with planning and service provision on a regional level by 28 local workforce boards. This network gives customers access to local workforce solutions and statewide services in a single location — Texas Workforce Centers.

Primary services of the Texas Workforce Commission and our network partners are funded by federal tax revenue and are generally free to all Texans.

[edit] TWC Executive Staff

Executive Director Larry Temple Phone: (512) 463-0735 E-mail: larry.temple@twc.state.tx.us

Mr. Larry Temple is the executive director of the Texas Workforce Commission charged with day-to-day operations of the agency including implementation of policies set by the commission. Deputy Executive Director Gene Crump Phone: (512) 936-3609 E-mail: gene.crump@twc.state.tx.us

In addition to responsibilities as the deputy executive director, Mr. Crump also directs the departments providing core internal services that include:

   * Finance
   * Human Resources Management
   * Business Operations

Unemployment Insurance Division LaSha Lenzy, Division Director Phone: (512) 463-7234 E-mail: lasha.lenzy@twc.state.tx.us

The unemployment insurance program, funded through employer taxes, provides temporary partial income replacement to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The Unemployment Insurance and Regulation Division (UI) oversees:

   * payment of unemployment benefits to qualified claimants,
   * collection of unemployment taxes from employers, and
   * administration of the Texas Payday Law and the Texas Child Labor Law.

Workforce Development Division Larry Jones, Division Director Phone: (512) 936-0697 E-mail: larry.jones@twc.state.tx.us

The Workforce Development Division provides oversight, coordination, guidance, planning, technical assistance and implementation of employment and training activities with a focus on meeting the needs of employers throughout the state of Texas. In addition the division:

   * supports work conducted in local workforce development areas,
   * provides assistance to boards in the achievement of performance goals,
   * evaluates education and training providers, and
   * promotes and develops partnerships with other agencies and institutions.

External Relations Division Jesse Lewis, Division Director Phone: (512) 936-2346 E-mail: jesse.lewis@twc.state.tx.us

The External Relations Division is responsible for planning and implementing a coordinated outreach and education effort to customers and stakeholders. This includes:

   * managing external and internal communications for the agency
   * coordination of labor market and career information and
   * implementing a marketing strategy that unifies the workforce system under an umbrella brand.

Program Integrity Division Joann Benton, Acting Division Director Phone: (512) 936-3051 E-mail: joann.benton@twc.state.tx.us

The Program Integrity Division oversees all agency services, including:

   * statistical sampling
   * performance analysis & reporting
   * fraud detection
   * subrecipient monitoring

Information Technology Division Dee Meador, Division Director Phone: (512) 936-3191 E-mail: dee.meador@twc.state.tx.us

The Information Technology Division is responsible for agency's technology infrastructure, including:

   * project management
   * information technology operations
   * applications development and maintenance
   * data processing
   * distributed systems

Employer Initiatives Doug Ridge, Director Phone: (512) 463-1986 E-mail: douglas.ridge@twc.state.tx.us

The primary responsibility of Employer Initiatives is to provide the leadership and direction within the Texas workforce system to engage employers, business organizations and the economic development community in the ongoing development of a customer-focused, market-driven workforce system. Office of Internal Audit Fran Carr, Acting Director Phone: (512) 936-6125 E-mail: fran.carr@twc.state.tx.us

Internal Audit is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve operations. The role of Internal Audit is:

   * to help the agency achieve its objectives and
   * to improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.

Civil Rights Division Robert Gomez, Division Director Phone: (512) 437-3451 E-mail: robert.gomez@twc.state.tx.us

The Civil Rights Division (CRD) enforces the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (Texas Labor Code, Chapter 21) and the Texas Fair Housing Act (Texas Property Code, Chapter 301). The Texas Commission on Human Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability and retaliation. The Texas Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based race, color, religion, sex, national origin, mental or physical disability, familial status and retaliation. The CRD conducts the following activities:

   * Review of personnel policies and procedural systems of state agencies and institutions of higher education
   * Review of initial firefighter testing
   * Reporting of equal employment opportunity statistics
   * Equal employment opportunity training of state agencies, institutions of higher education, and other public and private employers
   * Enforcement of fair employment laws
   * Enforcement of fair housing laws

Regulatory Enforcement Division John Moore, Division Director Phone: (512) 463-3041 E-mail: john.moore@twc.state.tx.us

The Regulatory Enforcement Division enforces all regulatory statutes within the jurisdiction of the agency, including UI, career schools, board sanctions, wage claims and child labor. A priority of the division is the prevention, detection and elimination of fraud and abuse in the UI program.

Additionally, all collection matters for the agency involving overpayments and delinquent taxes owed to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, collection matters for the agency involving wage claims, and the collection of disallowed costs arising from contract monitoring are included in the Regulatory Enforcement Division.

The Regulatory Enforcement Division also works with the Office of Attorney General in all judicial reviews arising from enforcement actions, including UI and wage claim appeals. General Counsel Don Ballard Phone: (512) 463-7902 E-mail: don.ballard@twc.state.tx.us

The General Counsel is responsible for providing legal advice and support to the agency. Responsibilities encompassed include:

   * coordinating litigation,
   * reviewing contracts,
   * responding to civil rights charges and
   * advising on open government issues