N.M. Admin. Code § 5.5.50.8 - QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
A.
Company qualifications and requirements: The following
requirements have been instituted to ensure that companies applying for JTIP
funds meet the qualifications established by legislation.
(1) Two categories of companies are eligible
to be considered for JTIP funds: companies that manufacture a product in New
Mexico and certain non-retail service providers. Manufacturing businesses are
typically included in sectors 31-33 of the North American industry
classification system (NAICS). Manufacturing includes all intermediate
processes required for the production and integration of a product's
components. Industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into
finished goods on a large scale, is one example. Assembly and installation on
the customer premises is excluded, unless the company and jobs exist for the
sole purpose of producing or installing environmentally sustainable products
(see green industries definition). A company whose employees are compensated
solely on piecework is not eligible. Other types of companies that may be
eligible under the manufacturing category are listed below:
(a) Manufacturers that perform research and
development and engineering functions for their own products in New Mexico but
manufacture elsewhere. Start-ups and early-stage manufacturing companies. The
company must be adequately capitalized to reach first production and be able to
deliver service per criteria and procedures as set forth by and at the
discretion of the JTIP board.
(b)
Renewable power generators.
(c)
Film post-production companies, and film digital production companies (such as
animation and video game production companies).
(d) Non-traditional agricultural entities may
be eligible under the manufacturing category provided that the operation is a
year-round, value-added production facility in a controlled and enclosed
environment. Such operations may have mechanized processes, require a
specialized workforce or may be involved with research and development or
technology transfer.
(e)
Manufacturers that perform research and development and engineering functions
for their own products in New Mexico but manufacture elsewhere are
eligible.
(f) Start-ups and
early-stage manufacturing companies may be eligible. The company must be
adequately capitalized to reach first production and able to deliver service
per criteria and procedures as set forth by and at the discretion of the JTIP
board.
(2) Non-retail
service businesses provide a specialized service that may be sold to another
business and used by the business to develop products or deliver services.
Non-retail service is not offered to the general public. Eligible non-retail
service businesses must demonstrate that at least fifty percent of their
revenues come from a customer base outside New Mexico. Businesses that may be
eligible as non-retail service providers may include:
(a) Companies that exist for the sole purpose
of producing, installing, or integrating environmentally sustainable products
(see definition of green industries in glossary). Companies that meet the green
industry criteria are not required to generate out-of-state revenues.
(b) Service companies that provide a
non-retail service to government agencies may be eligible provided at least
fifty percent of revenue is from a customer base outside New Mexico. Revenue
derived from contracts with national research laboratories or military bases
located in New Mexico is not considered out-of-state. National research
laboratories in New Mexico or companies that operate national research
laboratories in New Mexico are not eligible.
(c) Logistics companies that provide inbound
and outbound transportation management, fleet management, warehousing,
materials handling, order fulfillment, logistics network design, inventory
management, supply and demand planning, third-party logistics management, and
other support services. Logistics services are involved at all levels in the
planning and execution of the movement of goods and information from point of
origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer
requirements. Distribution and transloading services are included within the
logistics category.
(d) Aviation
maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations may be eligible. MRO's
provide airframe, engine and component services to the aviation industry,
including aircraft such as planes, jets and helicopters in need of regular
maintenance, repair and adjustments to keep in working order according to
federal regulations. A contracted third-party or the owner of the aircraft may
bring the aircraft to New Mexico for service.
(e) Start-ups and early-stage companies may
be eligible. The company must be adequately capitalized to reach first
production and able to deliver service per criteria and procedures as set forth
by and at the discretion of the JTIP board.
(f) Business operations that do not generate
gross receipts within New Mexico may be eligible if at least fifty percent of
the customer-base is outside New Mexico and service is provided to customers
who are not physically present at the New Mexico facility. Companies in this
category may be part of a multi-state entity or corporation that have a
location in New Mexico and whose revenues flow to the New Mexico business
operation, which in turn pay the wages of the New Mexico employees and
contribute to the New Mexico tax base in the form of corporate and payroll
taxes. Businesses that may be eligible under this category may include:
(i) Headquarters operations: The center of
operations of a business where corporate staff employees are physically
employed; centralized functions are performed, including administrative,
planning, managerial, human resources, purchasing, information technology and
accounting, but not including operating a call center; the function and purpose
of which is to manage and direct most aspects and functions of the business
operations within a subdivided area of the United States; from which final
authority over regional or sub-regional offices, operating facilities and any
other offices of the business are issued; and including national and regional
headquarters if the national headquarters is subordinate only to the ownership
of the business or its representatives and the regional headquarters is
subordinate to the national headquarters.
(ii) Shared services centers: The entity
within a corporation responsible for the execution and the handling of specific
operational tasks, such as accounting, human resources, payroll, IT, legal,
compliance, purchasing, for a regional or national division.
(iii) Customer support centers. Customer
support centers must service a customer who is not physically present at the
facility. The customer support center must have a facility separate from other
business operations (for example, a retail store). Positions that require
outbound sales, solicitation, collections, or telemarketing are not eligible
for JTIP funds, unless they are in response to inbound requests and existing
clients, or business to business. Contract-based customer support centers must
meet special requirements. Contract-based customer support centers are
outsourcing vendors that provide information to customers of their clients on
behalf of those clients. Contract-based customer support centers do not have a
core expertise; rather they communicate information provided to them by their
clients. Contract-based customer support centers must provide evidence of a
minimum five-year lease or purchase of a facility in New Mexico; offer
employees and their dependents health insurance coverage; and contribute at
least fifty percent of the premium for healthcare insurance for those employees
who choose to enroll. Eligibility as an expanding company is determined by peak
employment over the four prior years. For first-time applicants, peak
employment is based on the employment average from four previous years or the
present employment level, whichever is higher. The company must meet or exceed
the average employment level for the past four years in order to be considered
an expanding company and eligible for JTIP. Contract-based customer support
centers that have been funded in the past four years must be expanding beyond
the peak employment count achieved with previous JTIP funds.
(3) The company must be
creating new jobs, whether due to expansion in New Mexico or relocation to the
state of New Mexico. An expanding company is defined as an existing business
that requires additional employees or workforce due to a market or product
expansion. Eligibility as an expanding company is determined by peak employment
over the two prior years. For first-time applicants, peak employment is based
on the employment average from two previous years or the present employment
level, whichever is higher. The company must meet or exceed the average
employment level for the past two years in order to be considered an expanding
company and eligible for JTIP. For companies that have been funded by the
program within the past two years, the number of employees at the time of
previous funding application and the number funded by JTIP are also taken into
consideration. The company must be expanding beyond the peak employment count
achieved with previous JTIP funds. New Mexico unemployment insurance (UI)
reports are used to determine employment levels. A company may be allowed to
exclude JTIP intern positions and apprentices when calculating the two-year
average headcount.
(4) If a company
hires twenty or more trainees in a municipality with a population of more than
40,000 according to the most recent decennial census or in a class H county
(Los Alamos), the company must offer its employees and their dependents health
insurance coverage that is in compliance with the NM insurance code (Chapter 59
A). In addition, the company must contribute at least fifty percent of the
premium for health insurance for those employees who choose to enroll. The
fifty percent employer contribution is not a requirement for dependent
coverage.
(5) Companies are
required to submit three years of financial statements (profit and loss,
balance sheets, statements of cash flow, and financing term sheets) as part of
the application process. Year-to-date financials may also be requested.
Start-ups and early-stage companies that do not have three years of financials
are required to submit financials for the period for which they are available.
Other documentation that may be requested may include but is not limited to tax
returns, evidence of operating capital and investment funding, a business plan,
evidence of signed contracts, pro forma financial statements and sales
projections which would substantiate their business expansion. Start-ups and
early stage manufacturing companies may be eligible. The company must be
adequately capitalized to reach first production and able to deliver service
per criteria and procedures as set forth by and at the discretion of the JTIP
board.
(6) Training programs for
the production of Native American crafts or imitation Native American crafts
are only eligible when a majority of trainees or company employees are of
Native American descent. A clear distinction of products carrying names and
sources suggesting products are of Native American origin must be made. Total
compliance with the federal trade commission and the Indian arts and crafts
board of the department of interior rules and regulations must be made in
determining authentic Native American products using labels, trademarks and
other measures.
(7) If a facility
that received JTIP funds closes or if lay-offs of JTIP trainees occur within
one year of the completion of training, the JTIP board will require the refund
of the funds associated with any JTIP trainee(s) that were claimed and
subsequently laid-off. The board will require a refund of funds from companies
whose JTIP reimbursement exceeds $100,000. The board will require a refund of
funds within 90 days of notification.
(8) Layoff is defined as a strategic and
organized event of separation of employees from an establishment that is
initiated by the employer as a result of market forces or other factors not
related to employee performance.
(9) If a JTIP eligible trainee is laid-off
during the training period and is subsequently rehired, within four months by
the same employer, the trainee can be treated as a new hire and thus remains
eligible for the remaining training hours.
(10) Businesses that are not eligible include
but are not limited to retail, construction, traditional agriculture and
farming, mining and extractive industries, health care, casinos, and
tourism-based businesses (hotels, restaurants, etc.). The board uses the North
American industry classification system (NAICS) as a general guideline to
establish industry classification and eligibility.
(11) Companies must be in good standing with
the Economic Development Department in order to be considered for participation
in JTIP.
B.
Position qualifications and requirements: The following
qualifications have been established to ensure that the positions for which
funding is requested meet legislative requirements.
(1) Positions must be full-time (at least 32
hours/week) and year-round. Trainees must be guaranteed full-time employment
with the company upon successful completion of training. Contract positions are
not eligible for JTIP funds.
(2)
Trainer wages are not eligible for JTIP funds.
(3) To attract the best candidates and reduce
turnover, companies are encouraged to set wages at a level which may be
eligible for the high wage job tax credit. These levels are $60,000 in a
municipality with a population of 40,000 or more as of the last decennial
census and $40,000 in other locations. Communities defined as urban for JTIP
include Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe. Los Alamos is also
treated as an urban community.
(4)
Eligible positions include those directly related to the creation of the
product or service provided by the company to its customers. Positions eligible
under JTIP must directly support the primary mission of the business and
include human resources. In addition, other newly created positions may be
funded up to a maximum of twenty percent of the total number of jobs for which
funding is requested, and may include non-executive, professional support
positions. Rural companies with fewer than 20 employees may include
production-related jobs claimed on previous JTIP projects in the calculation
when applying for non-production jobs on subsequent applications. For
headquarter facilities as described under Paragraph (1) of Subsection A above,
eligible positions may only include professional support, non-executive
positions.
(5) Intern positions may
be eligible provided the trainee is enrolled in, or has graduated within the
past 12 months from, a training or academic program and meets JTIP eligibility
requirements. Intern positions may be part-time (less than 32 hours per week).
The intern position must be relevant to the post-secondary training or academic
program in which the trainee is enrolled, or from which the trainee has
graduated, but is not required to be production or service related. Companies
will be reimbursed upon evidence of direct full-time employment offered within
90 days of completion of the internship and graduation from the training or
education program, or within 90 days of completion of the internship by a
recent graduate.
(6) Remote worker
trainees may be eligible if all of the trainee qualifications and requirements
as defined in policy under trainee eligibility.
C.
Trainee qualifications and
requirements: The company has the exclusive decision in the selection of
trainees. Trainees are expected to meet company standards on attendance,
performance, and other personnel policies. All trainees must be hired within
six months of the contract start date. The following qualifications have been
established to ensure that the trainees for which funding is requested meet
legislative requirements.
(1) Trainees must be
new hires. No retraining of current company employees is allowed under the JTIP
program. Individuals who have been previously employed by or have worked as
contractors to the company are not eligible to be hired under JTIP in the same
or similar position as the one previously occupied or contracted. JTIP staff
determines eligibility of these positions and trainees on a case by case basis,
and if deemed eligible, training hours may be reduced. The vacancy left by an
existing employee moving in to a JTIP position must be filled by the end of the
project period. Individuals who have been employed temporarily in a position
classified as intern or apprentice in order to gain practical training that
connects an academic pathway into work based or relevant business experience
may be eligible. Current company employees may be eligible for training under
the New Mexico enhanced skills training program, STEP UP.
(2) Trainees must have resided in the state
of New Mexico for a minimum of one continuous year at any time before beginning
training. The one-year residency requirement may not apply to a trainee hired
in to an approved high-wage position provided the trainee meets all other JTIP
eligibility requirements and moved to New Mexico with the intent of making New
Mexico his/her permanent place of residence prior to beginning work with the
participating company. All trainees must currently be domiciled in New
Mexico.
(3) Trainees must be of
legal status for employment.
(4)
Trainees shall not have terminated a public school program except by graduation
or HSE (high-school equivalency) certification within the three months prior to
beginning training.
(5) Trainees
who have participated in a previous JTIP project may be eligible to participate
again with the same company if the trainee is being promoted into a position
that is uniquely different from the position currently occupied. or the trainee
The vacancy left by the trainee must be filled by the end of the project
period. Interns from a current or previous JTIP project transitioning into a
full-time, permanent position with the same company may also be eligible to
participate again.
(6) Trainees who
are majority owners or relatives of majority owners of the company are not
eligible to participate in JTIP.
(7) Trainee job classifications should remain
fixed during the program. However, promotions may be allowed during the
training period to another position in the contract as long as the pay remains
at least equal to the previous job. JTIP staff should be notified within 15
days of the promotion if the company wishes to be reimbursed for the employee's
training.
(8) Trainees' start dates
must occur after the actual contract date.
(9) Employees hired through a temporary
agency may be eligible for funding provided the following conditions are met.
(a) The trainee must be hired by the company
as a regular/permanent full-time employee following the temporary agency's
contract agreement that stipulates the number of consecutive work hours the
assigned trainee must meet, not to exceed "520" hours.
(b) JTIP training hours will begin when the
trainee has been converted to a regular/permanent full-time position of the
JTIP company.
(c) The trainee must
not have worked at the company in a temporary position through a staffing
agency prior to the board approval date.
(10) Employees hired by a company through a
professional employer organization (PEO) may be eligible for funding provided
the PEO agrees to comply with all JTIP requirements for the compliance and
final auditor's reviews as outlined in Subsection K of
5.5.50.12 NMAC and in the JTIP
project closeout guide.
(11)
Companies are reimbursed for wages as each trainee completes the approved
training hours.
(12) If a trainee
leaves the company before completing training, the company is not eligible for
any reimbursement for that employee. If another trainee can be hired in that
position within the six month hiring period and complete training before the
contract end date, a claim can be submitted for the successful
trainee.
(13) Remote worker
trainees may be eligible if all of the trainee qualifications and requirements
as defined in policy under trainee eligibility.
Notes
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