Department of Industrial Relations: apprenticeship pilot program

The law targets persistent DIR vacancies that have impaired labor-law enforcement. It creates a path into DIR jobs while preserving merit-based hiring, collective bargaining, and existing workers' jobs.

What the law does ​

• Requires the Department of Industrial Relations and Department of Human Resources, by January 1, 2029, to design and develop the pilot with DIR employee bargaining units.
• Requires the program to follow collective-bargaining, apprenticeship, and constitutional merit-principle requirements.
• Allows current state employees and outside applicants to enter the program.
• Sets apprentice pay through collective bargaining and gives eligible apprentices state-service seniority and retirement credit.
• Makes successful graduates eligible to transfer into the applicable journey-level classification.
• Bars the program from displacing existing state employees.

Who it affects ​

• Department of Industrial Relations employees, job applicants, and apprentices seeking civil-service positions.
• DIR employee bargaining units and joint apprenticeship committees.
• The Department of Industrial Relations and Department of Human Resources.

Context ​

The law preserves the State Personnel Board's constitutional authority over state personnel matters.