Records Appraisal Report:
Workforce Commission General Counsel Selected Record Series
Contents of this report
Agency Contact | Agency History | Project Review | Record Series Reviews
Internal links to series reviews
Lawsuits
Court orders
Job Training Partnership Act/ Workforce Investment Act (JTPA/WIA) Administrative Hearing Records
Benefits lawsuits
Lawsuits - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, judgments
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission/Texas Commission on Human Rights (EEOC/TCHR) complaint files Food Stamp Program files
Archival finding aid
An Inventory of Workforce Commission Meeting Files at the Texas State Archives, 1936-2006
February 25, 2004, Laura K. Saegert, Appraisal Archivist
Agency Contact
This agency contact information was current at the time of the report but may have changed in the interim. Please call (512-463-5455) for current contact information of the agency's records manager or records liaison for these records.
DeAnn Luper
Agency History and Structure
The Texas Workforce Commission was created in 1995 by the 74th legislature (House Bill 1863, Regular Session) following the abolishment of the Texas Employment Commission (TEC), as part of a comprehensive reform of the state's workforce development system. The employment programs operated by the TEC, as well as training, employment, and employment related educational programs operated by nine other agencies were absorbed into the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The Workforce Commission is governed by a three-member board appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for six-year overlapping terms. One member is a representative of labor, one member represents employers, and one member represents the public. These are full-time salaried positions and the governor appoints the chair.
The Texas Workforce Commission is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. The agency's major functions are workforce development, support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training, and administering the unemployment compensation program. The law defines goals of the agency as 1) to meet the needs of business for the development of a highly skilled and productive workforce; 2) to provide workers with the education, skills training, and labor market information necessary to enhance their employability, earnings, and standard of living; 3) to assist the people who are making a transition into the workforce, especially those receiving public assistance, displaced homemakers, and students moving from school to work; 4) to help communities provide economic incentive programs for job creation and expansion, and 5) to ensure that tax revenues for workforce development are spent effectively and efficiently.
The Commission works in conjunction with 28 local workforce boards to provide employment assistance and promote self-sufficiency for customers. The local boards oversee the delivery of childcare services, employment and training programs for welfare recipients, as well as planning employment services in their area Texas Workforce Centers.
Specific programs operated by the Texas Workforce Commission include the Agricultural Services Program; the Apprenticeship Program; Child Care Management Services; Employment Services; Food Stamp Employment and Training; the Choices Program (to help welfare recipients move toward self-sufficiency); Workforce Investment Act (provide job training for economically disadvantaged youth and adults, dislocated workers, and others facing significant employment barriers); the Labor Law Enforcement, Education, and Regulation Department (enforces the Texas Pay Day Law (re: late or unpaid wages) and the Child Labor Law); Literacy Program; Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers; Project RIO (reintegration of ex-offenders into the work force upon their release from prison); Proprietary School Regulation (regulates some of the post-secondary trade and technical schools in the state); School-to-Careers System (makes teachers and administrators aware of the needs of the workforce); Senior Texans Employment Program; Skills Development Fund (grants to colleges and technical schools who work with employers in training workers for existing jobs); Self-Sufficiency Fund (to help needy recipients obtain jobs and become independent of government financial assistance); Texas State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (develops information systems at all government levels to meet education and training needs); Trade Adjustment Assistance (helps people who lost their jobs due to foreign imports or plant relocations to other countries); Unemployment Insurance Benefits System; Veteran's Services; and Work and Family Clearinghouse (awards grants to organizations for research on child care and other work-related issues or for child care programs to help working families).
The Unemployment Insurance and Regulation Division operates the unemployment insurance program. This program, funded through employer taxes, provides temporary partial income replacement to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The Division oversees the payment of unemployment benefits to qualified claimants, the collection of unemployment taxes from employers, and the administration of the Texas Payday Law and the Texas Child Labor Law.
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. 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.
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.
The Office of Program Integrity Division oversees all agency services, including statistical sampling, performance analysis and reporting, fraud detection, and sub-recipient monitoring.
The Information Technology Division is responsible for agency's technology infrastructure, including project management, information technology operations, applications development and maintenance, data processing, and distributed systems.
Welfare Reform Initiatives provides leadership in the development of welfare reform related strategies. The office works on matters relating to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and child care services.
Employer Initiatives primarily provides 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, demand-driven workforce system.
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.
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.
The Texas Workforce Commission operates under TAC, Title 40, part XX. In 2001 it had 3,898 employees.
[This agency history was taken from the Guide to Texas State Agencies, 11th edition, LBJ School of Public Affairs, the University of Texas at Austin, 2001; and from the agency's website - http://www.twc.state.tx.us/.]
Project Review
I was asked to review several series transferred by the Workforce Commission to the State Archives for archival review between 2002 and 2004. I reviewed only the series transferred to the Archives. This is not an agency-wide appraisal, just an appraisal of selected "R" series. The series are:
Lawsuits
Court orders
JTPA/WIA Administrative Hearing records
Benefits lawsuits
Lawsuits - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, judgments
EEOC/TCHR complaints by employees
EEOC/TCHR complaints by job service applicants
Food Stamp Program Correspondence
Food Stamp Program Reports
Archives Holdings
Lawsuits, 56 cubic ft., 1989-2001. These are the records currently being appraised.Court orders, 1999-2001, 7 cubic ft. These are the records currently being appraised.
JTPA/WIA Administrative Hearing Records, 1997-2000, 2 cubic ft. These are the records currently being appraised.
Benefits lawsuits, 1998-2001, 13 cubic ft. These are the records currently being appraised.
Lawsuits - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, judgments, ca. 1998-2001, unknown cubic ft. These are copies of court filings filed in another series currently being appraised, Benefits lawsuits. Volume of records is unknown.
EEOC/TCHR Complaint files, 1992-1999, 3 cubic ft. These are the records currently being appraised; they are in two different series on the retention schedule.
Food Stamp program files, 1996-1998, fractional. These are the records currently being appraised; they are in two different series on the retention schedule.
Texas Workforce Commission, Minutes, 1997-2000, 2002-2004, about 5 cubic ft.
Texas Employment Commission, Minutes, 1984-1985, about 1 cubic ft.
Previous Destructions
None.
Project outcome
We reviewed the files transferred to the Archives and have decided to keep some files in the Lawsuits series and to keep the JTPA/WIA Administrative Hearing records. The rest of the series have been appraised as non-archival and the records will be offered back to the agency, or destroyed if the agency does not want them returned.
Archival records
The Archives will keep the lawsuits selected by the TWC as those having either historical significance or setting legal precedent. The remaining lawsuits will be returned to the agency or destroyed. The Archives will keep the files in the JTPA/WIA Administrative Hearing records. For these two series, keep the archival code of R and add the following note to the Remarks column on the retention schedule - "Cases that set legal precedent or may have historical value will be selected as such by the TWC and transferred to the State Archives."
Lawsuits
JTPA/WIA Administrative Hearing records
Non-archival records
The remaining series have been determined to be non-archival. The records will be returned to the agency or destroyed.
These two series need to have the archival code of R replaced with the code of E, for archival exemption, and to have the following note removed from the retention schedule - "Once the Commission determines that the lawsuit file can be disposed of, it will be forwarded to the TSLAC for final archival review."
Court orders
Benefits lawsuits
This series needs to have the archival code of R replaced with the code of E, for archival exemption, and to have the following note removed from the retention schedule - "Agency retains permanent copy. The archival requirement will be met by sending a copy to the Archives and Information Services Division, TSLAC."
Lawsuits - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, judgments
The following series need to have the archival code of R replaced with the code of E, for archival exemption.
Food Stamp Program Correspondence
Food Stamp Program Reports
The following series need to have the archival code of R removed.
EEOC/TCHR complaints by employees
EEOC/TCHR complaints by job service applicants
Records Series Reviews
Records Series Review
Series Title: Lawsuits
Ongoing record series? Yes
Annual accumulation: unknown
Agency holdings:
Unknown, 56 cubic feet for cases ending within the past three years were recently transferred to the Archives for review.
Description:
These are litigation files of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), consisting of lawsuits filed against TWC or against TWC and another party. Dates covered are 1989-2001. Types of records present include correspondence, memoranda, court filings (list of witnesses, orders, answers, settlement agreements, responses, objections, judgments, petitions, motions, etc.), and exhibits and/or discovery materials, which include personnel records, background files, employee complaints, complaint responses, application forms and interviews, statistics, payroll information, lists of employees, statements, contracts, bills, purchase vouchers, etc. Also present are attorney memos/notes, usually labeled as attorney work product. Correspondents include the Attorney General, TWC, plaintiffs and their attorneys, mediators, courts, etc.
Types of lawsuits filed include loss of employment through age discrimination or reduction in force, tort claims, sexual harassment, tax lien foreclosure, child labor suits, proprietary schools suits, claims under the Job Training Partnership Act, Payday lawsuits and any other causes other than unemployment benefits lawsuits, which are found in the series Benefits lawsuits.
Legal staff in the General Counsel's office identified five lawsuits among the ones transferred to the Archives as having historical value and/or setting legal precedent. These are:
Historical Value (Sexual Harassment)
- Sheila Rene Lehman, et al. v. TEC and Walt Baker, Civil Action No. H-95-0549; Closed 3/96 (4 boxes)
- Texas AFL-CIO, Gene Edgerly & Boyce Breedlove vs. TWC; Cause No. 97-10312; Closed 3/23/00
Both Legal Precedent & Historical Value
- Bernardino Gonzales and Alma Barrera, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. James L. Kaster, Charles Haddock, Mary Scott Nabers and TEC, Civil Action No. B-90-164; Closed 8/98 (1 box)
- Claude Rivers, On Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated v. Eddie Cavazos, Commission, TEC, et al. and Frank Gillman Pontiac Co., Inc.; Case No. 94-50563; Closed 12/96
- Narcisco Gutierrez, Cedric Binnings, Ingrid Faulk, and Sheila Y. Carr vs. Diane Rath, Bill Hammond and David R. Perdue, In Their Official Capacity as the Commissioners of the Texas Workforce Commission, Civil Action No. H-96-2308; Closed 6/98 (2.5 boxes)
Purpose:
These are records created by or on behalf of the agency in anticipation or in the adjudication of a lawsuit.
Agency program:
The Texas Workforce Commission is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. The agency's major functions are workforce development, support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training, and administering the unemployment compensation program. The law defines goals of the agency as 1) to meet the needs of business for the development of a highly skilled and productive workforce; 2) to provide workers with the education, skills training, and labor market information necessary to enhance their employability, earnings, and standard of living; 3) to assist the people who are making a transition into the workforce, especially those receiving public assistance, displaced homemakers, and students moving from school to work; 4) to help communities provide economic incentive programs for job creation and expansion, and 5) to ensure that tax revenues for workforce development are spent effectively and efficiently.
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.
Arrangement: unarranged
Access constraints: Several restricted records, including personnel records, social security numbers, employee home addresses, attorney work product.
Use constraints: None.
Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? Unknown.
Problems: None
Known related records in other agencies: None known.
Previous destructions:
None
Publications based on records: unknown
Internet pages based on records:
Series data from agency schedule:
Title: Litigation files
Series item number: 1.1.048
Agency item number: 5102.16
Archival code: R
Retention: AC+2
Archival holdings:
Lawsuits, 56 cubic ft., 1989-2001. These are the files currently being appraised.
Texas Documents Collection holdings: none
Gaps: none known
Appraisal decision:
Texas Workforce Commission handles a wide variety of functions, many of which can result in the filing of civil litigation and other lawsuits present in this series. The Archives staff does not have the expertise to determine which lawsuits in this series may have historical value or set legal precedent. I contacted the agency and legal staff in the General Counsel's office identified five cases from the ones transferred to the Archives for review as having historical value and/or setting legal precedent. I feel the TWC legal staff is the most appropriate group to make this determination. We are keeping the lawsuit files so identified and offered the rest back to the agency. The TWC has declined to take the remaining files back, so they will be destroyed by the Archives.
The retention schedule needs to retain the archival code of R with the following note added: "Cases that set legal precedent or may have historical value will be selected as such by the TWC and transferred to the State Archives."
Records Series Review
Series Title: Court orders
Ongoing record series? Yes
Annual accumulation: 2-3 cubic ft.
Agency holdings:
Unknown, 7 cubic feet for cases ending within the past three years were recently transferred to the Archives for review.
Description:
These are records regarding contempt proceedings in employer cases. Dates of records held in the Archives are 1999-2002. Types of records present include court orders, memos, affidavits, applications, motion for nonsuit, order of nonsuit, correspondence, orders to show cause, bill of costs, employee quarterly reports, and a court order log. This log is attached to each file and lists dates, any action taken, and initials of staff taking the action. The log is marked as an attorney client document. Correspondents include the TWC staff, the Attorney General's Office, court officials, and defendants and their attorneys.
The Texas Workforce Commission files a suit against employers for failure to file wages or employer reports, for failure to provide employment records pursuant to an administrative subpoena, or failure to pay contributions owed to the TWC under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act. After being sued, the defendant often brought in the requested records at which time the TWC would usually file for a motion of nonsuit, saying they were not going to pursue action against the defendant.
Purpose:
Records document contempt proceedings against employers by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Agency program:
The Texas Workforce Commission is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. The agency's major functions are workforce development, support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training, and administering the unemployment compensation program. The law defines goals of the agency as 1) to meet the needs of business for the development of a highly skilled and productive workforce; 2) to provide workers with the education, skills training, and labor market information necessary to enhance their employability, earnings, and standard of living; 3) to assist the people who are making a transition into the workforce, especially those receiving public assistance, displaced homemakers, and students moving from school to work; 4) to help communities provide economic incentive programs for job creation and expansion, and 5) to ensure that tax revenues for workforce development are spent effectively and efficiently.
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.
Arrangement: unarranged
Access constraints: Attorney client memoranda, social security numbers
Use constraints: None
Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? None known
Problems: None
Known related records in other agencies: None
Previous destructions:
None
Publications based on records: None
Internet pages based on records: None found.
Series data from agency schedule:
Title: Court orders
Series item number: 1.1
Agency item number: 5102.13
Archival code: R
Retention: AC+1
Archival holdings:
Court orders, 1999-2001, 7 cubic ft. These are the records currently being appraised.
Texas Documents Collection holdings: None
Gaps: None
Appraisal decision:
These appear to be routine suits initiated by the Texas Workforce Commission to obtain employee work records, wages, employer reports, and contributions to the Unemployment Compensation Act. Keeping these records would not provide any insight or further knowledge to how the TWC interacts with employers since these are only records of employers who have refused for one reason or another to cooperate with the TWC.
The Archives has appraised these records are non-archival. The records were offered back to the agency. The TWC has declined to take the files back, so they will be destroyed by the Archives.
The retention schedule needs to be changed by removing the archival code of R and replacing it with an E (archival exemption) code. Also, the following note currently in the Remarks Column can be removed: "Once the Commission determines that the lawsuit file can be disposed of, it will be forwarded to the TSLAC for final archival review."
Records Series Review
Series Title: Job Training Partnership Act/ Workforce Investment Act (JTPA/WIA) Administrative Hearing Records
Ongoing record series? Yes
Annual accumulation: less than one cubic ft.
Agency holdings:
Unknown, 2 cubic feet for cases ending within the past three years were recently transferred to the Archives for review.
Description:
These are administrative hearing files initiated by the Texas Workforce Commission in response to problems with Job Training Partnership Act or Workforce Investment Act funding, such as improper use of JTPA/WIA funds found in local workforce development board operations or other groups. Dates of the two cases sent to the Archives are ca. 1997-2000. Types of records found include memos, notes, correspondence, settlement agreements, budget information, master plans, operating plans, and partnership agreements. Correspondents include TWC staff, the Attorney General's Office, and the local board or agencies involved in the case.
Purpose:
Records created by or on behalf of the agency in anticipation of or in adjudication of an administrative proceeding.
Agency program:
The Texas Workforce Commission is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. The agency's major functions are workforce development, support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training, and administering the unemployment compensation program. The law defines goals of the agency as 1) to meet the needs of business for the development of a highly skilled and productive workforce; 2) to provide workers with the education, skills training, and labor market information necessary to enhance their employability, earnings, and standard of living; 3) to assist the people who are making a transition into the workforce, especially those receiving public assistance, displaced homemakers, and students moving from school to work; 4) to help communities provide economic incentive programs for job creation and expansion, and 5) to ensure that tax revenues for workforce development are spent effectively and efficiently.
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.
Arrangement: unarranged
Access constraints: possibly attorney work product or attorney-client records
Use constraints: None
Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? Unknown
Problems: None
Known related records in other agencies: None known
Previous destructions:
None
Publications based on records: None
Internet pages based on records: None
Series data from agency schedule
Title: JTPA/WIA Administrative Hearing Records
Series item number: 1.1.048
Agency item number: 5102.19
Archival code: R
Retention: AC+3
Archival holdings:
JTPA/WIA Administrative Hearing Records, 1997-2000, 2 cubic ft. These are the records currently being appraised.
Texas Documents Collection holdings: None
Gaps: N/A
Appraisal decision:
The Texas Workforce Commission contracts with local workforce boards or organizations that operate with JTPA or WIA funding. When problems within those organizations are found, such as improper use of funds or other problems found during monitoring visits, the TWC takes action to correct the problems. Most cases are solved without going through the administrative hearing process. According to TWC staff - "While the JTPA and WIA programs involve hundreds of millions dollars and significant oversight responsibilities, very rarely do cases move to the administrative appeals stage since the vast majority are settled during the resolution process. For this reason the very few that do involve the appellate process are significant." The oversight of the local workforce board is an important function of the TWC and the rare cases that go through the entire administrative hearing process I believe are worth keeping in the archives.
We have appraised the files transferred as archival; they will remain in the Archives. The retention schedule needs to keep the archival code of R, with the note in the Remarks column changed to read: "Cases that set legal precedent or may have historical value will be selected as such by the TWC and transferred to the State Archives."
Records Series Review
Series Title: Benefits lawsuits
Ongoing record series? Yes
Annual accumulation: 3-4 cubic ft.
Agency holdings:
Unknown, 13 cubic feet for cases ending within the past five years were recently transferred to the Archives for review.
Description:
These are lawsuits relating to unemployment benefits cases filed against the Texas Workforce Commission or the TWC and another party, and appealed to a court. Dates of cases sent to the Archives are ca. 1998-2001. Types of records present include memos, court filings (judgments, answers, responses, briefs, petitions, etc.), correspondence, appeals of employers, and internal case tracking documents (case details, social security number and home address of claimant). Correspondents include TWC staff, the Attorney General's Office, employers, claimants, and courts.
An example of a situation resulting in a claim was when a person quit her job because of excessively long workdays and filed an unemployment insurance claim with the TWC. TWC denied the claim because the person was aware the job had long hours when she was hired and the reason for quitting was not good cause connected to the work. The person involved filed in court asking for unemployment benefits.
Purpose:
Records document actions taken by the Workforce Commission on unemployment benefits cases appealed to a court.
Agency program:
The Texas Workforce Commission is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. The agency's major functions are workforce development, support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training, and administering the unemployment compensation program. The law defines goals of the agency as 1) to meet the needs of business for the development of a highly skilled and productive workforce; 2) to provide workers with the education, skills training, and labor market information necessary to enhance their employability, earnings, and standard of living; 3) to assist the people who are making a transition into the workforce, especially those receiving public assistance, displaced homemakers, and students moving from school to work; 4) to help communities provide economic incentive programs for job creation and expansion, and 5) to ensure that tax revenues for workforce development are spent effectively and efficiently.
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.
Arrangement: alphabetical order by claimant
Access constraints: social security numbers, employee home addresses, case analyses (attorney-client restriction)
Use constraints: None
Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? None known
Problems: None
Known related records in other agencies: None
Previous destructions:
None
Publications based on records: None
Internet pages based on records: None known
Series data from agency schedule:
Title: Benefits lawsuits
Series item number: 1.1.048
Agency item number: 5102.14
Archival code: R
Retention: AC+2
Archival holdings:
Benefits lawsuits, 1998-2001, 13 cubic ft. These are the records currently being appraised.
Texas Documents Collection holdings: None
Gaps: None known
Appraisal decision:
This series documents cases of individuals filing unemployment insurance claims that were not settled immediately by the Texas Workforce Commission. The pertinent court filings (petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, and judgments) are maintained permanently at the Workforce Commission in a separate series (Lawsuits - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, judgments), thus the actions taken in those cases are sufficiently documented.
We have appraised this series as non-archival. The records were offered back to the agency. The TWC has declined to take the files back, so they will be destroyed by the Archives.
The retention schedule needs to be changed by removing the archival code of R and replacing it with an E (archival exemption) code. Also, the following note currently in the Remarks Column can be removed: "Once the Commission determines that the lawsuit file can be disposed of, it will be forwarded to the TSLAC for final archival review."
Records Series Review
Series Title: Lawsuits - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, judgments
Ongoing record series? Yes
Annual accumulation: unknown
Agency holdings:
Unknown.
Description:
These are court filings from lawsuits relating to unemployment benefits cases filed against the Texas Workforce Commission or the TWC and another party, and appealed to a court. Dates of cases sent to the Archives are ca. 1998-2001. The Workforce Commission maintains the original filings - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, and judgments permanently; a copy is placed in the Benefits lawsuits series.
Purpose:
These record document court actions and final case disposal for lawsuits concerning unemployment benefits claims.
Agency program:
The Texas Workforce Commission is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. The agency's major functions are workforce development, support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training, and administering the unemployment compensation program. The law defines goals of the agency as 1) to meet the needs of business for the development of a highly skilled and productive workforce; 2) to provide workers with the education, skills training, and labor market information necessary to enhance their employability, earnings, and standard of living; 3) to assist the people who are making a transition into the workforce, especially those receiving public assistance, displaced homemakers, and students moving from school to work; 4) to help communities provide economic incentive programs for job creation and expansion, and 5) to ensure that tax revenues for workforce development are spent effectively and efficiently.
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.
Arrangement: unknown
Access constraints: None known
Use constraints: None
Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? Unknown
Problems: None
Known related records in other agencies: None known
Previous destructions:
None
Publications based on records: None known
Internet pages based on records: None known
Series data from agency schedule:
Title: Lawsuits - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, judgments
Series item number: 1.1.048
Agency item number: 5102.15
Archival code: A
Retention: PM
Archival holdings:
Lawsuits - petitions, complaints, opinions, settlements, judgments, ca. 1998-2001, unknown cubic ft. These are copies of court filings filed in another series currently being appraised, Benefits lawsuits. Volume of records is unknown. The original court filings are still at the agency.
Texas Documents Collection holdings: None
Gaps: None
Appraisal decision:
This series consists of court filings for unemployment insurance benefits lawsuits. The agency is keeping the original court filings; a copy is placed in the lawsuit file. This series, according to the agency, was set up to maintain the filings from only the benefits lawsuits series, a series appraised as not archival by the State Archives. The agency confirmed they are not keeping court filings from the series Litigation files, 5102.16.
Change the retention schedule by replacing the archival code of A with the archival code of E (archival exemption) and removing the note that says, "Agency retains permanent copy. The archival requirement will be met by sending a copy to the Archives and Information Services Division, TSLAC." I also recommend adding a note to the Remarks column or to the title that states these filings are from lawsuits in the series Benefits lawsuits.
Please note that if the agency changes the retention schedule to less than PM, the Archives will either reappraise the series or have the Workforce Commission select historical significant or precedent setting cases for the Archives, as we are asking them to do in the Litigation files series.
Records Series Review
Series Title: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission/Texas Commission on Human Rights (EEOC/TCHR) complaint files
Ongoing record series? Yes
Annual accumulation: less than 1 cubic ft.
Agency holdings:
Files for 1986-1990 are on microfilm at the agency. Files from 1992-1998 were sent to the Archives, from 1999-current are still at the agency.
Description:
These are equal employment opportunity complaints filed by employees or job services applicants against the Texas Workforce Commission, dating 1992-1998. Types of records include memos, notes, correspondence, personnel records (job applications, interviews, performance reviews, etc.), findings, settlement agreements, etc. Correspondents include the TWC staff, the Texas Commission on Human Rights, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the complainants or their attorneys.
Purpose:
Records document EEOC complaints brought by employees or job services applicants against the Workforce Commission.
Agency program:
The Texas Workforce Commission is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. The agency's major functions are workforce development, support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training, and administering the unemployment compensation program. The law defines goals of the agency as 1) to meet the needs of business for the development of a highly skilled and productive workforce; 2) to provide workers with the education, skills training, and labor market information necessary to enhance their employability, earnings, and standard of living; 3) to assist the people who are making a transition into the workforce, especially those receiving public assistance, displaced homemakers, and students moving from school to work; 4) to help communities provide economic incentive programs for job creation and expansion, and 5) to ensure that tax revenues for workforce development are spent effectively and efficiently.
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.
Arrangement: chronological by year, then alphabetical by complainant's name
Access constraints: social security numbers, home address of employees, and common law privacy information in some of the personnel records or complaints
Use constraints: None
Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? None
Problems: None
Known related records in other agencies: The Texas Commission on Human Rights has some related records, some materials may also be found in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office.
Previous destructions:
None
Publications based on records: None
Internet pages based on records: None
Series data from agency schedule: There are two series of records that are interfiled into the same filing system:
Title: EEOC/TCHR Complaints by employees
Series item number: 3.1
Agency item number: 5102.11
Archival code: R
Retention: AC+3
Title: EECO/TCHR Complaints by job service applicants
Series item number: 1.1
Agency item number: 5102.12
Archival code: R
Retention: AC+3
Archival holdings:
EEOC/TCHR complaint files, 1992-1998, 3 cubic ft. These are the records being appraised.
Texas Documents Collection holdings: None
Gaps: Records for 1991 are not listed as being at the agency.
Appraisal decision:
These files document EEOC complaints brought by TWC employees or job applicants. They do not document any unique functions of the TWC - all agencies handle EEOC complaints. The Archives has not previously appraised EEOC complaint files from other agencies as archival, nor should these be appraised as such.
These series have been appraised as non-archival. The records were offered back to the agency. The TWC has declined to take the files back, so they will be destroyed by the Archives.
Change the retention schedule by removing the R from both series.
Records Series Review
Series Title: Food Stamp Program files
Ongoing record series? Yes
Annual accumulation: fractional
Agency holdings:
Fractional
Description:
These are case files re: employment/job training issues of individuals receiving food stamps, dating 1996-1998. Types of records include program tracking records, program assessments, college attendance records, Aid to Families with Dependent Children records, memos, and correspondence. Correspondents include TWC and other welfare related state and federal agencies and applicants/enrollees in the program. As part of the food stamp program, in most cases, participants are supposed to work/attempt to find work on a regular basis, attend job training classes, or attend college. The Texas Workforce Commission operates a JOBS program and provides other assistance on a temporary basis as part of its Welfare Reform Initiatives functions.
Purpose:
Records document participation in the Texas Workforce Commission JOBS program or related welfare assistance programs by food stamp participants.
Agency program:
The Texas Workforce Commission is the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers of Texas. The agency's major functions are workforce development, support services including child care for targeted populations participating in workforce training, and administering the unemployment compensation program. The law defines goals of the agency as 1) to meet the needs of business for the development of a highly skilled and productive workforce; 2) to provide workers with the education, skills training, and labor market information necessary to enhance their employability, earnings, and standard of living; 3) to assist the people who are making a transition into the workforce, especially those receiving public assistance, displaced homemakers, and students moving from school to work; 4) to help communities provide economic incentive programs for job creation and expansion, and 5) to ensure that tax revenues for workforce development are spent effectively and efficiently.
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.
Arrangement: alphabetically by client name
Access constraints: The whole series is confidential - AFDC records, food stamp program records, common law privacy issues.
Use constraints: None
Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? None known
Problems: Whole series is confidential
Known related records in other agencies: Files should be present on these individuals in other state and federal offices where they receive assistance - Texas and U.S. Departments of Human Services, possibly others
Previous destructions:
None
Publications based on records: None
Internet pages based on records: None
Series data from agency schedule: There are two series of records that are interfiled into the same filing system:
Title: Food Stamp Program correspondence
Series item number: 1.1.007
Agency item number: 6649.10
Archival code: R
Retention: 3
Title: Food Stamp Program reports
Series item number: 1.1.067
Agency item number: 6649.11
Archival code: R
Retention: 3
Archival holdings:
Food stamp program files, 1996-1998, fractional cubic ft. These are the records currently being appraised.
Texas Documents Collection holdings: None
Gaps: unknown
Appraisal decision:
These are case files of food stamp applicants who are also enrolled in work/job training programs through the Texas Workforce Commission. There are only a few files and they document the efforts of 3-4 people in the program. There are not enough materials in these files to document the JOBS or other welfare initiative programs operated by the Workforce Commission. The agency does produce annual reports and other publications that discuss how the program works, the TWC's role, and the role of the participants. Also, these records are all confidential as the participants are all welfare recipients in the food stamp program and/or the AFDC program.
These series have been appraised as non-archival. The records were offered back to the agency. The TWC has declined to take the files back, so they will be destroyed by the Archives.
Change the retention schedule by replacing the archival code of R in each series with the archival code of E (archival exemption).