92 STAT. 1940
PUBLIC LAW 95-524—OCT. 27, 1978
October 1, 1978, in a public service employment program under any title of this Act in the case of a recipient which the Secretary determines has faced unusually severe hardships in its efforts to transition public service employees into regular public or private employment not supported under this Act because of high unemployment in the area of service. "(i)(1) Funds under this Act shall not be used to pay wages to any individual employed in a public service job at a rate in excess of $10,000 per year, but such maximum shall be adjusted upward for particular areas served by recipients as determined by the Secretary^ on the basis of the wage adjustment index issued in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection. In no case shall such maximum be increased by more than 20 percent, except in the case of an area in which the average wage (during the calendar year preceding the beginning of the applicable fiscal year) in employment covered under Federal or State unemployment compensation laws (without regard to any limitation on the amount of such wages subject to contribution under such law) exceeds 150 percent of the national average wage in such employment. "(2) In order to provide the maximum number of employment and training opportunities under this Act, the Secretary shall issue appropriate standards to be maintained on an area basis with respect to average federally-supported wage rates for public service jobs under this Act. Such standards shall be designed to assure that for particular areas served by recipients, as determined by the Secretary, an annual average federally-supported wage rate per public service jobholder equivalent to $7,200, as adjusted in accordance with the wage adjustment index issued in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection, will not be exceeded. Average wage rates established under such standards for public service jobs for each area shall be adjusted annually by the Secretary by a percentage equal to the change in average wages in regular employment not supported under this Act in such area. Area wage "(3) The Secretary shall issue and publish annually an area wage adjustment index, adjustment index based upon the ratio which annual average wages in regulai- public and private employment in various areas served by recipients bear to the average of all such wages nationally, on the basis of the most satisfactory data the Secretary determines to be available. Post, p. 2012. "(4)(A) Except as otherwise provided in section 609, no public service employment participant may be provided wages for any public service employment job from sources other than this Act. "(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any person in public service employment on September 30, 1978, receiving wages from sources other than this Act may continue to receive such wages. "(j) Notwithstanding any eligibility limitation on public service employment in this Act, a person who on September 30, 1978, held a public service employment position under this Act may continue in such position subject to subsection (h) of this section. "(k) All persons employed in public service jobs shall be provided workers' compensation, health insurance, unemployment benefits, and other benefits and working conditions at the same level and to the same extent as other employees working a similar length of time, doing the same type of work and similarly classified. Any such classification must be reasonable and must include nonfederally financed employees, but within any single classification a distinction may be made between public service employees and other employees for purposes of determining eligibility for participation in retirement systems or plans
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