Request By:
Mr. Willard Stanley, Chairman
Board of Miner Training,
Education and Certification
Department of Mines and Minerals
P.O. Box 680
Lexington, Kentucky 40586
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: David K. Martin, Acting Director, Division of Environmental Law
On behalf of the Board of Miner Training, Education and Certification you have requested an opinion of the Attorney General on the following questions.
(1) Is a mining operator obligated to train an employee of the company when it transfers that employee from its surface operation to its underground mining operation as per a labor agreement?
(2) If so, is the company obligated to pay the employee during that period?
It is our understanding that a situation has arisen in which employees at a surface coal mine who are not certified as underground miners or mining specialists and who do not hold valid permits as trainee miners have been transferred to underground mines operated by their employer pursuant to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. Of course, KRS 351.102(1) prohibits the assignment of persons to work duties underground for the purpose of mining coal who are not certified or holders of valid trainee miner permits. KRS 351.102(2) requires 40 hours of instruction or enrollment in a certified mine technology program before a person can be issued a permit as a trainee miner. Thus, uncertified employees would have to obtain trainee miner permits before working underground for the purpose of mining coal.
We are aware of no requirement in KRS chapter 351 that would require an operator to train an employee so that the employee can obtain a trainee miner permit or certification in a mining specialty. Additionally, the only requirement concerning payment for training in KRS chapter 351 is KRS 351.105(16), which only applies to the annual retraining of certified persons. In the question you present, the employees are not certified and therefore subsection (16) does not apply.
In conclusion, then, KRS chapter 351 does not require an operator to train an employee so that the employee can initially meet state licensing standards necessary to work underground for the purpose of mining coal. However, this opinion does not address any rights that may exist under a collective bargaining agreement, since the Board of Miner Training, Education and Certification has no jurisdiction to enforce such agreements.