CEO Library

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), publishes the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan (Form 5500) and the Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan (Form 5500-SF).

In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and funded contractor Summit Consulting to conduct An Analysis of Benefit Plans Auditors under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies. The statistical analysis aims to analyze trends in employee benefit plan audit quality, particularly when plan administrators change certified public accountant (CPA) firms.

The report presents findings from a trend analysis of benefit plan auditors using 5500 filing data and audit reviews conducted by Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) between plan years 2011 and 2015. EBSA administers and enforces the reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary requirements of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). EBSA’s Office of the Chief Accountant, Division of Accounting Services enforces annual audit requirements of employee benefit plans.

In 2021, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) funded contractors ICF International and their partners (American Institutes for Research and Advocates for Human Potential) and Abt Associates and their partners (MEF Associates and AnLar) to support the Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR) program through two CLEAR ARISE contracts. CLEAR ARISE’s work is informed by DOLs annual learning agenda process and emerging agency priorities.

In 2018, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) and funded contractor Summit Consulting to conduct Return-to-Work Outcomes for Federal Employees in the Office of Workers’ Compensation Disability Management Program under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies.

The report provides descriptive statistics and associations between case characteristics (injury, claim, and claimant characteristics) and the outcomes of interest (return-to-work and disability management duration). Process diagrams and survival models complement the descriptive statistics. This report also assesses the similarities and differences in return-to-work rates and duration in disability management across case characteristics and timing and sequence of disability management services.

In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and funded contractor Mathematica Policy Research to conduct Data on Earnings: A Review of Resources for Research and Comparing Job Training Impact Estimates Using Survey and Administrative Data under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies. The descriptive analyses aim to review potential opportunities and implications of using different

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) administers and enforces the reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary requirements of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and certain Entities Claiming Exception (ECEs) must file the Form M-1 report annually. Form 5500 is an annual report that employee benefit plans must file to satisfy reporting requirements under Title I and Title IV of ERISA and under the Internal Revenue Code.

Earnings are a key outcome in evaluating the impact of job training and other employment- oriented assistance programs. Adequate and sustained earnings provide a reliable measure of success for these interventions and contribute to other positive outcomes as well. Accordingly, high quality data on the income earned from employment—including self-employment—are an essential component of any analysis that seeks to understand the consequences of participating in an employment-assistance program.

In 2016, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Women’s Bureau (WB) and funded contractor Nexight Group to conduct the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau Strategic Community Outreach Study. The program review aims to conceptualize a strategic community engagement model and provide options for a standardized performance data management approach for community outreach efforts.

The report presents a high-level look at the community engagement (CE) project approach and analysis, and presents options that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Women’s Bureau (WB) may consider for future exploration. It is important to note that this project was not conducted as a rigorous assessment of the impact of the WB’s work overall or the work resulting from its CE approach. Rather, the focus was on understanding the CE activities the WB conducts at the regional level and developing potential options the WB could consider to strengthen its approach in the future.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) enables employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. However, while FMLA has increased leave-taking among eligible workers, overall effects have been modest, perhaps because much of the workforce is ineligible for FMLA, and many who are eligible are unaware of the law’s benefits and eligibility requirements.

The participation rate of mothers in the labor force has increased significantly over the last four decades with an estimated 71% participating in 2014 compared to 47% in 1975. Similarly, the share of households with mothers of children under the age of 18 as the sole or primary income earner has grown substantially, increasing from 11% in 1960 to 40% in 2011.

Welcoming a new child commonly requires working parents to face challenging decisions related to balancing their career obligations with the extensive caregiving responsibilities of a new child. The brief explores the association between paid leave use and the employment stability of a specific group of parents, first-time mothers, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation’s (SIPP) Fertility History Module.

Workers who are 55 years old and over are projected to remain the fastest growing segment of working adults in the U.S. through 2022. Health, longevity, education, and attitude are some of the reasons for their continued labor force attachment. In recent years, older workers have also either delayed retirement or re-entered the workforce due to financial losses in the Great Recession. Older workers face different challenges and responsibilities than their younger counterparts.

The brief explores the distributional impact of three alternative policy models for providing paid sick days taken from actual policies in the states and a federal proposal selected to show a range of generosity of provision. San Francisco was the first U.S. locality to pass paid sick days in 2006. Their Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (PSLO) covers nearly all workers in San Francisco and provides up to five days per year for workers employed in small businesses (under ten employees) and up to nine days per year for workers employed in larger businesses.

Analyses show that providing paid sick days under any alternative model policy increases the amount of paid time workers are able to take for medical and family needs, as intended, at reasonable costs to employers, ranging from 0.10 percent to 0.29 percent of payroll according to the generosity of the model. Employers of different sizes and in different industries would experience a range of costs under each model.

The brief summarizes a simulation analysis of five different paid family and medical leave model programs based on working programs in three states and a federal proposal, all applied to the national workforce. The analysis simulates worker behavior and estimates how many paid leaves would be taken under each model, the average weekly benefit level for each leave, and the total costs of the benefits paid. The analysis estimates the cost of benefits in dollars and as a share of total payroll for the nation as a whole and across industries and establishments of different sizes.

The report of a study first to examine the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) Federal Agency Targeting (FEDTARG) inspection program. Under the FEDTARG program, OSHA targets Federal worksites that have high lost time case (LTC) counts. The goal of the program is to reduce hazards, injuries and illnesses, and the costs associated with injuries and illnesses in Federal worksites.

The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) works with other Department of Labor (DOL) agencies to conduct Administrative Data Research and Analysis (ADRA) studies. The various studies aim to examine administrative data sets from agencies within DOL and other federal agencies to provide timely responses to changing strategic agency priorities. Completed studies are listed below. New and ongoing studies will occur regularly.

The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees working for covered employers to take up to 12 work weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons.

The technical report of the 2012 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) surveys, presenting findings, including comparisons between worksites covered and not covered by FMLA, between employees eligible and ineligible for FMLA, and over time.

The executive summary of the Family and Medical Leave in 2012: Technical Report that summarizes the conduct of the 2012 surveys and major findings.

Appendix to the Family and Medical Leave in 2012: Technical Report: 1. Introduction, 2. FMLA Coverage and Eligibility, 3. Worksites’ FMLA and other Leave Policies, 4. Employees’ Leave Taking Practices, 5. Conditions of Leave Before, During and After Taking Leave, 6. Employee’s Unmet Need for Leave, 7. Sub-population Analyses, 8. Employer Responses and Perceptions, and 9. Conclusion.

The methodology report for the 2012 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) surveys that details the methods used to conduct the surveys.