CEO Library

The mission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is to ensure safe and healthy conditions for workers. OSHA estimates that work-related deaths and injuries have fallen by more than 65 percent since the agency’s creation in 1970. Still, in 2014, more than 4,800 American workers were killed on the job, and nearly 3 million suffered work-related injuries and illnesses.

The brief presents initial findings on the effects of an intervention designed to increase employer responsiveness to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Through a nationwide randomized controlled trial, researchers tested whether employers who were cited for health and safety violations would be more responsive if OSHA changed the way it issues and follows up on citations.

Infographic depicting high-level results of the Using Behavioral Interventions to Help Employers Resolve Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Citations Technical Report.

Webinar describing the high-level results of the Using Behavioral Interventions to Help Employers Resolve Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Citations Technical Report.

The podcast describes lessons learned from the Behavioral Interventions for Labor Related Programs Project, designed to test the use of behavioral science in U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) programs.

Effective U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) programs often require people to take action to get the benefits offered, but people often fail to do so. The reasons can be varied: they aren’t motivated to participate or they intend to but get distracted, or they begin and then are deterred by seemingly minor operational hassles. Fortunately, behavioral scientists have developed many techniques to improve the effectiveness of program procedures–techniques that have been applied successfully in many DOL programs.

The playbook was developed to give program administrators and managers at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and other social programs an overview of how they can use insights from behavioral science to improve the effectiveness of their programs and services. This playbook is a step-by-step guide on how to identify behavioral problems and use strategies informed by behavioral science.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Behavioral Interventions (DOL-BI) project adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that relatively small changes in how programs operate can lead to striking improvements in their performance. In three trials that tested applications of behavioral science, the project team found substantial benefits for three DOL programs. The brief provides details on the design and findings of each trial. This brief focuses on the lessons learned by the team as it identified opportunities for behavioral trials and implemented each one.

Webinar describing the high-level results of the Using Behavioral Interventions to Improve Take-Up of a Reemployment Program Technical Report.

Infographic depicting high-level results of the Using Behavioral Interventions to Improve Take-Up of a Reemployment Program Technical Report.

The brief presents initial findings on the effects of an intervention designed to encourage Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants to participate in their state’s Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) pilot program and persist in their job search. For the study, selected Michigan Works! agencies and the W.E. Upjohn Institute partnered with the U.S.

Finding a job after becoming unemployed can be challenging for many individuals. Even as the unemployment rate has decreased during the recovery from the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the average duration of regular unemployment insurance benefits remains high (15.6 weeks as of January 2017). The Department of Labor (DOL) has long sought effective ways to encourage unemployed workers to engage in services that can help them get reemployed.

Finding a job after becoming unemployed can be challenging for many individuals. Even as the unemployment rate has decreased during the recovery from the 2007–2008 financial crisis, the average duration of regular unemployment insurance (UI) benefits remains high (15.6 weeks as of January 2017). In response, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) helps UI claimants find, apply for, and obtain new employment. DOL has long sought effective ways to encourage unemployed workers to engage in services that can help them get reemployed.

Webinar describing the high-level results of the Using Behavioral Interventions to Increase Retirement Savings Technical Report.

Infographic depicting high-level results of the Using Behavioral Interventions to Increase Retirement Savings Technical Report.

The brief presents initial findings on the effects of an email designed to encourage U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) employees to increase their contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)—a plan similar to 401(k) plans in the private sector—and take full advantage of the available employer match.

Preparing for retirement is important. For many workers in the United States, a comfortable retirement may depend on the savings decisions they make now. Failing to save today can have very real consequences as people age, reducing the comforts they get to enjoy during retirement and their ability to cope with health and financial shocks. Following broader Federal policy, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has sought effective strategies for encouraging its employees to increase their retirement savings.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) runs a voluntary program that provides free and confidential advice to small and medium-sized establishments on approaches to avoiding workplace injuries and illnesses. This effort, known as the On-site Consultation Program (OSC), operates in addition to—but totally separate from—OSHA’s enforcement activities. Nationwide, OSC performs approximately 27,000 consultation visits per year at establishments that collectively employ more than 1.25 million workers.

In 2013, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and funded Mathematica Policy Research to create Using Administrative Data to Address Federal Contractor Violations of Equal Employment Opportunity Laws under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies.

In 2013, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) and funded Mathematica Policy Research to conduct the study Addressing Return-to-Work Issues in the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act with Administrative Data under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies.

In 2010, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and funded IMPAQ International and Summit Consulting to conduct the Evaluation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Site-Specific Targeting Program under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies.