CEO Library

The employer-based system of providing retirement and health benefits is failing too many Americans, including disproportionate numbers of the poorer and more vulnerable members of society. The largely incremental changes made over the last 30 years have not solved the basic problems of access, coverage and adequacy. Accordingly, the researcher who developed the literature review suggests that it is time for a more radical approach. One approach would be to redefine the terms “employer” and “employee” to capture the realities of the 21st century workplace.

In 2016, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to fund contractors Westat and MDRC to conduct an implementation study and randomized controlled trial (RCT) impact study of the H-1B-funded TechHire Partnership Grants (TechHire) and the Strengthening Working Families Initiative (SWFI). The Department of Labor awarded funds for both of these programs in September 2016.

The report presents the findings of the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP) Implementation Study and Feasibility of an Impact Study as conducted by L&M Policy Research and the Urban Institute. In undertaking the analysis, the L&M-Urban team interviewed key staff members involved with USMAP operations. In addition, the team conducted 11 focus groups at two Navy and two Marine Corps bases with USMAP apprentices, USMAP completers, and USMAP supervisors.

The report summarizes the results of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG)’s project to estimate the social and economic effects of minimum wage violations in California and New York. This project represented an exploratory effort to determine the appropriate approach and data to use to estimate the impacts of state and federal minimum wage and overtime pay violations; however, data limitations related to overtime pay violations required a focus only on minimum wage violations.

Abstract of the Social and Economic Effects of Wage Violations: Estimates for California and New York Final Report.

The report provides an overview of the Site Specific Targeting Program (SST11) and a random assignment evaluation design implemented by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to assess the short-term impacts of the program.

The minimum wage is one of the most researched areas in labor economics with a vast body of literature that dates back nearly seventy years (Brown 1999). Research proliferated as variation in state minimum wage policies gained steam over the last several decades. However, research, debate and policy has largely ignored the lesser known subminimum wage received by tipped workers (also referred to as the tipped or cash wage). That there are two federal wage floors is unknown to many and the existence of the federal subminimum wage—at $2.13 since 1991—often comes as a bit of a surprise.

The empirical literature on union effects on occupational safety and health within firms struggles with two primary obstacles to credibly estimating the effect of unionization on workplace safety. First, unionized employees may be more likely to report occupational risks to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), inducing greater rates of inspection and citation of unionized firms for violations than occurs in otherwise similar nonunion firms. This is a kind of measurement error in commonly-used workplace safety outcomes that is positively correlated with unionization.

In the paper, researchers describe how they test for early labor market effects in terms of eased job-lock from the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion of January 2014 that targeted non-elderly low-income adults. An expansion of health insurance options not tied to employment could increase job turnover among newly eligible low-income populations, enabling them to move to preferred jobs (measured here as higher wage jobs).

The U.S.

The brief presents high-level findings from the Survey of Public Opinion of the U.S. Population Working Rights Final Report.

National section of the Survey of Public Opinion of the U.S. Population Working Rights Final Report.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) section of the Survey of the Public Opinion of the U.S. Population Working Rights Final Report.

Wage and Hour Division (WHD) section of the Survey of Public Opinion of the U.S. Population Working Rights Final Report.

Working Women section of the Survey of Public Opinion of the U.S. Population Working Rights Final Report.

Non-Response Report of the Survey of Public Opinion of the U.S. Population Working Rights Final Report.

Appendices to the Survey of Public Opinion of the U.S. Population Working Rights Final Report: Appendix A: Methodology, Appendix B: Survey Instrument, and Appendix C: Standard Error Estimates.

The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct a study to explore potential research designs for determining the impact of the participant assistance program administered by the Office of Outreach, Education, and Assistance (OEA) within DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

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.

Appendix to the Family and Medical Leave in 2012: Methodology Report: Appendix A. Employee Survey Materials, Appendix B. Worksite Survey Materials, Appendix C: Changes in the Questionnaire, Appendix D: Results from the 2012 FMLA Employee Survey Incentive Experiment, and Appendix E: NRFU Employee Survey.

In 2012, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and funded contractors Capital Research Corporation and The George Washington University to conduct the Formative Evaluation of Job Clubs Operated by Faith- and Community-Based Organizations: Findings from Site Visits and Options for Future Evaluation study. Job clubs are defined as job search support groups.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided funding for skills training in green jobs and healthcare jobs via four Solicitations for Grant Applications (SGA): Healthcare and Other High Growth and Emerging Industries (HHG); Pathways Out of Poverty (POP); State Energy Sector Partnerships and Training (SESP); and Energy Training Partnerships (ETP). In early 2010, 152 grantees were awarded an average of $4 million to $5 million for two- or three-year grants.