Government Programmes in the United States - Department of Labor

Small Business Initiative

The Department of Labor’s Office of Small Business Programs is partnering with the Small Business Administration under a Memorandum of Understanding, signed March 1999, to increase the participation of women-owned small business in prime and subcontracting opportunities at the Department of Labor and to foster women’s business enterprises in the Federal marketplace. Under the Memorandum, the partners agreed to maximise resources to implement many initiatives that will help increase women’s share of Department of Labor and Federal procurement grants.

Business-to-Business Mentoring Initiative

This is a Department of Labour initiative to link employers with successful child care programs with employers who recognize the importance and potential benefits of providing a child care program but would like further information and advice on how to proceed. Through business mentors, employers receiving assistance will be provided important tools and strategies to help them:

• choose the type of child care program that works best for them;
• launch their initiative effectively; and,
• avoid pitfalls and control costs.

Staff from the DOL ten regional offices answer questions and serve as a forum for sharing and communicating with mentors and mentees. Upon signing up, a resource kit is provided to both mentors and mentees.

 The Glass Ceiling Initiative

Under the auspices of the Department of Labour, the Glass Ceiling Initiative aims to:

• promote equal employment opportunity not mandated results or quotas;
• promote a quality, inclusive and diverse workforce capable of meeting the challenges of global competition;
• promote good corporate conduct by means of corrective and cooperative problem solving; and,
• eliminate identifiable discriminatory employment practices.

To achieve these objectives, work is focussed in four areas:

• internal education;
• research and education efforts to better understand the intricacies of corporate human resource issues;
• corporate management reviews or glass ceiling reviews designed to identify and remove artificial barriers to the advancement of qualified minorities and women in the workplace of federal contractors;
• encouragement of voluntary efforts;
• broad based awareness effort to make sure that employers understand the importance and benefits of fully utilising the skills of all their employees and potential employees and to encourage volunteer efforts which promote and enhanced equality in employment; and,
• public recognition through the Secretary’s Opportunity 2000 Award and the OFCCP’s Exemplary Voluntary Efforts and Exemplary Public Interest Contribution Awards.

Women's Bureau

The Working Women Count Honor Roll, 1995

The Working Women Count Honor Roll was launched by the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor as one of the United States Commitments at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. It addressed concerns of the 250,000 working women in the United States who responded to the Working Women Count! survey in 1994. The Women’s Bureau consequently obtained pledges to initiate new programs or policies that improve women’s pay benefits and opportunities at work as well as help balance work and family. To date the Honor Roll has generated more than 800 pledges from all 50 states and the District of Columbia

Equal Pay

The Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor has issued a number of publications to guide employers and female workers in implementing equal pay, including for instance:

• Ten Steps to An Equal Pay Self-Audit for Employers: guide for employers in laying down equal pay policies;
• Working Women's Equal Pay Checklist: educating women about the steps they can take to achieve equal pay; and,
• Equal Pay: A thirty-year Perspective, 1998.

Women in Apprenticeship and Non-Traditional Occupations Act of 1992

The Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor implemented the technical assistance program authorised by the Women in Apprenticeship and Non-Traditional Occupations Act, providing grants to community-based organizations offering technical assistance to private sector employers and Labor unions to help them recruit, promote and retain women in apprenticeship and other non-traditional occupations.

Meeting the Needs of Today's Workforce

Child Care Best Practices is a publication of the Department of Labour’s Women’s Bureau highlighting 40 innovative child care programs initiated by employers across the USA. Initiatives from large to very small are included.

Women’s Bureau Regional Activities

The regional offices of the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau provide information and educational activities to bring women off welfare through Welfare-to-Work programs and conducting conferences targeted at welfare recipients. Initiatives include:

• Providing employers with information and technical assistance, encouraging them to hire women moving from welfare to work;
• Encouraging training and employment in jobs, including non-traditional jobs for women, that pay a livable wage;
• Supporting the provision of services to enable women’s success in moving from welfare to work;
• Holding Welfare-to-Work leadership workshops to develop strategies and approaches for resolving "real life" issues confronting welfare recipients entering the workforce;
• Disseminating information on recipients’ rights and obligations under the law;
• Meeting women receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families benefits and participants in Welfare-to-Work programs to determine their real life experiences and policy implications;
• Developing partnerships with women’s organisations, academia, unions and other community-based organisations;
• Informing constituents about the opportunity to apply for Department of Labor Welfare-to-Work Competitive Grants to Local Communities.

Wage and Hour Division

Garment Industry "No Sweat" Campaign

The Department of Labor launched a "No Sweat" campaign in 1995 targeted at garment workers, who are mostly women, in order to increase compliance with labour standards in the industry (such as the minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labour requirements). Its strategy involves broadening enforcement; stepping up education to the industry; and, seeking and maintaining partnerships in order to uphold labour standards in the sector.

Initiatives taken under the campaign include:

• Signing of the Wage and Hour’s Compliance Monitoring Agreement by 100 manufacturing firms.
• Reducing minimum wage and overtime violations.
• Conducting compliance monitoring workshops for the industry, as well as training workers on their rights in the garment sector.
• Awareness raising of the "No Sweat" strategy by religious groups, universities and socially responsible businesses to sensitise the public on compliance.

Veteran's Employment and Training Service

Research

In 1992 the Veteran’s Employment and training Service began to identify and expand employment opportunities for women veterans. As part of this campaign, it began to provide grants to the Women's Research and Education Institute. In February 1999, the Institute used the grant to increase the number of women veterans participating in the careers as network installers, technicians, and customer relations personnel.

Employment and Training Administration

From Welfare-to-Work

Welfare-to-Work provides grants and technical assistance to States and local communities to help hard-to-employ welfare recipients move into lasting, unsubsidized jobs. The grants are used to equip long-term welfare recipients and noncustodial parents - generally those with poor education, low skills, and little job experience - with the resources and support they need to find and keep good jobs. Local communities have the flexibility to design programs that fit their particular needs. All of the Federal anti-discrimination laws, such Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act apply to welfare recipients who participate in work activities under the Welfare-to-Work scheme.

The From Welfare to Work in the Federal Government initiative was launched in 1997 to provide welfare recipients with work in the Federal government by providing Federal agencies with tools and resources to facilitate their recruitment, hiring and retention. A key project is the Worker and Training and Assistance Program to train and develop new employees’ skills necessary to manage their transition from welfare to work in government employment. It consists of 34 training modules and four components - Orientation, Workplace Skills, Transition Skills, and a Managerial Component. A few examples of the Welfare-to-Work scheme in practice include:

• Department of Labor: the Department established partnerships with state, local and community-based, and religious organisations and Private Industry Councils throughout the country for recruitment. Of the new 161 individuals recruited under the scheme, 90% were women. All recruits have been promoted and have access to career counselling services. The Department conducts meetings with them as well as local service providers on issues relating to career development, child care, health insurance and housing.
• Small Business Administration: ensures that the individuals recruited under the scheme receive the support they need in the workplace as well as skills to help balance work and family.
• United States Information Agency jointly with CONSERVE: became the model throughout the Federal community for public and private sector linkage in making the Welfare-to-Work commitment a reality.
• Department of Commerce: hired a majority of women under the programme. In August 1997, the Commerce Department’s Patent and Trademark Office began the Workfare Achievement and Development Centre to facilitate the training and development of their employees, as well as help them to move from welfare to work. Training is offered in the following areas: assessments, Federal service orientation, life skills transition, office administration, public service and technology familiarisation.
• Department of Energy: In March 1997, the Oakland Operations Office implemented the Worker Trainee program targeting at unskilled applicants. Under the program, applicants serve a three-year period of employment at the end of which they receive a permanent position within the office. During the three years, they are provided training and appropriate promotional opportunities to the GS-3 grade level.
• Department of the Interior: the United States Geological Survey hired a majority of women in GS-1 through GS-3 positions. A clerical training pool was established to provide new recruits with administrative skills through training and hands-on experience.

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration

In 1996, the Department of Labor, as part of its Retirement Savings Education Campaign, launched a new brochure, Women and Pensions: What Women Need to Know and Do, with accompanying information on retirement benefits, resources for additional information and practical tips on saving for retirement. Since May 1997, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration has taken a number of measures to raise awareness of women about pensions and retirement. The Administration targets, inter alia, women to provide information and education regarding the importance of saving for a secure retirement and has aims to increase pension and health care coverage in these groups. It also aims to conduct research, analysis and planning in the employee benefit plan area to support the development of policy and legislation to cover even more workers and their families.

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

Sexual Harassment

The regional offices of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs  have worked to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment at contractor facilities. Activities include training, workshops, conciliation agreements, remedial methods, and placing the contractors on the Honor Roll for their voluntary efforts.

Memorandum of Understanding with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission signed two Memoranda of Understanding that came into effect in April 1999. They are:

• The Training Memorandum, which strengthens enforcement of compensation discrimination cases by providing for the training of agency staff on equal pay laws, as well as facilitating referral and sharing of information on such cases.
• The Charge Memorandum, which amends the long-standing agreement between agencies on the processing of discrimination complaints, including pay discrimination, based on, inter alia, sex. It allows the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to seek monetary damages in the voluntary resolution of discrimination complaints involving Federal contractors.

Equal Pay Initiative

The initiative was begun in 1999 and consists of three tools for enforcement, education and partnership. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, in collaboration with other Department of Labor agencies, aims to:

• strengthen civil rights enforcement;
• increase public education and awareness; and,
• build strategic partnerships to enhance the Department's efforts to foster equal pay and equal employment opportunity in the workplace.

In particular, initiatives include:

1. Encouraging Federal contractors to do self-audits of their pay systems and providing them with information to help them do so through Federal contractor Industry Liaison Meetings and Town Halls;
2. Conducting compliance evaluations of Federal contractors, including glass ceiling reviews, to ensure nondiscrimination;
3. Enhancing employment opportunities for women in the higher-paying non-traditional jobs, apprenticeships and the trades, through its Construction Mega-Projects;
4. Highlighting pay and pension related relief in its press releases, fact sheets and Town Hall and other regional presentations;
5. Recognizing employers' best practices, through its EVE Awards, which help other employers learn how they can promote equal opportunity for all employees;
6. Educating workers about their employment rights;
7. Assisting workers in getting the information they need to protect their pension and health benefits and helping employers understand their legal responsibilities regarding pension and health benefits;
8. Working with EEOC, GSA and the Women's Bureau to combat pay discrimination; and,
9. Remedying wage discrimination.