Labor Relations Commons^™

A Timeline Of The Evolution Of Retirement In The United States, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

This document provides key highlights in the history of retirement in the United States. It provides some background on how the concept of retirement, and its legal treatment, has evolved. This time-line does not include every law related to pension and retirement plans. Rather, it emphasizes those laws that have come to shape how we view retirement, particularly the tax laws that encouraged employers to establish pension and retirement plans in the first place.

Selected Resources On Flexible Work Arrangements For Lower-Wage Workers, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

A list of resources for low-wage workers regarding flexible work arrangements.

Faqs About Employees And Employee Benefits, Pamela Perun

Memos and Fact Sheets

This primer is an introduction to the basic laws of employee benefits. It is often assumed that there are legal impediments to employers providing benefits to phased retirees, part-time workers and the contingent workforce. From a benefits law perspective, this is really not true. By statute, self-employed workers are sometimes excluded from plans required to be employee-only but employers face few other prohibitions when designing their plans.

From an employer’s perspective, there are far more impediments to excluding these workers from their benefit plans than including them. Tax law provides incentives to employers who sponsor plans and to workers who …

Legal And Research Summary Sheet: Phased Retirement, Chantel Sheaks J.D., Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes Phd, Michael A. Smyer Phd

Memos and Fact Sheets

During the first decade of the 21st century, significant attention has been paid to the widely anticipated retirement of the Baby Boom generation from the U.S. workforce. Employers and policymakers have considered important questions such as:

• What percentage of older workers are likely to retire on a full-time basis between the ages of 62-65?

• What might the implications of a “mass exodus” of Baby Boomers mean for different types of businesses?

• Which types of policies and practices might encourage some older workers to extend their labor force participation, thereby enabling employers to retain the knowledge and skills of these experienced …

Workplace Flexibility: A Norm Of The American Workplace, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

A PowerPoint slide-show that outlines the challenges, options, policies, solutions, and innovations associated with Flexible Work Arrangements.

Flexible Work Arrangements: The Fact Sheet, Jean Flatley Mcguire, Kaitlyn Kenney, Phyllis Brashler

Memos and Fact Sheets

A "flexible work arrangement" (FWA) is any one of a spectrum of work structures that alters the time and/or place that work gets done on a regular basis. The term includes (but is not limited to):

1. flexibility in the scheduling of hours worked, such as alternative work schedules (e.g., flex time and compressed workweeks), and arrangements regarding shift and breack schedules:

2. flexibility in the amount of hours worked, such as part-time work and job shares; and

3. flexibility in the place of work, such as working at home or at a satellite location.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor And The Relationship Between Leagues And Players: Insights And Implications, Michael Mccann

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Essay examines U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s important role in shaping U.S. sports law. As a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and later on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Sotomayor authored opinions that resolved two major sports law disputes: whether Major League Baseball (“MLB”) owners could unilaterally impose new labor conditions on MLB players during the 1994 baseball strike and whether Ohio State University sophomore Maurice Clarett was obligated to wait three years from the completion of high school to become eligible for the National Football …

Labor And The Bank: Investigating The Politics Of The World Bank's Employing Workers' Index, Suzan Kang

Publications and Research

For many years, trade unions have pressured international financial organizations such as the World Bank to better incorporate protections for workers. A recent development in this contestation was the World Bank’s 2009 announcement regarding its controversial “Employing Workers Index” in its widely circulated Doing Business report. Trade unions had argued that the index, which promoted flexible labor market policies, did not respect the international norm of worker protections, and urged the World Bank to change the index. As a result, the Doing Business Group pledged to reform the Employing Workers Index and to create a new index on protecting workers. …

Flexible Work Arrangements (Fwas): Possible Public Policy Approaches, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

There is a range of ways in which public policy can help workplace flexibility become a norm in the American workplace. Indeed, the various bills introduced in the 110th Congress to increase access to FWAs, one component of workplace flexibility, represent a wide range of public policy approaches.

This document categorizes and characterizes these public policy approaches to help clarify the options that might be pursued to increase access to FWAs.

A Summary Of Data From Families And Work Institute’S National Study Of Employers (2008), Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

This memo presents data from the Families and Work Institute’s 2008 National Study of Employers describing the similarities in access to flexible work arrangements (“FWAs”) for employees of small and large employers. The 2008 National Study of Employers (“2008 Study”) provides a comparison of the availability of 12 types of FWAs to employees of small (50-99 employees) and large (over 1,000 employees) employers.

Case Studies: Employment Data Systems: Florida's Agency For Persons With Disabilities, Allison Cohen Hall, Jean Winsor, John Butterworth

Case Studies Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The increasing emphasis on government accountability at the state and federal levels has increased interest in and use of outcome data. Moreover, research has found that high performing states in integrated employment generally have a clear and visible data collection system that provides individual outcome data (Hall et al, 2007). But what are the most important elements in designing and using a system? Stakeholders have raised questions regarding creating effective data collection systems, identifying variables with the most utility for influencing policy, and using data as a strategic planning tool. This series is intended to shed light on the successes …

Issues In Developing A Common Framework On Informal Employment, Françoise Carré, James Heintz

Center for Social Policy Publications

This paper has been written to stimulate discussion on the definition and measurement of informal employment in developed economies. Much has been written on the definitions of informal employment and the informal sector in the context of developing countries, and these definitions have been applied in collecting and analyzing data from labor force, multi-purpose household, and enterprise surveys. It is less common that the recommendations and techniques for measuring informal employment and informal sector have been applied in developed countries.

In high-income economies, it is more common to speak of ‘nonstandard’ or ‘atypical’ employment. The two concepts of ‘informal employment’ …

The Legislative History Of Fefcwa And Feptcea, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.

Statements Illustrating The Legislative Intent Of These Laws, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

Based on statements in the legislative history, these laws were meant to provide:

1. Overarching Benefits in the Current Economy
2. Benefits to Families
3. Benefits to Management
4. Equality for Women
5. Protection of the Environment

Telework In The Federal Government: The Overview Memo, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) alter the time and/or place that employees work on a regular basis in a manner that is manageable and predictable for both employees and employers.1 Telework, also called telecommuting, refers to an FWA that enables an employee to work from an alternative place to the employer’s usual worksite, typically home or a satellite work center. Telework technically refers to work performed with the use of a telecommunications connection to the workplace (e.g., computer, telephone), but the term is also

An Overview Of Early Laws Increasing Access To Flexible Scheduling And Reduced Hours In The Federal Workforce, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

The Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act (FEFCWA) authorizes, but does not require, agencies to offer alternative work schedules to employees. FEFCWA permits employees to designate non-traditional arrival and departure times, centered around core agency hours, and to experiment with four-day workweeks or other compressed schedules. Under the law, implementation and employee utilization of alternative work schedules depends on management support and leadership.

Nepali Female Migrants And Informalization Of Domestic Care Work: Service Or Servitude?, Shobha Hamal Gurung

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

Nepali female migrants are among the fastest-growing immigrant workforces in the South Asian community, particularly in service and domestic work in big cities of the United States. However, there has not until now been a study investigating the work experiences of Nepali immigrants/migrants employed in the service and domestic sectors in these cities. This article investigates the work experiences of Nepali female migrants who work in service and domestic/child care work in Boston and New York, focusing on examining the type and nature of women's work, labor practices, work and living conditions, women's experiences and views about their work, and …

Gaming In Massachusetts: Can Casinos Bring 'Good Jobs' To The Commonwealth?, Marlene Kim, Susan Moir, Anneta Argyres

Labor Resource Center Publications

This study examines the quality of jobs in the United States gaming industry and analyzes enabling legislation in five states that have legalized gaming. The authors find that the gaming industry -- particularly the unionized sector of the casino hotel industry -- provides good jobs with good wages and benefits for workers with less than a high school degree. The authors conlcude that workforce development efforts in Masschusetts must include strategies to address improving the quality of entry-level jobs.

An Overview Of Userra And The Fmla's Provisions For Military Families, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Conferences, Panels, and Events

Two federal laws offer employment protections specifically to service members and their families. This is a summary of these laws, the USERRA and provisions of the FMLA.

A Sampling Of Workplace Flexibility Laws And Programs For Military Personnel, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Conferences, Panels, and Events

A variety of laws, policies, and programs govern the availability and utilization of workplace flexibility in the military as an employer for both service members and civilians. This document provides examples of those laws, policies, and programs, categorized by the type of flexibility governed.

An Overview Of The Gloves-Off Economy: Workplace Standards At The Bottom Of America’S Labor Market, Annette Bernhardt, Heather Boushey, Laura Dresser, Chris Tilly

Center for Social Policy Publications

When we talk about the “gloves-off economy,” we are identifying a set of employer strategies and practices that either evade or outright violate the core laws and standards that govern job quality in the U.S. While such strategies have long been present in certain sectors, such as sweatshops and marginal small businesses, we argue that they are spreading. This trend, driven by competitive pressures, has been shaped by an environment where other major economic actors—government, unions, and civil society—have either promoted deregulation or been unable to contain gloves-off business strategies. The result, at the start of the 21st century, is …

Extended Time Off Overview, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

Workplace Flexibility 2010 defines Extended Time Off (EXTO) as time taken off from work for a single reason that extends for more than five days but less than one year.

EXTO may be brief in nature (e.g., a few weeks), when taken, for example, for a vacation, to recover from minor surgery, or to comply with a public health quarantine request. EXTO may also be longer in nature (e.g., a month or more), when taken, for example, for maternity/paternity purposes, for elder care, for military duty, or for a sabbatical from work.

EXTO (either brief or prolonged) may be unpaid …

Fact Sheet On Extended Time Off (Exto), Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center, Urban Institute

Memos and Fact Sheets

The Need for Extended Time Off (EXTO):

1. New children: More women and mothers are working, and there is an increase in the number of couples with children in which both parents work.
2. Health issues: According to a 2000 survey of employees regarding the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), among those who took FMLA leave, more than half, 52.4%, of workers used the leave to attend to their own health conditions. Thirteen percent reported taking leave to care for a parent and nearly 12% reported using leave to care for an ill child.
3. The need for paid EXTO: Despite the …

Short Term Time Off: What We Know, Anna Danziger, Shelley Waters Boots

Memos and Fact Sheets

Short Term Time Off (STO) refers to job-protected time away from the workplace to address anticipated or unexpected needs of limited duration. STO may be scheduled or unscheduled, depending on the underlying need. STO enables workers to address both the routine and emergency situations that occur in everyday life.

The need for STO may arise, for example, because a worker or worker’s child is sick or has a routine doctor’s appointment, because a worker has to wait for the plumber or apply for public benefits or go to court, or because a worker needs to attend a school conference or …

The Lives Of Hourly Workers And Their Families, Maureen Perry-Jenkins Phd

Conferences, Panels, and Events

A presentation: Workplace Conditions and the Lives of Hourly Workers and their Families by Maureen Perry-Jenkins, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst on behalf of Workplace Flexibility 2010.

Letter Of Invitation, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Conferences, Panels, and Events

A letter of invitation to the 2008 conference for grantees of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Workplace, Work Force, and Working Families Program hosted by Workplace Flexibility 2010.

The Economics Of Flexible Work Arrangements, Lonnie Golden Phd

Conferences, Panels, and Events

A presentation on the economics of Flexible Work Arrangements: OVERVIEW: FWA’s, Inflexibility and Salaried Workers and Effects on Work-Family by Lonnie Golden, PhD, Pennsylvania State University - Abington on behalf of Workplace Flexibility 2010.

Conference Agenda, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Conferences, Panels, and Events

The agenda for the 2008 conference for grantees of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Workplace, Work Force, and Working Families Program hosted by Workplace Flexibility 2010.

Panelist Biographies, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Conferences, Panels, and Events

The biographies of panelists of the 2008 conference for grantees of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Workplace, Work Force, and Working Families Program hosted by Workplace Flexibility 2010.

Low-Wage Workers, Jennifer E. Swanberg Phd

Conferences, Panels, and Events

A presentation: Workplace Structure and its Impact on Hourly Workers and their Families by Jennifer E. Swanberg, PhD, University of Kentucky on behalf of Workplace Flexibility 2010.