Law Commons^™

Family Security Insurance: A New Foundation For Economic Security, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center, Berkeley Center On Health, Economic & Family Security, Uc Berkeley School Of Law

Published Reports

A report released by Georgetown Law's Workplace Flexibility 2010 and the Berkeley Center on Health, Economic & Family Security (Berkeley CHEFS) outlining a blueprint for establishing and financing a new national insurance program to provide wage replacement for time off for health and caregiving needs. The report describes the need among working Americans for time off from work to address personal illness, to care for a new child, or to care for a loved one with a serious illness. It argues that the need for time off is no longer an issue for individual families or select industries, but a …

Analysis Of The Administration Of Human Resources: Prepared For The Ipswich Town-School Coordination Committee, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The Town of Ipswich, acting for its Town-School Coordination Committee, contracted with the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston to undertake a review of the Human Resources (HR) management, Recreation Department programming, and the Information Technology needs of the Town and School Department. The review was undertaken to assess how collaborative approaches might enhance the effectiveness of each of these municipal functions. The Collins Center has published a report on each of these topics. The overall Project Manager was Senior Associate Richard Kobayashi. The HR report was prepared by Collins Center Associate …

Federal Employees Part-Time Career Employment Act Of 1978: Overview, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

The Federal Employees Part-Time Career Employment Act aims to utilize the potential of persons who do not work a traditional forty-hour workweek. Having found that part-time permanent employment has a number of benefits,i Congress passed legislation extending part-time career employment opportunities throughout the federal government in 1978.

Nation, Corporation Or Family? Tribal Casino Employment And The Transformation Of Tribes, Theodor Gordon

Occasional Papers

Since its modest beginnings in the early 1980s, tribal gaming rapidly developed into a $25 billion industry that generates over a quarter million jobs. However, the increasing employment of non-Indians in tribal casinos prompts new cultural and political challenges. This paper analyzes tribal and commercial casino trade publications in order to demonstrate how tribal casino employee relations play a significant role in transforming public policy and perceptions of tribal government in the United States.

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.

Benefits, Rights And Features Nondiscrimination Testing And Phased Retirement Programs, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

Various studies indicate that formal phased retirement programs within defined benefit plans are wanted and needed by both employers and employees. Phased retirement programs may be useful for employees who want to reduce their hours during later stages of their careers, but who wish to remain in the workforce. For employers, a phased retirement program may be a useful tool to retain talented employees who may otherwise fully retire.

In designing phased retirement programs, It is not surprising that many employers wish to have significant discretion in deciding which employees they will seek to retain through a phased retirement program. …

Early Retirement Incentive Plans And The Age Discrimination In Employment Act, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

Early retirement incentive plans (ERIP) “seek to give incentives to older employees to retire before conventional retirement age. The purpose of these programs is to cut back on salaries and benefits to make way for younger workers.” While some ERIPs might constitute a prohibited act under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the statute provides an affirmative defense for employers who can prove that the plan is voluntary and “consistent with the purposes” of the Act.

Some commentators have suggested that one way to encourage employers to establish bona fide phased retirement programs within their qualified pension plans is …

Phased Retirement Benefits And Final Full Retirement Calculations: Open Issues, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

This document briefly describes two issues relating to the final, full retirement benefit for individuals who receive a phased retirement distribution from a defined benefit plan: 1) whether and how any phased retirement distribution would offset the final full retirement benefit, and 2) the form of the payment of the final, full retirement benefit.

Phased Retirement Data Sheet, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Memos and Fact Sheets

This data sheet includes information on current coverage and participation by American workers in pension and retirement plans. It also includes information on what employees say they want in terms of flexible work arrangements and access to pension and retirement funds, as well as what employers say they need with regard to the workforce of the future.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

China And Brazil: Potential Allies Or Just Brics In The Wall?, Anthony Petros Spanakos

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Brazil is an increasingly important actor in global governance and for China specifically. Sino-Brazilian relations have deepened considerably but they remain concentrated in areas of trade and investment. There is also considerable overlap in interests between the two countries in other areas, such as diplomatic and political relations. At the same time, China must manage carefully important differences that exist over the enlargement of the UN and the potential challenge to the Brazilian industry.

Who Pays And Who Benefits: 21st Century Tax Reform For Maine, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

Most people do not enjoy paying taxes, which are the primary source of revenue for governments at all levels, but most people also probably agree that ultimately, some kind of taxation is necessary. However, public support for taxes is greatly influenced by perceptions of whether tax systems are fair or equitable, and these perceptions are unfortunately not always based on factual information or clear understanding. The ongoing debate over Maine’s latest attempt at tax reform is no exception.

Responsible Contractors Help Build Thriving Communities, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

What is responsible contractor language, and why is it important? Public construction projects are often costly undertakings. In recent years, municipalities and schools are increasingly using responsible contractor policies to "set certain minimum employment standards" for bidding on construction work. In response to this trend, responsible contractor (RC) language is being developed and used to provide needed reform in the construction contract bidding process. According to a recent study of responsible contractor reforms, the public policy goal of these reforms is to "ensure that all contracts for public works are awarded to reputable, responsible finns that have the qualifications, resources …

The Minimum Wage: Two Generations Of Neglect Add Up, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

Although a three-step raise in the Federal minimum wage that ended in July, 2009 is projected to generate a total of $10.4 billion in increased consumer spending,2 a survey of the wage situation in the U.S. today suggests that recent raises to the minimum wage are inadequate. Both Maine and the nation have been plagued by serious wage stagnation for many years. The overextended credit that helped fuel the recent economic crisis was exacerbated by what has been called a “collapse of hourly wage growth” by the Economic Policy Institute. In the longer term, the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum …

Update On Labor's Demographics, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

As in years past, unionization levels have continued to vary widely according to demographic and occupational characteristics of the U.S. workforce, as well as geographic region. The unionization level of the total employed U.S. wage and salary workforce is one measure. However, in order to obtain a more balanced perspective, it is also important to consider the specific levels of union membership in both public and private sector areas of employment, which play a significant role in the U.S. economy. Using data compiled and supplied by the U.S. Department of Labor, this briefing paper provides a statistical summary of unionization …

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. …

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 …