Congressional Research Service Reports - 771 Matching Results
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- Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress
- This report focuses on human trafficking both internationally and within the United States. The report begins with an overview of human trafficking including a discussion of the definition of human trafficking, the scope of the problem globally, and an examination of the victims. It follows with an analysis of global antitrafficking efforts by the United States and the international community. The report then focuses on trafficking into and within the United States, examining relief for trafficking victims in the United States and discussing U.S. law enforcement efforts to combat domestic trafficking. The report concludes with an overview of antitrafficking legislation in the 110th Congress, and an analysis of policy issues related to human trafficking.
- Worker Safety in the Construction Industry: The Crane and Derrick Standard
- This report first examines the incidence of fatal and nonfatal on-the-job injuries in the private sector. It next analyzes the causes of fatalities in the construction industry and the involvement of cranes in those deaths. The report then addresses the status of a proposed rule to update the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) crane and derrick standard. It closes with an overview of jurisdictions having safety regulations for cranes more stringent, in whole or part, than the existing federal standard.
- Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers
- This report provides background on the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) program, which provides federal assistance to workers who have been adversely affected by foreign trade. The report discusses TAA eligibility and benefits as set by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011; describes how the program is funded and administered; and presents data on recent application activity and benefit usage.
- Unauthorized Aliens in the United States: Policy Discussion
- This report discusses the unauthorized immigrant (illegal alien) population in the United States, which is a key and controversial immigration issue.
- Federal Holidays: Evolution and Current Practices
- This report discusses the creation of federal holidays, how holidays affect employee pay, and recent holiday legislation.
- Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress
- This report discusses human trafficking that involves the exploitation of individuals for forced labor or commercial sex.
- Returning to Full Employment: What Do the Indicators Tell Us?
- This report analyzes recent trends in labor market indicators during the current economic recovery, with a particular focus on the contrast between the unemployment rate and other labor market indicators. It reviews studies seeking to determine how much of the decline in the labor force participation rate is caused by the recession and how much is caused by structural factors (such as the aging of the labor force). It then considers whether the economy might reach full employment at a higher rate of unemployment compared to recent expansions.
- Unauthorized Aliens in the United States: Policy Discussion
- This report discusses the unauthorized immigrant (illegal alien) population in the United States, which is a key and controversial immigration issue.
- The Tip Credit Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): In Brief
- This report discusses the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), enacted in 1938 (P.L. 75-718), which is the federal legislation that establishes the general minimum wage that must be paid to all covered workers.
- The Buy American Act in Brief: Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies and Construction Materials in Federal Procurements
- This report discusses the Buy American Act of 1933, which is the earliest and arguably the best known of various statutes regarding federal procurement of domestic products.
- The National Directory of New Hires
- This report details the National Directory of New Hires - including its background, how data is managed in the directory, and concerns regarding the directory.
- Vulnerable Youth: Federal Mentoring Programs and Issues
- This report begins with an overview of the purpose of mentoring, including a brief discussion on research of structured mentoring programs. It then describes the evolution of federal policies on mentoring since the early 1990s and provides an overview of the components and funding for each of two recent (discontinued) federal mentoring programs, as well as a discussion of other federal mentoring initiatives that are currently funded.
- Federal Labor Relations Statutes: An Overview
- This report provides a brief history and overview of the aims of these statutes: the Railway Labor Act (RLA) enacted in 1926, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS). It also discusses key provisions for each statute.
- Unemployment Insurance: Programs and Benefits
- This report describes three kinds of unemployment benefit programs: regular Unemployment Compensation (UC), Extended Benefits (EB), and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08). The report explains their basic eligibility requirements, benefits, and financing structure.
- U.S. Manufacturing in International Perspective
- This report contains a series of charts and tables that depict the position of manufacturing in the United States relative to other countries according to various metrics.
- Constitutional Analysis of Suspicionless Drug Testing Requirements for the Receipt of Governmental Benefits
- This report gives an overview of the issues related to federal or state laws that condition the initial or ongoing receipt of governmental benefits on passing drug tests. These regulations are vulnerable to constitutional challenge, most often due to issues of personal privacy and Fourth Amendment protections against "unreasonable searches."
- The Federal Minimum Wage: In Brief
- This report discusses the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)that have been amended numerous times since 1938, typically for the purpose of expanding coverage or raising the wage rate.
- Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Federal Civil Service Annuities
- This report discusses the Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are based on the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). All CSRS retirees and survivors receive COLAs. Under FERS, however, non-disabled retirees under age 62 do not receive COLAs. This report discusses cost-of-living adjustments for government retirees, as well as related legislation.
- Small Business Administration HUBZone Program
- This report examines arguments both for and against targeting assistance to geographic areas with specified characteristics, such as low income, high poverty, or high unemployment, as opposed to providing assistance to people or businesses with specified characteristics. It then assesses the arguments both for and against the continuation of the HUBZone program
- Child Labor in America: History, Policy, and Legislative Issues
- This report examines the historical issue of child labor in America and summarizes legislation that has been introduced from the 108th Congress to the 113th Congress.
- Pay Equity: Legislative and Legal Developments
- This report discusses pay equity litigation, including Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes, a case in which the Supreme Court rejected class action status for current and former female Wal-Mart employees who allege that the company has engaged in pay discrimination.
- The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA): Union Representation Procedures and Dispute Resolution
- This report begins with a brief overview of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and describes the basic procedures that employees and employers must follow during a unionizing campaign. The report explains different types of mediation and arbitration that can be used to resolve bargaining disputes. The report describes the jurisdictional standards that an employer must meet before the NLRB will exert jurisdiction over a question of union representation (e.g., for a small business).
- Unemployment Insurance: Programs and Benefits
- This report describes three kinds of unemployment benefit programs: regular Unemployment Compensation (UC), Extended Benefits (EB), and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) . The report explains their basic eligibility requirements, benefits, and financing structure.
- Social Security: Cost-of-Living Adjustments
- This report discusses the issues surrounding Social Security recipients that usually receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
- Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress
- Report that explores current foreign policy issues regarding U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the interrelationship among existing polices, and the historical and current role of Congress in such efforts.
- Immigration of Foreign Nationals with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Degrees
- Report regarding renewed Congressional interest in facilitating the immigration of foreign professional workers in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields.
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
- Report that discusses the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act in brief, especially as related to Congress's renewed interest in the Act due to the current financial crises and recession.
- The National Labor Relations Act: Background and Selected Topics
- Report that discusses the National Labor Relations Act, the coverage it provides, unfair labor practices that the act prohibits, pre-election communications with employees, and several legal cases regarding the Act.
- Unemployment Compensation (UC): Eligibility for Students Under State and Federal Laws
- Report that describes the state variations student disqualification from Unemployment Compensation benefits while they attend school.
- Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress
- Report concerning Congressional attention on the domestic sex trafficking of children.
- The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA): Workers' Compensation for Federal Employees
- Report concerning the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), its legislative history, a program overview, and issues regarding FECA's generous benefits.
- Inflation and the Real Minimum Wage: A Fact Sheet
- Report that discusses the federal minimum wage which is not indexed to the price level.
- Delay in Implementation of Potential Employer Penalties Under ACA
- The report provides background information regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It discusses the implications for Premium Credit Eligibility and Individual Mandate.
- Agricultural Guest Workers: Legislative Activity in the 113th Congress
- This report discusses the foreign temporary workers, also known as guest workers, that have long performed legal agricultural labor in the United States through different temporary worker programs.
- Immigration-Related Worksite Enforcement: Performance Measures
- This report discusses the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responsibilities in regard to immigration-related worksite enforcement, or enforcement of the prohibitions on unauthorized employment in Section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA §274A provisions, sometimes referred to as employer sanctions, make it unlawful for an employer to knowingly hire, recruit or refer for a fee, or continue to employ an alien who is not authorized to be so employed. This report looks at enforcement measures of this act.
- Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
- Report that contains information on how to ascertain if an individual is eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits.
- Military Base Closures: Socioeconomic Impacts
- This report explores the potential economic impact of military closures on communities, especially rural communities, which are more heavily affected by such closures and suffer from slower economic recovery times in such instances.
- Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Report that looks at instances of trafficking in persons (TIP) in Latin America. It looks at current legislation in the U.S. to combat this problem.
- Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Report that describes the nature and scope of the problem of trafficking in persons in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Unemployment Insurance: Programs and Benefits
- This report describes three kinds of unemployment benefit programs: regular Unemployment Compensation (UC), Extended Benefits (EB), and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) . The report explains their basic eligibility requirements, benefits, and financing structure.
- Whistleblower Protections Under Federal Law: An Overview
- This report provides an overview of key aspects of the 18 selected federal statutes applicable to individuals in certain private-sector industries. It focuses on the protections provided to employees who believe they have been subject to retaliation, rather than on how or where alleged misconduct should be disclosed. In addition, the report also includes an overview of the Whistleblower Protection Act. While state law may also provide whistleblower protections for employees, this report focuses only on the aforementioned federal statutory provisions.
- Unemployment Insurance: Programs and Benefits
- This report describes three kinds of unemployment benefit programs: regular Unemployment Compensation (UC), Extended Benefits (EB), and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) . The report explains their basic eligibility requirements, benefits, and financing structure.
- Emergency Response: Civil Liability of Volunteer Health Professionals
- This report discusses the patchwork of federal and state laws that operate to protect volunteers, which can include volunteer health professionals (VHPs), and those laws that trigger liability protection only for VHPs — with a focus on some of the midwestern states in addition to the Gulf region.
- Job Growth During the Recovery
- This report analyzes employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from December 2007 to September 2012, including characteristics of job loss and gain within several industries.
- Unemployment: Issues in the 112th Congress
- This report briefly reviews the situation in the 2012 labor market, expands on the policy steps taken to date, and analyzes policy issues that typically arise during consideration of stimulus legislation. Three policy issues are examined: whether to take additional measures to increase jobs, what measures might be most effective, and how job creation proposals should be financed.
- Antipoverty Effects of Unemployment Insurance
- This report examines the antipoverty effects of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits during the past recession and the economic recovery. It includes estimates of the effects on the poverty rate for the unemployed, for those receiving UI, and for families that report at least one family member receiving UI. It also estimates how much of reported UI benefits went directly to decreasing family poverty levels. This report's analysis shows that UI benefits appear to reduce the prevalence of poverty significantly among the population that receives them.
- Trafficking in Persons: International Dimensions and Foreign Policy Issues for Congress
- This report explores current foreign policy issues confronting U.S. efforts to combat human trafficking, the interrelationship among existing polices, and the historical and current role of Congress in such efforts. The 112th Congress has introduced and taken action on several bills related to human trafficking. Given recent challenges in balancing budget priorities, the 112th Congress may choose to consider certain aspects of this issue further, including the effectiveness of international anti-trafficking projects, interagency coordination mechanisms, and the monitoring and enforcement of anti-trafficking regulations, particularly as they relate to the activities of U.S. government contractors and subcontractors operating overseas.
- Extending Unemployment Compensation Benefits During Recessions
- This report describes the history of temporary federal extensions to unemployment benefits from 1980 to the present. It has five sections which discuss: [1] background information on unemployment compensation (UC) benefits, [2] a definition of a recession and the process of declaring a recession, [3] a summary of the legislative history of federal extensions of unemployment benefits, [4] figures examining the statistics of recessions, and [5] previous methods for financing temporary recession programs.
- Extending Unemployment Compensation Benefits During Recessions
- This report describes the history of temporary federal extensions to unemployment benefits from 1980 to the present. It has five sections which discuss: [1] background information on unemployment compensation (UC) benefits, [2] a definition of a recession and the process of declaring a recession, [3] a summary of the legislative history of federal extensions of unemployment benefits, [4] figures examining the statistics of recessions, and [5] previous methods for financing temporary recession programs.
- The Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF): State Insolvency and Federal Loans to States
- This report summarizes how insolvent states may borrow funds from the federal account within the Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF) to meet their unemployment compensation (UC) benefit obligations.