Congressional Research Service Reports - 771 Matching Results
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- Federal Reserve: Dividends Paid to Commercial Banks
- This report briefly provides background on dividends paid to banks by the Federal Reserve (Fed), which would be reduced in the Senate-passed highway trust fund bill (H.R. 22) as a budgetary offset.
- The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the One-Stop Delivery System
- This report provides details of WIOA Title I state formula program structure, services, allotment formulas, and performance accountability, a program overview for national grant programs, and a brief overview of the Employment Service (ES), which is authorized by separate legislation but is an integral part of the One-Stop system created by WIOA.
- 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. The report then describes the evolution of federal policies on mentoring since the early 1990s. The report provides an overview of the federal mentoring initiatives that are currently funded.
- U.S. Postal Service Workforce Size and Employment Categories, FY1995-FY2014
- This report provides data from the past 20 years on the size and composition of the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS's) workforce. Reforms to the size and composition of the workforce have been an integral part of USPS's strategy to reduce costs and regain financial solvency, particularly between FY2007 and FY2014.
- Federal Affirmative Action Law: A Brief History
- This report provides a brief history of federal affirmative action law, including legal and political developments at the federal, state, and local levels. It describes the origins, affirmative action in public education, minority contracting, and recent developments as of 2015.
- 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) and government retirees, as well as related legislation.
- Department of Labor’s 2015 Proposed Fiduciary Rule: Background and Issues
- No Description Available.
- The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA): Workers' Compensation for Federal Employees
- This report focuses on several key policy issues facing the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program, including the disproportionate share of claims and program costs attributed to postal workers, the payment of FECA benefits after retirement age, the overall level of FECA disability benefits as compared with those offered by the states, and the administration of the FECA program.
- Vulnerable Youth: Employment and Job Training Programs
- This report provides an overview of federal employment programs for vulnerable young people. It begins with a discussion of the current challenges in preparing all youth today for the workforce. The report then provides a chronology of job training and employment programs for at-risk youth that began in the 1930s and were expanded or modified from the 1960s through the 1990s. It goes on to discusses the four youth programs authorized under WIOA, and draws comparisons between these programs.
- The International Labor Organization (ILO): Background in Brief
- This report discusses the International Labor Organization (ILO), and describes the ILO's mission, structure, and functions; presents case studies on how the ILO offers assistance to countries in promoting worker rights; and identifies issues for Congress.
- Apprenticeship in the United States: Frequently Asked Questions
- This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) report focuses on the Registered Apprenticeship system, through which the U.S. Department of Labor (or a recognized state apprenticeship agency) certifies a program as meeting certain federal requirements related to duration, intensity, and benefit to the apprentice. The report also discusses federal programs for which supporting apprenticeship activities is an allowable, but not required, use of funds.
- 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. 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.
- Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean
- This report describes the nature and scope of the problem of human trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean, including U.S. efforts to deal with trafficking in persons in the region, as well as the successes and failures of some recent country and regional antitrafficking efforts. The report concludes by raising issues that may be helpful for the 113th Congress to consider as it continues to address human trafficking as part of its authorization, appropriations, and oversight activities.
- Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order: Questions and Answers
- No Description Available.
- Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Order: Answers to Questions
- This report discusses Executive Order 13673, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, which has the stated intent of increasing “efficiency and cost savings” by ensuring that executive branch procurement contractors understand and comply with labor laws.
- Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
- This report contains information on how to ascertain if an individual is eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits.
- An Overview of the Employment-Population Ratio
- This report provides an overview of the employment-population ratio. It opens with a discussion of its value as a labor market indicator, noting its key features and limitations. This is followed by an examination of long-term and recent trends. The contribution of demographic and economic factors to recent patterns is explored at the close of the report.
- Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- Recent reports that certain entities continued to receive federal government contracts after reincorporating overseas have prompted questions about current and proposed restrictions on contracting with “inverted domestic corporations.” These questions are shaped, in part, by the broader debate over whether such corporations are to be seen as “deserters,” who change their corporate citizenship to avoid paying U.S. taxes, or as evidencing systemic problems in the U.S. tax code. This report provides the answers to 14 frequently asked questions regarding the current restrictions on contracting with inverted domestic corporations, proposed amendments thereto, and the relationship between prohibitions upon contracting with inverted domestic corporations and other provisions of law that restrict dealings with “foreign” contractors.
- Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers: Reauthorization Proposals in the 114th Congress, In Brief
- This report is designed to provide assistance in considering Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers reauthorization efforts in the 114th Congress. It begins with background information on TAA and a summary of recent legislation. It then presents a table that compares a recent reauthorization proposal with provisions in current and prior law.
- Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2015 Appropriations
- This report provides an overview of actions taken by Congress and the President to provide FY2015 appropriations for the accounts funded by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
- U.S. Manufacturing in International Perspective
- This report is designed to inform the debate over the health of U.S. manufacturing through a series of charts and tables that depict the position of 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 provides an overview of the Fourth Amendment in order to effectively evaluate the constitutionality of laws requiring suspicionless drug tests to receive governmental benefits. It then reviews five Supreme Court decisions that have evaluated these programs. The report concludes with a synthesis of the various factors that likely will be important to a future court's assessment of the constitutionality of these laws.
- Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean
- This report describes the nature and scope of the problem of human trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean, including U.S. efforts to deal with trafficking in persons in the region, as well as the successes and failures of some recent country and regional antitrafficking efforts. The report concludes by raising issues that may be helpful for the 113th Congress to consider as it continues to address human trafficking as part of its authorization, appropriations, and oversight activities.
- 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.
- Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- This report provides the answers to 14 frequently asked questions regarding the current restrictions on contracting with inverted domestic corporations; certain amendments thereto proposed, but not enacted, in the 113th Congress; and the relationship between the prohibitions upon contracting with inverted domestic corporations and other provisions of law that restrict dealings with "foreign" contractors.
- Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of sex trafficking of children in the United States. It first conceptualizes the issue, discussing the victims and perpetrators involved. It then outlines the federal response to investigating and prosecuting perpetrators as well as providing services to victims. The report concludes with a discussion of select issues concerning the federal response to sex trafficking of minors in the United States.
- 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.
- The Federal Minimum Wage: In Brief
- This report discusses the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is the federal legislation that establishes the minumem hourly wage that ust be paid to all covered workers.
- The Federal Minimum Wage: In Brief
- No Description Available.
- The Workforce Investment Act and the One-Stop Delivery System
- This report provides details of WIA Title I state formula program structure, services, allocation formulas, and performance accountability. In addition, it provides a program overview for national grant programs. It also provides brief overviews of Titles II and IV. Title III of WIA amends the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, which establishes the Employment Service (ES), to make the ES an integral part of the One-Stop system created by WIA. Because the ES is a central part of the One-Stop system, it is discussed briefly in this report even though it is authorized by separate legislation (Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933).
- State Minimum Wages: An Overview
- This report begins with a brief discussion of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage coverage. It then provides a summary of state minimum wage laws, followed by an examination of rates and mechanisms of adjustments in states with minimum wage levels above the FLSA rate. The report also discusses the interaction of federal and state minimum wages over time.
- Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- Recent reports that certain entities continued to receive federal government contracts after reincorporating overseas have prompted questions about current and proposed restrictions on contracting with “inverted domestic corporations.” These questions are shaped, in part, by the broader debate over whether such corporations are to be seen as “deserters,” who change their corporate citizenship to avoid paying U.S. taxes, or as evidencing systemic problems in the U.S. tax code. This report provides the answers to 14 frequently asked questions regarding the current restrictions on contracting with inverted domestic corporations, proposed amendments thereto, and the relationship between prohibitions upon contracting with inverted domestic corporations and other provisions of law that restrict dealings with “foreign” contractors.
- Social Security: Cost-of-Living Adjustments
- To compensate for the effects of inflation, Social Security recipients usually receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Benefits will be increased by 1.7% in 2015, following an increase of 1.5% in 2014. This report discusses how the COLA is determined.
- Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2014 Appropriations
- This report provides an overview of actions taken by Congress to provide FY2014 appropriations for the accounts funded by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
- U.S. Postal Service Workforce Size and Employment Categories, FY1994-FY2013
- This report provides data from the past 20 years on the size of the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS's) workforce. Further, this report examines trends in its workforce composition, particularly focusing on shifts in the ratio between career and non-career employment.
- Extending Unemployment Compensation Benefits During Recessions
- This report describes the history of temporary federal extensions to unemployment benefits from 1980 to the present. Among these extensions is the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program created by P.L. 110-252.
- Temporary Professional, Managerial, and Skilled Foreign Workers: Legislation in the 113th Congress
- This report provides legislative analyses of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744), as passed by the Senate, and the Supplying Knowledgebased Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas Act (SKILLS Visa Act, H.R. 2131), as ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Unauthorized Aliens' Access to Federal Benefits: Policy and Issues
- This report focuses on the policy and legislative debate surrounding unauthorized aliens' access to federal benefits. The number of foreign-born people residing in the United States (40.7 million) is at the highest level in our history and, as a portion of the U.S. population, has reached a percentage (13%) not seen since the early 20th century.1 Of the foreign-born residents in the United States, approximately one-third are speculated to be unauthorized residents (often characterized as illegal aliens).
- Federal Labor Relations Statutes: An Overview
- This report provides a brief history, including major amendments, of each of the three statutes. The discussion of each law begins with an overview of the statute and then discusses in more detail the key statutory provisions of the law and how the law is administered and enforced.
- Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08): Status of Benefits Prior to Expiration
- This report summarizes the structure of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) benefits available prior to program expiration at the end of calendar year 2013 and provides the legislative history of the EUC08 program.
- Compensated Work Sharing Arrangements (Short-Time Compensation) as an Alternative to Layoffs
- This report describes short-term compensation (STC) as a beneficial alternative to layoffs. It also describes the status of STC (or work sharing) in the U.S., particularly as it varies from state to state.
- Federal Holidays: Evolution and Current Practices
- This report discusses the creation of federal holidays, how holidays affect employee pay, and recent holiday legislation.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Trend in Long-Term Unemployment and Characteristics of Workers Unemployed for Two Years or More
- This report discusses trends in long term unemployment and characteristics such as gender, age, education, marital status of the very long-term for the unemployed.
- Selected Characteristics of Private and Public Sector Workers
- This report begins with an analysis of the trends in employment in the private and public sectors. The public sector is separated into employees of the federal government, state governments, and local governments. Next, the report analyzes selected characteristics of private and public sector workers.
- Taxation of Unemployment Benefits
- Unemployment compensation (UC) benefits have been fully subject to the federal income tax since the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-514). Individuals who receive UC benefits during a year may elect to have the federal (and in some cases state) income tax withheld from their benefits. This report provides an overview of the taxation of UC benefits and legislation related to taxing UC benefits.