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How Much Slack Remains in the Labor Market?

Description: The amount of "slack" in the labor market--jobless or underemployed workers--has consequences for the appropriate stance of monetary policy, the future path of the budget deficit, and counter-cyclical spending on programs such as unemployment insurance. This report briefly examines this concept in the context of the current economy.
Date: August 5, 2016
Creator: Labonte, Marc & Stupak, Jeffrey M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Buy American Act--Preferences for "Domestic" Supplies: In Brief

Description: 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 act attempts to protect U.S. businesses and labor by restricting the acquisition and use of end products or construction materials that are not "domestic."
Date: April 26, 2016
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Manufacturing in International Perspective

Description: 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. Understanding which trends in manufacturing reflect factors that may be unique to the United States and which are related to broader changes in technology or consumer preferences may be helpful in formulating policies intended to aid firms or workers engaged in manufacturin… more
Date: April 26, 2016
Creator: Levinson, Marc
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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OSHA State Plans: In Brief, with Examples from California and Arizona

Description: This report examines various state plans under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act), which authorizes states to establish their own occupational safety and health plans and preempt standards established and enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA must approve state plans if they are "at least as effective" as OSHA's standards and enforcement. The report provides specific examples from California and Arizona
Date: June 3, 2016
Creator: Szymendera, Scott D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Declining Dynamism in the U.S. Labor Market

Description: This report discusses certain measures of the U.S. labor market "dynamism" or "fluidity"--including job reallocation, worker churn, and geographic labor mobility-- which some observers note have been declining for the past 20 years or more.
Date: June 15, 2016
Creator: Perkins, David W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Description: This report contains information on how to ascertain if an individual is eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits, which are available only to those individuals who have become unemployed as a direct result of a declared major disaster. DUA is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is administered by the Department of Labor (DOL) through each state's UC agency.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pay Equity: Legislative and Legal Developments

Description: This report begins by presenting data on earnings for male and female workers and by discussing explanations that have been offered for the differences in earnings. It next discusses the major laws directed at eliminating sex-based wage discrimination as well as relevant federal court cases. The report closes with a description of pay equity legislation that has been considered or enacted by Congress in recent years.
Date: May 20, 2016
Creator: Feder, Jody & Collins, Benjamin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA): Workers' Compensation for Federal Employees

Description: 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.
Date: March 18, 2016
Creator: Szymendera, Scott D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Unemployment Insurance: Legislative Issues in the 114th Congress

Description: The 114th Congress continues to consider many issues related to unemployment insurance (UI) programs: Unemployment Compensation (UC), the temporary, now-expired Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08), and Extended Benefits (EB). This report gives a brief overview of the UI programs that may provide benefits to eligible unemployed workers, and briefly summarizes the President's budget proposal for FY2017.
Date: March 22, 2016
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M. & Isaacs, Katelin P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State Minimum Wages: An Overview

Description: 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.
Date: February 3, 2016
Creator: Bradley, David H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Overview of Labor Enforcement Issues in Free Trade Agreements

Description: This report discusses free trade agreements (FTAs) that have enforceable labor provisions, grouped into four model types. It outlines the provisions for each and identifies two types of labor enforcement issues: (1) those that relate to the FTA provisions themselves, including their definitions and their enforceability, and (2) those that relate to executive branch responsibilities, such as resource availability and determining dispute settlement case priorities. This report does not address ot… more
Date: February 22, 2016
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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What Does the Gig Economy Mean for Workers?

Description: This report provides an overview of the gig economy -- i.e., the collection of markets that match providers to consumers on a gig (or job) basis in support of on-demand commerce (e.g., Uber, TaskRabbit) -- and identifies legal and policy questions relevant to its workforce.
Date: February 5, 2016
Creator: Donovan, Sarah A.; Bradley, David H. & Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Professional, Managerial, and Skilled Foreign Workers: Policy and Trends

Description: This report opens with an overview of the policy issues that pertain to foreign workers. It follows with a summary of each of the various visa categories available for temporary professional, managerial, and skilled foreign workers, as well as an analysis of the trends seen with the use of these various visas over the past two decades. This workforce is seen by many as a catalyst of U.S. global economic competitiveness. The challenge central to the policy debate is facilitating the migration of… more
Date: January 13, 2016
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Apprenticeship in the United States: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report answers frequently asked questions about apprenticeship and the federal activities that support this training approach. Apprenticeship is a job training strategy that combines on-the-job training with related instruction, typically provided in a classroom setting.
Date: January 29, 2016
Creator: Collins, Benjamin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2014 Appropriations

Description: 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.
Date: October 15, 2014
Creator: Lynch, Karen E.; Cornell, Ada S.; Szymendera, Scott D; McCallion, Gail & Bradley, David H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Numerical Limits on Employment-Based Immigration: Analysis of the Per-Country Ceilings

Description: The report opens with brief explanations of the employment-based preference categories and the per-country ceilings governing annual admissions of LPRs. The focus is on the major employment-based preference categories. The report continues with a statistical analysis of the pending caseload of approved employment-based LPR petitions.
Date: October 11, 2011
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Small Business: Access to Capital and Job Creation

Description: The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) authorization is due to expire on September 30, 2010. The SBA administers several programs to support small businesses, including loan guarantees to help small businesses gain access to capital. This report addresses a core issue facing Congress during the SBA’s reauthorization process: what, if any, additional action should the federal government take to enhance small business access to capital?
Date: September 1, 2010
Creator: Dilger, Robert J. & Gonzales, Oscar R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Programs Available to Unemployed Workers

Description: There are four groups of federal programs that target unemployed workers: unemployment insurance programs, health care assistance, job search assistance, and training. This report describes these programs, how they interact with each other, and their funding.
Date: December 30, 2010
Creator: Isaacs, Katelin P.; Bradley, David H.; Mulvey, Janemarie & Topoleski, John J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration of Foreign Workers: Labor Market Tests and Protections

Description: This report discusses §1611, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which requires companies receiving Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding to comply with the more rigorous labor market rules of H-1B dependent companies if they hire foreign workers on H-1B visas.
Date: August 27, 2010
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Labor Relations Statutes: An Overview

Description: 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.
Date: September 5, 2014
Creator: Mayer, Gerald; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Collins, Benjamin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (L-HHS-ED): FY2014 Appropriations

Description: 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.
Date: September 20, 2013
Creator: Lynch, Karen E.; Corby-Edwards, Amalia K.; Szymendera, Scott D; McCallion, Gail; Bradley, David H. & Smith, Pamela W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Taxation of Unemployment Benefits

Description: 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.
Date: March 6, 2014
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Labor Issues

Description: This report examines three labor issues and arguments related to the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (CFTA; H.R. 5724 and S. 2830): violence against trade unionists; impunity (accountability for or punishment of the perpetrators); and worker rights protections for Colombians.
Date: January 4, 2012
Creator: Bolle, Mary Jane
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Description: 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 provid… more
Date: November 7, 2014
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Lunder, Erika K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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