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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 statutory provisions for each statute.
Unionism and Collective Bargaining for Agricultural Workers: A Selective Bibliography
This report provides a bibliography of resources related to unions for agricultural cultural workers and their activities.
Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker Programs
This report discusses guest worker programs. The United States has two main programs for temporarily importing low-skilled workers, or guest workers. Agricultural guest workers enter through the H-2A visa program, and other guest workers enter through the H-2B visa program.
Federal Regulation of Working Hours: The Ballenger and Ashcroft Proposals (H.R. 1 and S. 4)
During the 104 Congress, legislation was considered that would have altered the 40-hour workweek and overtime pay requirements for private sector workers. In somewhat altered form, such legislation [H.R. 1 (Ballenger) and S. 4 (Ashcroft)] has been reintroduced in the 105 Congress. This report, very briefly, summarizes the issues presented by H.R. 1 and S. 4.
Minimum Wage, Overtime Pay, and Child Labor: An Inventory of Proposals in the 109th Congress to Amend the Fair Labor Standards Act
This report discusses potential changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act that may occur during the 109th Congress.
Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends
No Description Available.
Immigration: Legislative Issues on Nonimmigrant Professional Specialty (H-1B) Workers
The economic prosperity of the 1990s fueled a drive to increase the levels of employment-based immigration. The nation enjoyed its longest economic expansion, and the unemployment rate had remained low. Both the Congress and the Federal Reserve Board then expressed concern that a scarcity of labor could curtail the pace of economic growth. A primary legislative response was to increase the supply of foreign temporary professional workers through FY2003. The 108th Congress now weighs whether to extend the increases or let the levels revert to the statutory limit.
State and Local Restrictions on Employing Unauthorized Aliens
This report discusses state and local restrictions upon employing unauthorized aliens in light of the May 26, 2011, decision by the Supreme Court in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. Whiting.
Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean
This report discusses the issue of trafficking in persons (TIP) in Latin America, giving background information and examining possible policy solutions.
The Fair Labor Standards Act: Minimum Wage in the 109th Congress
No Description Available.
The Fair Labor Standards Act: Minimum Wage in the 108th Congress
No Description Available.
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.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC): A Fact Sheet
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal government agency established in 1974 by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA; P.L. 93-406). It was created to protect the pensions of participants and beneficiaries covered by private sector, defined benefit (DB) plans. The PBGC is chaired by the Secretary of Labor, with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce serving as board members. In the 112th Congress, an amendment offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to S. 1813, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), contains provisions that would address the use of excess defined benefit pension plan assets and the interest rates that defined benefit plans use to value plan liabilities.
Unauthorized Aliens’ Access to Federal Benefits: Policy and Issues
The degree to which unauthorized resident aliens should be accorded certain rights and privileges as a result of their residence in the United States, along with the duties owed by such aliens given their presence, remains the subject of debate in Congress. Included among the specific policy areas that spark controversy are due process rights, tax liabilities, military service, eligibility for federal assistance, educational opportunities, and pathways to citizenship. This report focuses on the policy and legislative debate surrounding unauthorized aliens’ access to federal benefits.
Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Federal Civil Service Annuities
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.
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.
The Haitian Economy and the HOPE Act
This report discusses the HOPE Act as it relates to the Haitian economy and U.S. trade policy. In providing preferential access to Haitian apparel imports, the HOPE Act, as amended, gives Haitian firms a competitive (price) advantage over other foreign producers who must pay U.S. duties on apparel exports made from yarns and fabrics supplied by non-regional (e.g., Asian) producers.
Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends
This report begins by describing the change in the age distribution of the U.S. population that will occur between 2010 and 2030 and by summarizing the historical data on the labor force participation of older workers. This discussion is followed by an analysis of data from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) on employment and receipt of pension income among persons aged 55 and older.
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.
Social Security: The Cost-of-Living Adjustment in January 2009
The 5.8% COLA payable in January 2009 was triggered by the rise in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008. This COLA triggers identical percentage increases in Supplemental Security Income (SSI), veterans' pensions, and railroad retirement benefits, and causes other changes in the Social Security program. Although COLAs under the federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the federal military retirement program are not triggered by the Social Security COLA, these programs use the same measuring period and formula for computing their COLAs. Their recipients will also receive a 5.8% COLA in January 2009.
Prevailing Wage Requirements and the Emergency Suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act
No Description Available.
Coal Excise Tax Refunds: United States v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co.
In 1998, a U.S. district court held that the imposition of the coal excise tax, or black lung excise tax, on coal destined for export was unconstitutional. The process of refunding the tax has been controversial. This is because some coal producers and exporters have attempted to bypass the limitations in the Internal Revenue Code's refund scheme for bringing suit under the Export Clause in the Court of Federal Claims, seeking damages from the United States in the amount of coal excise taxes paid. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals held the court had jurisdiction under the Tucker Act to hear the suits and allowed them as an alternative to the Code's refund process. However, in a 2008 decision, United States v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co., the Supreme Court unanimously held that taxpayers must comply with the Code's administrative refund process before bringing suit. Meanwhile, H.R. 1762 and S. 373 would provide an alternative method for taxpayers to receive coal excise tax refunds.
DOD's National Security Personnel System: Statute, Regulations, and Implementation Plans
This report discusses each of the provisions in Title XI of P.L. 108-136 and plans to implement the law. Title XI of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2004, P.L. 108-136, includes provisions on a National Security Personnel System (NSPS) for the Department of Defense (DOD) and provisions on personnel management that are applicable government-wide. The law was enacted on November 24, 2003.
Government Spending on Health Care Benefits and Programs: A Data Brief
In a country where health spending accounts for more than 16% of gross domestic product (GDP), health care costs and spending are often described as a problem for consumers and their families; for employers that provide (or seek to provide) health benefits; and for government, which finances a mix of health care services, health research and training, and health safety programs. To describe government spending on health care benefits and programs, this report presents data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings: Potential Economic Effects of Meeting Deficit Targets
This report discusses the reduction of federal budget deficit and the effect on the rise of interest rates.
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