Federal Employees’ Retirement System: Summary of Recent Trends

This report describes recent trends in the characteristics of annuitants and current employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) as well as the financial status of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF)

After the Social Crisis: The Transformation of Employment Relations at France Télécom

This article contributes to debates on the conditions for strengthening collective worker voice in financialized organizations. It examines change in employment relations at France Télécom/Orange (FT) following a social crisis associated with employee suicides in 2007-2009. FT’s labor unions developed creative approaches to study and publicize the negative effects of employment restructuring on workers’ psychosocial health. The common framing they developed became a source of ‘communicative power’, used to influence how the suicides were interpreted both within the firm and in the media. This power was deployed to encourage substantive social dialogue that institutionalized worker participation in management decision-making. Findings demonstrate the potentially transformative role of discursive strategies that assert the legitimacy of worker well-being as both a measure of and input to organizational performance

Return to Work Plan for COVID19

[Excerpt] The purpose of this document is to describe the nature of arrangements for staff returning to work after COVID19. Throughout the last six months, we have experienced significant events, which have brought unplanned changes in many areas of life. Many people have experienced the quick transition to work from home. This experience of working from home to assist the community ‘flatten the curve’, has presented opportunities and challenges for all. These experiences are important to reflect upon, as they give insights into our ability to adapt to unprecedented, challenging and fast-moving situations and recognise new skills we have practiced in response to these changes

Military Survivor Benefit Plan: Background and Issues for Congress

[Excerpt] This report describes the categories of beneficiaries eligible for survivor benefits under the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), the formulas used in computing the income level (including the integration of SBP benefits with other federal benefits), and the costs of SBP participation incurred by the retiree and/or the beneficiary. While this report focuses primarily on SBP, survivors of military members may be eligible for other benefits, including life insurance, TRICARE health benefits, Annuity for Certain Military Surviving Spouses (ACMSS), the Minimum Income Widow Annuity, Department of Defense (DOD) death gratuity, commissary and exchange privileges, and other federal benefits, such as Social Security

Making Call Center Jobs Better: The Relationship between Management Practices and Worker Stress

The work of a call center agent has been described as one of the ten most stressful jobs in the global economy (Holdsworth and Cartwright 2003). Call centers are known for their heavy use of electronic monitoring, tightly controlled schedules and break times, and intense performance pressure. Past research has shown that these practices contribute to high levels of employee stress, anxiety, and burnout (Holman and Fernie 2000; Deery et al. 2002; Holman 2002). Worker stress also creates problems for companies and their customers. Managers are affected by staffing challenges associated with employee turnover and absenteeism. Customers are routinely routed between employees who have been narrowly trained to answer specialized questions. This report summarizes research findings from a survey administered to 2100 call center workers represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with the aim of investigating the causes and consequences of well-being and stress in these workplaces. We ask the following questions: • What kinds of stress are experienced by call center workers, and how high are stress rates across different measures? • What management practices and workplace factors are associated with lower rates of worker stress? • How does worker stress relate to job satisfaction, absenteeism, and turnover intentions? • What explains differences in the practices and outcomes associated with high rates of worker stress across call centers? The call center workers we surveyed report high levels of stress across a range of measures, including emotional strain, sleep difficulties, use of anxiety medication, and repetitive stress injuries. Workers experiencing higher stress were also more likely to be absent, were less satisfied with their jobs, and more likely to want to quit. However, call centers do not have to be stressful workplaces that damage workers’ health. Good management practices that invest in skills, give workers more control over how they talk with customers, and use monitoring information to develop rather than discipline workers all can improve the workplace climate and reduce stress and burnout. Experience with outsourcing and fears of future outsourcing were also correlated with stress: suggesting that commitments to job security and in-sourcing work may also contribute to improved worker well-being

The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA): Workers’ Compensation for Federal Employees

[Excerpt] The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) is the workers’ compensation system for federal employees. Every civilian employee of the federal government, including employees of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, is covered by FECA, as are several other groups, including federal jurors and Peace Corps volunteers

Serving Justice-Involved Youth with Disabilities

Disability is an important intersectional identity in juvenile justice trends. Youth with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and mental health disabilities are more likely to be involved in the juvenile justice system or multiple systems, and intersecting identities can increase the risk of justice involvement, particularly when disability overlaps with other identities associated with higher rates of discipline or justice involvement, such as race and lower socioeconomic status. This points to the importance of practitioners being aware of personal and systemic barriers that may influence youths’ experiences and outcomes related to key transition points. Youth with disabilities often require more intense and individualized services during and after justice involvement, and overall have poor post-release education and employment outcomes. Many youth experience challenges in obtaining resources and navigating multiple systems, necessitating additional transition support as they pursue life outcomes. Locating and reaching out to justice-involved youth with disabilities served by multiple systems is a known challenge. Success in this area requires strong collaborations between state and local government agencies, and the community partners and stakeholders who support youth upon release. In this policy brief, the authors discuss barriers and evidence-based practices in locating, serving, and supporting justice-involved youth with disabilities, focusing on efforts to re-engage youth with their former setting (school, home, and community), while also preparing them for future education, employment, independent living, and reducing the risk of recidivism through appropriate resources, services, and supports

Empowering Neurodiverse Populations for Employment through Inclusion AI and Innovation Science (B-6970) (Raise C-Access Phase 1 Grant Final Report

The unemployment and underemployment of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been well documented, and traditional approaches to the interview process identified as one area that poses multiple barriers that disadvantage qualified candidates with autism. This report summarizes research conducted by researchers from the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University, in partnership with the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, examined employment experiences from the perspective of Autistic people, employers, service providers, and educational institution representatives who work with people with autism. The goal of the research is to explore and depict insights into factors that influence the interview process and job success. This study is part of a series of studies that is part of an NSF C-Accel study to Vanderbilt University entitled Empowering Neurodiverse Populations for Employment. The current study included semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with employers with autism affirmative hiring programs, community employment service providers, and educational representatives (career counselors) who have experience of hiring and working with individuals with ASD people on employment, as well as ASD people. A total of 23 individuals participated in the study through group or individual interviews. Content analysis, triangulation, inter-rater tests were performed to captures the themes and agreement of the findings. The findings suggest that employers, Autistic individuals, and service providers are consistent in experiencing challenges and opportunities that influence the interview and employment experience of Autistic individuals, although from different perspectives. Particularly, ASD people have interview preparation and support, and that employers demonstrate knowledge of neurodiversity and willingness to alter the traditional interview process aids the interview and job success. Employers that we interviewed were all involved in autism hiring programs. Therefore, their responses often highlight the utilization of strategies that minimize challenges that are often reported by Autistic individuals during interviews. While these organizations are more cognizant of the needs of Autistic applicants/employees, the employers\u27 comments suggest that many managers continue to need support even after autism awareness training. Their comments also underline a potential issue; that is, human resource (HR) professionals or managers who know the needs of Autistic applicants may not always be present to support these applicants or to influence the hiring decision

Worker Centers: Labor Policy as a Carrot, not a Stick

Worker centers empower communities of workers that are challenging for labor unions to organize. This includes immigrant workers and other vulnerable workers in high turnover jobs. These centers often organize workers that fall within the definition of “employee” under the Depression-era laws designed to protect some forms of collective worker activity from employer retaliation. Although employees associated with these centers can benefit from labor law’s carrot, worker centers are not “labor organizations” subject to labor law’s vast reporting requirements and restrictions on associational behavior (labor law’s stick). We use an original study of worker centers’ filings to the Internal Revenue Service to reveal that worker centers are more similar to nonprofits, than labor organizations. Both First Amendment and labor law principles affirm the characterization of worker centers as organizations that are not subject to labor law’s stick. Providing worker centers access to labor law’s carrot, but not its stick, is particularly compelling given that they are operating at a historical moment when income inequality parallels New Deal levels and hostility to worker organizations and workers’ rights is pervasive. Our carrot-but-not-a-stick approach has implications for the vitality of American labor policy. It opens up space for emerging worker centers to expand their efforts to amplify employee voice and improve the working lives of the growing low-wage workforce

Economic Development on Common Ground: Two Bipartisan State Policies for Defunding Low Road Infrastructure

[Excerpt] On the backdrop of civil unrest and the nation’s politically discordant handling of COVID-19, these alarming figures bode poorly for the prospects of overcoming partisan gridlock to pass progressive, High Road legislation. At face value, members of opposing political parties seem too unwilling to cede any ground to their rivals to come together to enact meaningful change. To be sure, lawmaking bodies are even unable to agree that a global pandemic, which has thus far killed over 125,000 Americans and left tens of millions jobless, demands additional government intervention. Nevertheless, there is at least one domain where the two sides of the political divide appear to share common ground. Organizations and authors from right-leaning free market think tanks like the Mercatus Center to the left-leaning Good Jobs First have made the case to end targeted economic development subsidies and tax incentives. The next section explores the rationale for this position. From there, the memo highlights two opportunities to reform – and ultimately phase out – economic development incentives in New York State. Both opportunities were introduced to the New York State Assembly in the 2019-20 legislative session. Thus, the legislation already exists and does not need to be drafted anew. The bills are available to be reported out of committee and put to a vote (or, since the session has ended, reintroduced in 2020-21 and then reported out of committee for a full Chamber vote). They accordingly represent near-to medium-term actions that the State legislature can take to wind down and then end a practice that, as detailed below, is roundly derided across the political spectrum. Finally, the memo concludes with an even more immediate policy target: a federal COVID-19 relief package for state and local governments that might help end the “interstate economic development arms race.