On Wednesday, November 17, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee examined state workers’ compensations systems. Workers’ compensation traditionally provides financial assistance and job training to workers injured on the job and aid to the surviving family of a worker killed on the job.

These systems have undergone numerous changes in the past decade as many states have begun strictly limiting workers’ compensation benefits – changes that may be stressing the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. Additionally, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) guide to assessing injured workers has undergone significant changes in its latest edition, which has made consequential changes to injured workers’ evaluation procedure.

The Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing Wednesday to examine H.R. 3721, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act. The legislation would restore civil rights protections for older workers stripped away by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009 decision, Gross v. FBL Financial. In Gross, the Supreme Court overturned well-established precedent – making it harder for older workers facing age discrimination to enforce their rights.

H.R. 3721 corrects the unnecessary lawmaking of the Supreme Court.  H.R. 3721 overturns Gross and restores the law to what it was prior to the decision, by allowing older workers to prove age discrimination by showing that age was a motivating factor in the decisions made by their employer, but not necessarily the sole factor.

Protections against age discrimination are especially important to workers who may be facing layoffs in an uncertain economic climate. The court’s ruling specifically means that victims of age discrimination face a higher legal burden of proof than those alleging race, sex, national origin or religious discrimination.

The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee will hold a field hearing in Berkeley, Calif. exploring the challenges in first contract labor negotiations by examining the difficulty of reaching a first contract agreement in negotiations between the University of California and its post-doctoral scholars’ union.

In November 2008, after three years of organizing, the California Public Employment Relations Board certified the post-doctorial scholars union at the University of California. Despite this, the University of California system and the post-doctoral scholars, represented by the UAW, have been unable to reach a first contract.

The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing Wednesday on a proposal to strengthen protections for workers who blow the whistle on dangerous workplace conditions, and guarantee a voice for families of workers killed, and those who are seriously injured, or become ill on the job.

Among other provisions, the Protecting America’s Workers Act (H.R. 2067) and proposed changes to legislation, would update workplace whistleblower protections by mirroring other modern whistleblower statutes, such as the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The bill would also ensure that victims and their families are kept informed about investigations of fatalities and incidents involving serious injuries or illnesses.

Achieving a healthy work-life balance is a real challenge for many American families. On Thursday, April 22, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor will examine the Work-Life Balance Award Act of 2010 (H.R. 4855). The legislation, authored by subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and committee chairman Rep. George Miller (D-CA), recognizes on an annual basis exemplary employers that provide their employees the ability to achieve a work-life balance through the creation of a Work-Life Balance Award within the Department of Labor.

A bipartisan advisory board representing both private and public employees, labor and family advocates will develop the award’s criteria. The board will be appointed by the Secretary of Labor based on recommendations by Congressional leaders.  Any employer, public or private, of any size may apply for the award. More information on H.R. 4855.

Achieving a healthy work-life balance is a real challenge for many American families. On Tuesday, March 23, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor will examine the Work-Life Balance Award Act of 2010 (H.R. 4855). The legislation, authored by subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and committee chairman Rep. George Miller (D-CA), recognizes on an annual basis exemplary employers that provide their employees the ability to achieve a work-life balance through the creation of a Work-Life Balance Award within the Department of Labor.

A bipartisan advisory board representing both private and public employees, labor and family advocates will develop the award’s criteria. The Board will be appointed by the Secretary of Labor based on recommendations by Congressional leaders.  Any employer, public or private, of any size may apply for the award.

The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing Tuesday, November 17 on how employer paid sick leave policies can help slow the spread of contagious diseases, like the H1N1 flu virus.

At least 50 million American workers currently do not have access to paid sick leave, many in lower-wage industries that have direct contact with the public such as food-service, hospitality industry, schools and health care fields. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that a sick worker will infect one in ten co-workers. As a result, the CDC and other public health officials have advised employers to be flexible when dealing with sick employees and to develop leave policies that will not punish workers for being ill.

On November 3, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, introduced the Emergency Influenza Containment Act (H.R. 3991). The temporary legislation will guarantee up to five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by an employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus.

For more information on the bill, click here.

On Thursday, October 1, the House Education and Labor held a hearing to examine the impact on declining rate of youth employment and strategies to ensure that there are economic opportunities available for young Americans.

While the recession has disproportionately impacted young adults, the employment rate among 16 to 24 year-olds has steadily declined by nearly 20 percent over the past decade to its lowest level since World War II. The consequences of reduced work opportunities among young Americans results in fewer long-term employment prospects, less earnings and a decrease in productivity.

The House Workforce Protections Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Thursday, June 11 to examine proposals for expanding workers’ access to paid family and sick leave. While more than 80 percent of Americans support having paid sick days, the U.S. is the only country among the 22 nations ranked high in economic and human development that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave to workers.

The FIRST Act, H.R. 2339, provides grants to the states to implement and improve their paid family leave programs.  Healthy Families Act, H.R. 2460, mandates that businesses with 15 or more employees provide up to 7 days of paid sick days to their employees.

GAO to announce the results of its investigation into the Labor’s complaint intake and enforcement process

The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine the findings of the Government Accountability Office’s undercover investigation into the Labor Department’s ability to enforce and investigate violations of our nation’s minimum wage, overtime and child labor laws.

The committee held a hearing last July that identified failures by the Bush administration to properly protect workers from the problem of “wage theft” by adopting weak enforcement strategies and reducing funding and staffing levels of the Wage and Hour Division. This agency is responsible for investigating complaints of wage, hour, and child labor violations. For more information on July’s hearing, click here.

The hearing will explore how family-friendly policies, such as grants to support state paid leave programs, paid leave, expansions to the Family and Medical Leave Act, and paid sick days make sound economic sense not only in good times, but during recessionary times as well.

The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Tuesday, July 15 to examine the U.S. Department of Labor's record of enforcing the nation's wage and hour laws. The Government Accountability Office highlighted the results of two separate investigations requested by the chairman of the committee, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), into the Labor Department’s failures to fully investigate and properly address violations of the law.

Seventy years ago last month, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the landmark Fair Labor Standards Act into law. The law has provided generations of Americans with basic rights to minimum wages, overtime pay, and a ban on oppressive child labor. However, critics say that the Bush administration has failed to protect workers from a growing problem of "wage theft" by adopting weak approaches to enforcement and reducing funding and staffing levels of the Wage and Hour Division, the agency responsible for investigating complaints of wage, hour, and child labor violations.