[Senate Hearing 115-277]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019
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THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 10:20 a.m., in room SD-124, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Roy Blunt (chairman) presiding.
Present: Senators Blunt, Alexander, Capito, Kennedy,
Murray, Baldwin, Murphy, and Manchin.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
STATEMENT OF HON. R. ALEXANDER ACOSTA, SECRETARY
opening statement of senator roy blunt
Senator Blunt. The Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor,
Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
will come to order.
Secretary Acosta, we are certainly glad you are here with
us today to talk about the Department of Labor's request. I
know you are in the last month of your first year and I will
say, I think your work at the Department has made a big
difference.
We have actually now confirmed one person of the nominees
that have been appointed to come and help you at the confirmed
level, and hopefully we can do more of that before long.
But your ability to deal with the process, to insist on
timing that makes sense, I know is appreciated by me and our
committee. The President must also think you are doing a great
job because he thinks you can do it with 11 percent less money
next year than you had last year and we will see how that goes.
We look forward to your testimony, to your discussion of
your priorities, and new proposals that you have seen in the
last year that will make a difference at the Department.
Certainly the economic news, the strength of the economy,
the strength of the unemployment numbers, and even better,
obviously, the employment numbers; 4.1 percent unemployment is
the lowest in 17 years.
While the low unemployment rate is good news, I think we
all should continue to be concerned that many Americans are
still underemployed, and many Americans have just simply given
up on looking for work. We are going to turn to you for ways we
can deal with that in a better way and also your views on how
we can prepare the workforce for the jobs that are likely to be
out there. I know we have had discussions in the past about
looking at employment assistance and things besides just
traditional higher education.
In energy, healthcare, and agriculture, there are obvious
areas of growth that are going to be out there in our economy,
and we want to be sure we have a skilled workforce that has the
skills necessary for the jobs that are going to be there.
I think regulation was overreaching in the last several
years and your efforts to look at the regulations that are out
there, and to see what needs to be done about them, are
appreciated by me. And I think our whole committee is more than
willing to look at those regulations, work with you to
eliminate regulations that provide little benefit or no benefit
and maybe stand in the way of people having the kinds of jobs,
the good paying jobs, they would like to have.
Response to the tax bill, at least where I live, has been
very good, and I think it has been very good in the country for
a number of companies, big and small, moving forward.
Last week, near my hometown in Springfield, Missouri, I was
looking at a solar company that just announced they were going
to add 30 jobs and expand their operations in both Springfield
and Kansas City. Another company, Mid-Am Metal Forming has 140
employees in Rogersville, Missouri. All their employees will
receive a cash bonus this year.
I think when you talk to those employers, it is in
anticipation of maintaining a great workforce in a growing
economy. We want to continue to see that, whether in Missouri
it is Wal-Mart, or Boeing, or that 140-employee company in
Rogersville, Missouri, those things are happening.
We are glad you are here to talk about what we can do to
prepare workers for higher skilled jobs, to help those who have
lost their jobs get back on their feet, to protect workers'
rights and benefits, and to support a safe and productive
workplace.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Senator Roy Blunt
Good morning. Thank you, Secretary Acosta, for appearing before the
Subcommittee today to discuss the Department of Labor's fiscal year
2019 budget request.
The Department's request, once again, is under significant
budgetary constraints this year. The proposal reduces funding for the
Department by $1.3 billion, a decrease of 11 percent.
We look forward to hearing your testimony and discussing your
priorities, new proposals, and programs you think we should consider
scaling back.
Last week we continued to receive good news about the strength of
the American economy, with the unemployment rate remaining steady at
4.1 percent--its lowest level in over 17 years. However, millions of
Americans are still underemployed or have stopped looking for work
altogether.
We need to make sure that Americans have access to training
programs--especially those that provide on-the-job training and those
focused on in-demand jobs like healthcare and energy.
Having a highly-skilled workforce is critical, but it is only half
of the equation. We must also continue advancing common-sense solutions
to create an economic environment where businesses can thrive and
create good, well-paying jobs.
As we saw with the last Administration, excessive government
regulations and overreach are major impediments to job growth.
To grow the economy and decrease unemployment, we must rein in
unnecessary regulatory burdens that make it harder for businesses to
create jobs.
The Senate, working with the Administration, has taken important
steps toward eliminating regulations that provide little to no benefit.
Teamed with the recently passed tax reform bill, we will continue
working to ensure our job creators can succeed.
In my home State of Missouri, companies are expanding the
workforce, growing their businesses, and showing their employees how
much they're valued in a growing economy.
Just last week, a Springfield-based solar company announced it will
add 30 jobs and expand operations in the Springfield and Kansas-city
areas. Every one of Mid-AM Metal Forming's 140 employees in
Rogersville, Missouri will receive a cash bonus this year. Larger
companies, like Walmart and Boeing, are expanding benefits and planning
major new capital investments.
This has been a year of significant growth and record optimism for
the U.S. economy and the American workforce. We need to make sure the
Federal Government continues to support programs to prepare workers for
higher skill jobs, help those who have lost their jobs get back on
their feet, protect workers' rights and benefits, and support safe and
productive workplaces.
As the fiscal year 2019 appropriations process moves forward, I
know we will continue to work together to identify priorities and find
common ground on how best to responsibly allocate taxpayers' resources.
Thank you.
Senator Blunt. I am glad to be joined by my partner in this
effort, Senator Murray. And Senator Murray, let us go to you
for your opening statement.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATTY MURRAY
Senator Murray. Well, thank you very much, Chairman Blunt.
Welcome, Secretary Acosta. Good to have you here today.
At the outset, I do want to express my hope that
Republicans and Democrats will come together to reject this
budget, President Trump's fiscal year 2019 budget. Just as we
rejected the deep cuts that were proposed to workforce programs
in his 2018 budget, which is a clear signal of the bipartisan
support we have here for those investments.
I also hope Republicans will stand with Democrats in
vigorously opposing any effort to undo the 2018 omnibus bill we
passed and the President signed only this month because,
frankly, this budget in front of us shows just how far apart
the Trump Administration's priorities are from what Congress
just agreed on and sent to the President.
President Trump, it seems, is willing to explode our debt
and deficit to give billionaires and corporations a massive tax
giveaway, all the while gutting programs working families rely
on to get ahead.
We have all seen the tweets and heard the rhetoric about
President Trump's promise to put workers first. Yet, the
reality is this budget proposes to cut high quality workforce
training programs that help our workers get good jobs and
improve the efficiency of businesses and grow our economy.
Connecting workers to good jobs and employers to a skilled
workforce has been the Department of Labor's central mission
for decades. Yet, this budget proposes more than $1 billion in
cuts to the Department's employment and training programs.
Mr. Secretary, the President's budget would mean that
millions of workers, including dislocated coalminers and
veterans, could lose access to these critical services next
year. The Department's own data shows that more than 5 million
private sector jobs were unfilled at the start of this year.
If the Administration were serious about its commitment to
our country's workforce, it would strive to get that number as
low as possible instead of its deficit-busting drive to reduce
the corporate tax rate.
REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
Mr. Secretary, you know the Registered Apprenticeship
program is a top priority of mine, which is why I am very
pleased we were able to increase the funding by over 50 percent
in the 2018 omnibus.
Yet, I do remain greatly concerned about the
Administration's efforts to weaken the program by attempting to
create a duplicative, nonregistered program that would allow
unqualified for-profits and business groups to certify
unaccountable, low wage and lower quality apprenticeships.
The 2018 omnibus is clear: the funding provided is for
expanding registered apprenticeship opportunities.
Evidence clearly shows that over 90 percent of apprentices
are employed after completing these programs with starting
wages above $60,000 and for every dollar spent on
apprenticeships, employers get an average of $1.47 back in
increased productivity and greater frontline innovation.
It is critical that Federal dollars are focused where there
is strong evidence and a return on investment rather than on
duplicative systems that do not guarantee quality training and
provide fewer safeguards for workers and employers.
And the budget not only fails to adequately invest in the
skills of our workforce, it also falls short of what is needed
to ensure workers receive the protection of our labor laws that
make sure workers have fundamental rights at work, including
the right to a fair day's pay for a hard day's work, and a
right to a safe workplace.
PROPOSED TIP POOLING RULE
Mr. Secretary, I am glad we were able to work together to
come to an agreement after your Department proposed a rule that
would have allowed employers to steal workers' tips, and I
appreciate your work on that.
But I am still concerned the Wage and Hour Division is
understaffed, making it unable to fully enforce important
protections including the new protection for workers' tips,
equal pay protections, leave protected under the Family and
Medical Leave Act, and more.
CUTS TO WOMEN'S BUREAU
The Department's Women's Bureau also plays a critical role
with respect to gender-based pay discrimination, paid leave,
protection for workers who are pregnant, and so many other
critical issues for working women. Unfortunately, this budget
inexplicably slashes the Bureau's funding 74 percent below the
level we provided for the current year.
And finally, I am troubled the Administration is using this
budget to advance the Trump Care agenda proposing an
Association Health Plan rule that will allow fly-by-night
operators to sell junk coverage that do not comply with
consumer protections, further undermining families' healthcare
and raising costs for people with preexisting conditions.
So Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity today. I
look forward to working with you to continue our practice, over
the last 2 years, of rejecting devastating cuts and continuing
needed investments in programs that both train and protect our
Nation's workers.
Thank you.
Senator Blunt. Thank you, Senator Murray.
Secretary Acosta, we are pleased to have you here today,
and if you would like to start with an opening statement, this
would be a good time to do that.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF HON. R. ALEXANDER ACOSTA
Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Murray,
thank you for your opening statements. Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for being here.
I am pleased to appear before you to discuss the important
work of the Department of Labor and its proposed budget for the
upcoming fiscal year.
In its first year, the Trump Administration delivered
strong opportunities for American workers, American job
seekers, and American job creators. At the Department, 2017 was
also a busy and productive year. I would like to offer some
data, if I could.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2017
The Employment Benefit Security Administration, EBSA,
recovered nearly $700 million in enforcement actions, obtained
93 criminal indictments, and recovered an additional $437
million on behalf of nearly 400,000 plan participants and
beneficiaries.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration fulfilled fully
its statutory mandate to inspect all underground mines four
times per year and all surface mines two times per year. And
combined with additional non-mandatory inspections, conducted
more than 40,000; actually, nearly 43,000 inspections.
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
conducted nearly 32,000 inspections, and that is a particularly
important figure because 2017 marked the first time in 5 years
that inspections increased year over year despite suspension of
enforcement for short periods of time in certain regions during
hurricane recovery efforts.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs obtained
more than $30 million in monetary remedies for more than 17,000
job seekers and employees--an average of about $1,700 per
person--and reached the largest pay discrimination settlement
in more than a decade. A corporation agreed to pay $5 million
in back wages and interest to settle allegations of
discrimination against 300 women.
The Office of Labor Management Standards, OLMS,
investigated 121 union officer elections after complaints of
violations, conducted 265 criminal investigations, and recorded
82 indictments.
The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs implemented
aggressive program integrity and pharmaceutical cost control
measures that resulted in paying $221 million less in payments
than in 2016 as a result of the Office of Workers' Compensation
Programs' program integrity efforts.
The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $269 million
back wages for more than 241,000 employees--an average of about
$1,100 per employee--and conducted more than 29,000 cases.
UPCOMING DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ACTIVITIES
The Department looks forward to an equally productive year
in 2018. I would like to highlight a few programs in
particular.
With respect to mine operators, most mine operators are
serious about safety and remedy issues when they arise.
However, some mine operators have chosen not to pay their
fines. And so, we did an audit and we discovered that there are
$67 million in unpaid fines at MSHA (Mine Safety and Health
Administration) that have accrued since 2007.
Now, Americans know when they get a parking ticket, they
need to pay their fine. The fact that for the last several
years these mining operators were not paying their fines, I
think is deeply troubling.
And so, we have started a program in the last several weeks
that focuses, with particularity, on these unpaid fines and we
will begin legal action against the mine operators. We have
notified them, we expect the fines paid, and we will begin
legal action against them, if needed.
With respect to the Wage and Hour Division, we have
reinstituted opinion letters. The Department is committed to
providing meaningful compliance assistance to help employees
understand their rights and ensure that employers have the
tools necessary to comply with the law.
Americans want to know, what does the law mean? And opinion
letters for decades did exactly that. It told them, ``This is
what the law means.'' And so, we have reinstituted the opinion
letter program.
I want to touch briefly on occupational licensing and I
have had conversations with several members of the Committee
about this.
Today, we announced a $7.5 million grant or request,
actually, for a proposal to issue grants to fund State reviews
of occupational licensing.
One of the points that we made in the release is that we do
not just want a review; we want a plan of action as to how
States are going to address this issue. We are not looking for
another report. Report after report--this is a bipartisan
issue--say occupational licensing is a problem.
A study by a scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank estimated
a loss of 1.6 million jobs. Brookings [Institute] said that
number is wrong. It is actually closer to 3 million jobs. It is
something that needs to be addressed and unfortunately, what I
see a lot of, are studies.
And so, hopefully this is seed money that can encourage
States to come up with specific plans of action to address
occupational licensing. It is a very important issue.
Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank Ranking Member
Murray, and others in leadership on both sides of the aisle,
for working to pass what, I really think, is a win-win
bipartisan solution to the tip credit issue that arose. From
our perspective, it is a win. I think from the other aisle's
perspective, it is a win.
If we can communicate and talk, often we find solutions. I
think that is a great outcome and perhaps a model of the way
that things can proceed.
And so, I look forward to your questions, and thank you.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. R. Alexander Acosta
Chairman Blunt, Ranking Member Murray, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the invitation to testify today. I am
pleased to appear before this Subcommittee to outline the
Administration's vision for the Department of Labor in fiscal year 2019
and beyond. I am proud and honored to lead the Department in its
critical work.
This has been a year of significant growth for the U.S. economy and
workforce. In its first year, the Trump Administration has delivered
increased opportunities for working Americans, American job seekers,
and American job creators. The President's tax reform is promoting
investment in the United States, strengthening the American economy,
and putting money back into the pockets of hardworking Americans.
--Since the election, the American economy has added almost 3 million
jobs;
--In March 2018, for the sixth month in a row, the unemployment rate
was at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent;
--In March 2018, the level of total nonfarm jobs reached an all-time
high (148,230,000);
--In March 2018, average hourly earnings rose by 2.7 percent over the
previous 12 months and the three-month average increase in
earnings was the highest since 2009; and
--In January 2018, the number of job openings was 6.3 million, an
all-time high.
This year has been a productive and busy year for the Department of
Labor. President Trump's commitment to working Americans and American
job seekers is at the heart of the Department's work: (i) Creating Jobs
in America; and (ii) Protecting Americans in the Workplace.
We have accomplished much on behalf of working Americans, American
job seekers, and American job creators. We are focusing the Department
of Labor on its core mission by making smart investments in programs
that work, eliminating programs that are less efficient or less
effective, while reforming underperforming programs. We increasing
employment opportunities for all Americans, enforcing safe, healthy
workplaces for working Americans, and ensuring that the Department's
regulations make sense. I am proud and humbled to lead the Department
of Labor in this critical work.
creating jobs in america
President Trump's priorities for the Department are to create jobs,
more jobs, and even more jobs. An important part of that effort is
creating favorable conditions to foster job creation in the United
States--through common sense regulation, tax reform, and fair trade. An
equally important part is creating opportunities for Americans to
develop the skills to fill--and succeed in--the jobs of today and
tomorrow.
Expanding Apprenticeships in America
The American workforce is the greatest in the world. The American
workforce is skilled, hardworking, and innovative. To take advantage of
opportunities, however, Americans must have the skills that the jobs of
today and tomorrow demand. Apprenticeships are one way the Department
is changing our Nation's approach to workforce development. The
benefits of apprenticeships are well known but a few notable facts are:
graduates of Apprenticeship programs earn an average of $60,000 per
year; and more than 8 in 10 graduates retain their employment 9 months
after exiting their apprenticeships. This represents real opportunity
for many Americans.
Consistent with the President's Executive Order on Expanding
Apprenticeships in America, the Department is developing a framework
for Industry-Recognized Apprenticeships that are flexible and
responsive to market needs, less bureaucratic, and more attractive to
American job creators. One notable departure from the norm is that
these programs will not be micromanaged from Washington, D.C. This
initiative will promote high-quality apprenticeships across all
industries, including manufacturing, infrastructure, cyber security,
and healthcare, among others.
In October 2017, after considering hundreds of applicants, I
announced the members of the President's Task Force on Apprenticeship
Expansion. Comprised of companies, trade and industry groups,
educational institutions, labor unions, joint labor-management
organizations, States, and other third parties, the Task Force is
examining how to expand high-quality apprenticeship programs across all
industries. The Task Force will issue a report with its recommendations
this spring.
The Department's budget prioritizes effective programs and includes
$200 million for Industry- Recognized Apprenticeships, more than
doubling available funding and helping align workforce development with
market demands.
Returning Flexibility to the States
The Federal Government has more than 40 workforce development
programs spread across 14 agencies with a total annual cost of $17
billion. Despite changes in the recent reauthorization of the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998, now called the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA), the system remains fragmented at the Federal
level, perpetuating unnecessary bureaucracy and complicating State and
local efforts to meet the needs of Americans seeking workforce-related
services. I am working with Secretary DeVos to develop a comprehensive
plan to consolidate and reorganize Federal workforce development
programs to ensure that American workers receive the highest quality
services possible and are prepared to fill the high- growth jobs of
today and tomorrow.
Providing States greater flexibility to administer resources
efficiently and effectively is another way to better serve the
individualized needs of Americans in various States and localities. To
that end, the President's fiscal year 2019 Budget proposed broader
waiver authority for the core WIOA programs, allowing the Department to
trust our Nation's governors with the responsibility of how best to
operate their workforce systems.
Providing Americans Greater Access to High-Quality Health Coverage
Healthcare is an important factor for many Americans in making
decisions about their careers and job opportunities. Up to 11 million
Americans working for small businesses/sole proprietors and their
families lack health insurance. Many small employers struggle to offer
insurance because it is currently too expensive and cumbersome.
In October 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order that
directed the Department to consider means to expand access to high-
quality, affordable health coverage by allowing more employers to form
Small Business Health Plans (also known as Association Health Plans or
AHPs).
In January 2018, the Department's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to
expand the opportunity to offer AHPs was published in the Federal
Register. Under the proposal, small businesses and sole proprietors
would have more freedom to band together to provide affordable, quality
health insurance for employees. As proposed, the rule would also
include consumer protections to prevent plans from discriminating
against particular employers or employees based on the perceived health
of their workforce.
The proposed improvements could open health insurance coverage for
millions of Americans and their families by making it more affordable
for thousands of small businesses and sole proprietors. By joining
together, employers may reduce administrative costs, strengthen their
bargaining position, and offer a wider array of insurance options.
Removing Roadblocks to Job Creation Through Regulatory Reform
The Department of Labor administers and enforces more than 180
Federal laws and the regulations that implement them. All told, these
laws and regulations cover more than 150 million working Americans and
10 million American job creators. Consistent with the President's
priorities, the Department has worked to identify regulations that
unnecessarily eliminate jobs, inhibit job creation, or impose costs
that exceed benefits, and is working to reform or eliminate them.
Examples include rescinding guidance documents regarding joint
employment and independent contractors, and conforming to the Federal
appellate court test to clarify when interns or students are employees.
Providing Clarity to the Regulated Public
Clarity and consistency in agency interpretations allow the
regulated public to comply with the law in a manner that is not unduly
burdensome or costly and helps ensure a level playing field.
In June 2017, the Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
announced it is resuming its longstanding practice of issuing opinion
letters. Opinion letters are official, written opinions provided by the
Department that address the application of statutes and regulations in
the specific circumstances presented by an employer, employee, or other
entity. The letters were previously a Department practice for more than
70 years, until the practice ceased in 2010.
Removing Barriers to Employment Through Occupational Licensing Reform
Today, there are more than 1,100 separate occupations licensed by
at least one State. In 1950, only 1 in 20 jobs required an occupational
license. Today, more than 1 in 4 Americans needs a license to work.
Occupational licensing creates artificial barriers to entry in many
occupations across the United States, while stifling competition, and
impeding Americans' mobility between States. This is particularly true
of America's veterans seeking employment upon returning home. While
they may have the skills sought by employers, oftentimes their military
training does not transfer directly to a license required by the State.
Military spouses, too, may be subject to different State-specific
licensing requirements each time their spouse receives a new posting,
in some cases every 2-3 years. The Department is engaged with governors
across the United States to achieve occupational licensing reform.
Supporting America's Veterans by Helping Veterans, Service Members, and
Spouses Find Family-Sustaining Jobs
In 2017, the veteran unemployment rate was at its lowest since 2001
at 3.7 percent. The Department serves veterans by providing priority
workforce development and placement services, individualized career
services, and assistance with the transition to civilian life.
The Department served more than 679,000 veterans in Program Year
(PY) 2015 and more than 566,000 veterans in PY 2016. These metrics
reflect the changed measures set forth in the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA) regulations and reporting requirements, which
considers only participants who access staff-assisted services. Under
the prior Workforce Investment Act (WIA) method, which included
veterans who relied on online services in the service measures, the
Department served more than one million veterans in PY 2015 and an
estimated 915,000 veterans in PY 2016.
In May 2017, President Trump signed the Honoring Investments in
Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans (HIRE Vets) Act and
established a program that will go into effect in fiscal year 2019 to
recognize employers that recruit, retain, and employ veterans, and that
support our Nation's veterans. In February, the Department launched the
HIRE Vets Medallion Demonstration Program, which will allow the
Department to demonstrate the HIRE Vets Medallion Program application
process, raise awareness of HIRE Vets, and enable more employers to
prepare to successfully garner recognition when HIRE Vets launches in
2019. The Demonstration Program will recognize up to 300 employers for
their investments in recruiting, employing, and retaining our Nation's
veterans.
Protecting Working Americans by Confronting Visa Fraud and Abuse
Companies that commit visa fraud and abuse hurt working Americans
and American job creators that play by the rules. These companies cut
costs by not providing legally required wages and working conditions
and, in some instances, workers' lives are at stake.
In June 2017, I directed the Department to aggressively confront
entities committing nonimmigrant visa program fraud and abuse. The Wage
and Hour Division (WHD) is using all available tools to conduct civil
investigations to enforce labor protections provided by the
nonimmigrant visa programs. I also instructed the Employment and
Training Administration (ETA) and WHD to work with the Office of the
Solicitor to coordinate the administration and enforcement activities
of the nonimmigrant visa programs and make referrals of criminal fraud
to the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Since January 2017, the Department has concluded 661 nonimmigrant
visa program cases. The Department recovered more than $14.4 million in
back wages on behalf of 5,919 employees and assessed more than $3.3
million in civil money penalties. Since January 2017, the average
recovery of back wages per worker was more than $2,400, a 20 percent
increase over the same period the previous year.
Protecting Working Americans by Enforcing International Labor
Agreements
U.S. labor laws guarantee certain rights for American workers such
as minimum wages, overtime standards, and occupational health and
safety standards. When trading partners fall short of the labor
standards set forth in trade agreements, they create an uneven playing
field that hurts working Americans.
Consistent with President Trump's ``America First'' foreign policy,
the Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) protects
American jobs and working Americans from unfair competition by
enforcing international labor agreements.
The Department's work extends to reporting on, and combatting,
global child labor and modern slavery which, not only hurt working
Americans, but are also morally reprehensible. In September 2017, the
Department released its annual child labor report, Findings on the
Worst Forms of Child Labor, representing the most comprehensive
research to date on the state of child labor in over 130 countries
worldwide. Simultaneously, the Department released a new mobile
application, Comply Chain, designed to help businesses identify and
eradicate child labor and forced labor from global supply chains.
protecting americans in the workplace
The vast majority of employers are responsible actors, fully
committed to following worker protection laws and to providing good,
safe jobs for their employees. There are, however, bad actors that fail
to comply with their obligations. In those instances, the Department
vigorously enforces our Nation's laws that protect working Americans.
Fully enforcing the laws deters bad actors from willfully and
repeatedly ignoring their responsibilities under the law. This makes
American workplaces safer.
There are, however, also businesses that make good faith attempts
to comply with an often complex set of laws and regulations. In those
instances, the Department recognizes that working Americans are better
served by helping business comply with the laws before incidents occur.
The Department provides compliance assistance to help American
employers understand and remain in compliance with worker protection
laws. Department collaboration and partnership with employers
facilitates an increase in compliance with labor laws, thus benefiting
American workers.
Employee Benefits Security Administration
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) helps ensure
the security of the retirement, health, and other workplace related
benefits of almost all American workers who have private-sector
employer-sponsored plans. EBSA's enforcement authority extends to an
estimated 694,000 private retirement plans, 2.2 million health plans,
and similar numbers of other welfare benefit plans which together hold
$9.5 trillion in assets. These plans provide critical benefits to
America's workers, retirees, and their families.
From January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017, EBSA recovered
more than $698 million in enforcement actions and its criminal program
obtained 93 indictments. During the same time period, EBSA's Benefit
Advisors recovered an additional $437 million on behalf of 382,647 plan
participants and beneficiaries through informal dispute resolution
conducted pursuant to the agency's participant assistance program.
The President's fiscal year 2019 Budget request for EBSA includes
increases from the fiscal year 2018 Continuing Resolution to develop
policy and enforcement capacity to expand Small Business Health Plans;
maintain oversight of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board;
and support the ERISA Filing and Acceptance System (EFAST). The updated
EFAST system will help companies comply with the ERISA disclosure
requirements while ensuring that EBSA, the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation (PBGC) and the Internal Revenue Service all receive the
information needed to protect America's pension and welfare benefits.
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) works to prevent
death, illness, and injury from mining, and promote safe and healthful
workplaces for our Nation's miners. In the course of its work, MSHA
uses an integrated approach to conduct inspections, stakeholder
outreach, education and training, and compliance assistance.
In 2017, MSHA fulfilled its statutory mandate to inspect all
underground mines four times per year and all surface mines twice per
year which, combined with non-mandatory inspections, resulted in
105,195 citations and orders during 42,219 inspections. MSHA's
enforcement strategy is grounded in its mandate to regularly inspect
all active mines in the United States and its territories. This work is
essential to protect miners and advance a culture of safety and health
within the mining industry.
In support of its mission, MSHA provides grants and compliance
assistance to the mining community. MSHA's District offices also work
closely with Educational Field and Small Mine Services to identify
industry needs and help mine operators develop and revise training,
safety, and health programs to address the conditions specific to their
mines. In light of new and inexperienced miners entering the field, in
June 2017, MSHA refocused its compliance assistance program for coal
mines to provide safety training for miners entering the field for the
first time or who are new to their current mining job within the past
12 months.
The President's fiscal year 2019 Budget request for MSHA includes
increases for Metal/Non-Metal resources and to modernize the MSHA
Standardized Information System.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) helps
ensure that employers provide safe and healthful working conditions for
working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by
providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA also
administers the whistleblower provisions of more than 20 whistleblower
statutes. Compliance assistance and enforcement--driven, by workplace
inspections and investigations--play a vital role in OSHA's efforts to
reduce workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
Between January 1 and December 31, 2017, OSHA conducted 31,944
inspections and issued citations for 52,515 violations. The number of
inspections conducted in 2017 increased year over year for the first
time in 5 years despite OSHA's suspension of enforcement activities to
provide more compliance assistance and facilitate the provision of
personal protective equipment during the hurricane recovery in areas
affected by natural disasters this year.
The President's fiscal year 2019 Budget request for OSHA includes
increases for Federal enforcement and for compliance assistance and
outreach, including resources for the Voluntary Protection Programs.
This investment will allow OSHA to broaden its assistance and support
to employers who are trying to best protect their workers.
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
The Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
(OFCCP) is tasked with ensuring that Federal contractors and
subcontractors comply with their equal employment opportunity
obligations.
Since January 2017, OFCCP has obtained more than $30 million in
monetary remedies for more than 17,000 job seekers and employees, an
average of more than $1,700 per person. In 2017, OFCCP conducted 1,035
compliance evaluations. Of those 1,035 compliance evaluations, there
were 48 discrimination settlements. There were also seven additional
discrimination settlements resulting from complaint investigations.
In 2017, OFCCP conducted approximately 200 outreach and compliance
assistance events sponsored by the national and regional offices,
including three compliance assistance town hall events that were open
to the public.
Office of Labor Management Standards
The Department's Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS)
administers and enforces most of the provisions of the Labor-Management
Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). The LMRDA promotes union
democracy and financial integrity in private sector labor unions, and
transparency for labor unions and their officials, employers, labor
relations consultants, and surety companies through reporting and
disclosure requirements. OLMS enforces similar laws applicable to
Federal sector unions.
In calendar year 2017, OLMS investigated 121 union officer
elections after complaints of violations, supervised 19 rerun elections
due to election violations, and conducted 265 criminal investigations,
recording 82 indictments. The President's fiscal year 2019 Budget
request includes increases for the investigative workforce and
reestablishes the International Union Audits enforcement activities.
The Department's fall regulatory agenda announced plans to propose
restoring several prior union transparency requirements. OLMS can and
will do more to protect union members.
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
OWCP administers four major disability compensation programs
covering over two million Federal employees, and a significant number
of private sector workers, which provide wage replacement benefits,
medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation, and other benefits to
certain working Americans, or their dependents, that experience work-
related injuries or occupational disease.
OWCP administers prescription benefits for injured Federal workers
and is taking aggressive measures to control costs and prevent fraud.
OWCP implemented program integrity and pharmaceutical cost control
measures in 2017 that resulted in Federal agencies paying $221 million
less than in 2016 for the benefit costs of their injured employees.
These savings are in part attributed to decreased opioid prescriptions
and use that resulted from these measures, as well as reduction in
questionable compound prescriptions.
OWCP and the OIG have worked closely together to eliminate Federal
Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) fraud. As the primary OIG charged
with investigating FECA fraud government-wide, the DOL OIG works
closely with OWCP to facilitate interagency investigation and
prosecution efforts by developing best practices on how the OIG
community can request FECA data and submit reports of investigations
that involve FECA fraud or medical provider fraud.
Wage and Hour Division
WHD is tasked with ensuring compliance with, and enforcement of,
many of the Nation's fundamental Federal labor laws, including minimum
wage, overtime, and child labor laws.
WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance to protect
America's workers. Since January 2017, WHD has recovered more than $269
million in back wages for more than 241,000 employees, an average of
$1,114 per person. In 2017, WHD concluded more than 29,000 cases.
In some instances, particularly with American job creators that
attempt to comply with Federal labor laws in good faith, compliance
assistance rather than after-the-fact enforcement can better serve
working Americans by preventing harm in the first place. Since January
2017, WHD has conducted 3,397 outreach events, providing valuable
information and compliance assistance to participants across the United
States. As part of this effort, WHD employs Community Outreach and
Resource Planning Specialists (CORPS) in nearly all district offices
nationwide. The CORPS have been successful in establishing
collaborative partnerships with industry associations and employers to
offer compliance assistance and educate stakeholders with regard to
labor standards. The President's fiscal year 2019 Budget request
includes increases to support compliance assistance projects.
Last month, WHD launched the Payroll Audit Independent
Determination (PAID) pilot program. This program is designed to resolve
self-declared errors by employers that could potentially result in
overtime and minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards
Act. At times, employers may be the first to uncover violations of
overtime or minimum wage laws. Many employers prefer to correct their
mistakes and voluntarily pay their employees the wages they are owed.
However, currently, employers are unable to simply pay the wages due to
conclusively settle overtime or minimum wage violations. The PAID
program would allow employers to remedy their mistakes without lengthy
and costly litigation.
Through this program, employees will receive 100 percent of the
back wages paid, without having to pay any litigation expenses,
attorneys' fees, or other fees, and without having to wait for court
cases to resolve and potentially lengthy investigations to conclude. To
participate in the program, employers must pay all back wages due by
the end of the next full pay period after receiving the summary of
unpaid wages, and provide proof of payment to WHD expeditiously. These
requirements improve the employers' compliance with their minimum wage
and overtime obligations and protect the rights of workers.
Significant protections for employees are included in this program.
For instance, it is solely the employee's choice whether to accept the
payment. If an employee does not accept the payment he or she does not
release any private right of action and employers are prohibited from
retaliating against the employee for his or her choice. Further, an
employer may not use PAID to resolve any issues for which WHD is
already investigating the employer, or which the employer is already
litigating in court, arbitration, or otherwise. We owe it to our
Nation's workforce to help employees get their owed wages, faster.
conclusion
In closing, I hope my statement today makes clear the depth and
breadth of the Department's accomplishments this past year. The
Department is hard at work supporting Americans' efforts to find, and
excel in good, safe, family-sustaining jobs.
We look forward to working with Congress on these important goals.
Senator Blunt. Well, thank you, Mr. Secretary.
We will have time for more than one round of questions, but
let us try to restrict to the 5 minute frame, and then
everybody gets a chance to ask their questions, and ask second
ones, if they would like to.
So pleased that you are here; again, let me say that.
INCREASE IN ENFORCEMENT PROBLEM BUDGETS
I did notice in the budget that the enforcement programs
were the programs that consistently appeared to have an
increase in the request. Wage and Hour, you have mentioned
already. OSHA has been mentioned; the Office of Labor
Management Standards and compliance on Employee Retirement
Income Security Act.
Would you talk a little bit about why those particular
areas are areas where even your initial request, in a budget
that is significantly below what you are spending this year,
would be more money than you had this year?
Secretary Acosta. Certainly, Mr. Chairman.
As you mentioned, the enforcement agencies, in general, are
at the prior level or slight increases from the prior level and
that is because I think those are priorities.
I spent my opening 5 minutes going through the various
statistics from the enforcement agencies, and that was an
intentional decision to make the point that we are enforcing
these laws; that these laws matter. They have been passed by
Congress. They are the laws of the land. They need to be
enforced. The men and women at the Department of Labor need the
resources to enforce them. Over time, even if budgets remain
flat, life gets more expensive.
And so, we have asked for slight increases to continue the
efforts that, I think, we have done this year because, as I
said, enforcement matters.
Senator Blunt. Well, I think your request shows that and
the numbers you have shared with us today also show that your
enforcement efforts are at a higher level than they have been.
BUDGET INCREASES FOR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS
Now, as Senator Murray mentioned, we increased, in the
omnibus bill, apprenticeship funding by 53 percent from $95
million to $145 million. Here is an area where you are asking
for another significant increase beyond that. I think your
request is $200 million, which would be 100 percent higher than
it was in the year we just completed.
I think this is one of the areas that the Administration
has led on and I think there are still ways to expand both
access to these programs and even potentially expanding Pell
Grants and other things that would allow the right kind of
certified program to be one of the other alternatives for
higher education.
But here you have a program you are suggesting we would
double year over year. I think we ought to probably hear about
that doubling.
Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman, you are correct.
First, let me say, we very much appreciate the 50 percent
increase that was in this year's budget just recently approved
as part of the Omnibus. The budget that was submitted actually
requested an even greater increase for the upcoming fiscal
year.
As the Ranking Member pointed out, the apprenticeship model
works and we want to ensure that we have high quality
apprenticeships. Whether it is the Registered Apprenticeship
program that will continue--and Congress has fully funded--that
money will continue to go out; or whether it is the industry-
recognized apprenticeship that has a fundamentally different
structure, on-the-job learning works. All the research shows
that that is one of the best ways to provide job skills.
It is not just about providing job skills. One of the
things that apprenticeships do is provide a career path. It
provides stackable credentials. It is not simply saying,
``Here. You have a skill. You can go have a job.''
You come in at Level One and then you can proceed to Level
Two, to Level Three, to Level Four through a series of
stackable credentials of lifelong learning. I think that type
of on-the-job training is something that we need to engage in
much more of.
EXTENDING PELL GRANT FUNDING
As the Chairman noted, related to that are various
recommendations in the Administration's infrastructure
proposal. One of those has to do with Pell, and I think the
Pell recommendation is related where we have proposed to extend
Pell funding from the degree programs. Currently, to be Pell
eligible, you need to have a program that is 600 hours or more
to certificate programs. And so, here is the reason behind
that.
If a community college has a great program that provides
the skills for someone to get a certificate, and then go work,
and continue on-the-job training while they are working, and
maybe complete their degree later, why should Pell not be
available for those certificate programs?
And so, as the Chairman mentioned, we believe that is
important as well.
Senator Blunt. And your next step on that would be to work
with the Department of Education, to work with the authorizing
committee.
What do you have in mind to move in that direction?
Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman, in the President's
infrastructure proposal, there are both labor and education-
related proposals that are in the President's infrastructure
plan.
One of those has to do with Pell and the proposal in the
infrastructure plan is to extend Pell from the 600 hour
requirement that is currently in place to certificate programs.
EXTENDING PERKINS AND WORK-STUDY FUNDING
The second has to do with Perkins CTE and to provide
additional access at the high school level for Perkins CTE
money.
And the third is budget neutral. It has to do with the
work-study formula. Because the work-study formula right now--
the key phrase is ``hold harmless''--is distributed and then
when additional monies come out, the additional monies are
distributed.
The universities that received work-study many, many years
ago have a disproportionally large percentage of the work-study
money.
And so, the President's infrastructure proposal suggests
using the current distribution of Pell money as a framework to
distribute work-study money in a way that provides students at
some of the newer institutions--some of the community colleges
that, in our opinion, have the greatest need--greater access to
that work-study money.
Senator Blunt. We have the Chairman and the Ranking Member
of the authorizing committee sitting on either side of me too,
so we can do some double duty here today.
Secretary Acosta. I could not help but notice.
Senator Blunt. I am sure you did.
Senator Murray.
Senator Murray. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
APPRENTICESHIP GRANTS
Secretary Acosta, as I said, providing workers with the
skills that they need to succeed in the economy today is one of
the smartest investments we can make to grow our economy.
So I am really pleased that you recently committed to
continuing the Apprenticeship USA grants with the funding that
Congress provided in 2017. It is why, as we talked about,
Chairman Blunt and I agreed to significantly increase the
funding for registered apprenticeships in the 2018 omnibus.
NON-REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
But I have to say, I am deeply concerned about the
Administration's continued efforts to create a duplicative,
nonregistered program, especially as you used the burden on
corporations as an excuse.
I have actually heard quite the opposite from employers
across multiple industries, including Microsoft, which is in my
home State of Washington. Microsoft recently said, ``A
nationally registered apprenticeship is an essential tool to
create a talent ecosystem for our industry.''
I wanted to ask you: In your Apprenticeship Task Force
meeting this week, you indicated the apprenticeship funding
Congress appropriated in the 2018 omnibus can only be used to
support and expand registered apprenticeship programs.
Will you confirm that for the record?
Secretary Acosta. Ranking Member Murray, I am happy to
confirm that. We can look up the statute. That is what Congress
wrote.
Senator Murray. Right, correct, and what your budget says.
So I just wanted to make sure we were all clear on that.
Secretary Acosta. And that is what I said at the public
meeting because I wanted to make sure that the Task Force fully
understood that because I was not sure if they did.
Senator Murray. Okay, thank you. Let me ask you another
question.
ENDING WORKPLACE HARASSMENT
As more women and men come forward with stories about
workplace sexual harassment, it is clear that it is well past
time for action here. I want to thank you for your response to
my letter on the steps DOL (Department of Labor) is taking to
address workplace harassment within the Department.
Now, you also indicated the Department is finalizing online
training for all contractors and employees that emphasizes the
ban on retaliation, which is so important given this is the top
reason workers do not report harassment.
In addition to those steps, I really urge you to consider
the Department's role in ending harassment in workplaces across
the country.
I wanted to ask you today, give me two concrete steps the
Department can take to ensure all workplaces are free from
harassment.
Secretary Acosta. Well, Senator Murray, thank you for the
question.
And as you indicated, we are taking it very seriously. We
have had mandatory training of all managers within the
Department.
Senator Murray. Yes.
Secretary Acosta. We are working on online tools.
Certainly the Women's Bureau is looking at this issue very
closely, and I will be working with them to address this. I am
also happy to work with this Committee.
Ultimately, the Department implements the laws of Congress
and enforces those laws. We can certainly provide information.
We can provide online training tools. We can provide data. We
can encourage. We can exhort.
To the extent that there are legislative changes, those
changes would have to come from Congress.
Senator Murray. Right. What I am worried about is that we
are not focused on a lot of industries where there is not the
famous person talking about it, but a lot of people who,
especially in lower wage jobs, do not have that kind of voice.
I am urging your Department to do what you can to raise
that issue and make people aware that we are watching.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, you mentioned retaliation and
whistleblower protections.
Senator Murray. Right.
Secretary Acosta. Those are both issues that, I think, are
of paramount importance.
Enforcing retaliation provisions--this goes back to my
point, and they are already in place--enforcing those
vigorously is very important and enforcing whistleblower
provisions.
We recently obtained, I believe it was the largest
whistleblower settlement--I am pulling on memory here--but I
believe it was one of the largest whistleblower settlements, if
not the largest, whistleblower settlements ever as part of one
of our whistleblower actions. So that is something I take very
seriously.
Senator Murray. Okay, I appreciate that.
ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF WORKPLACE HARASSMENT
I did want to draw your attention that in January, 21
Senators and I sent you a letter asking you to study the
economic impacts of workplace harassment, and really urging you
to collect data on the prevalence and cost of sexual
harassment, so that we can better address the problem. And I
wanted to make sure you are aware of that and are looking at
how you can collect that.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, I am aware of that. The letter
was directed to BLS; that is the entity that collects that
data. They are aware of it.
We are very careful in how we direct the Bureau of Labor
Statistics for obvious reasons. It is important that those
statistical agencies, that collect data, have some degree of
protection and insularity from the political process.
But I am aware of the data request; BLS (Bureau of Labor
Statistics) is aware of the data request. I believe BLS already
sent a response, and if they have not sent a response that
should be arriving shortly.
Senator Murray. Okay, great.
Secretary Acosta. I am aware of the response, which is why
I thought it might have been sent.
Senator Murray. Okay, all right. We will be watching for
that. Thank you very much.
Secretary Acosta. And Senator, if I could, I just
confirmed, it was the largest whistleblower case ever and the
response has now been sent. So it is somewhere between our
Department----
Senator Murray. Here and there.
Secretary Acosta [continuing]. And your office.
Senator Murray. Okay, thank you very much.
Senator Blunt. Senator Alexander, then followed by Senator
Manchin.
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Welcome, Mr. Secretary.
COST OF HEALTH INSURANCE
Mr. Secretary, I want to use my 5 minutes to talk about the
Tennessee plumber who is making $60,000 or $70,000 and paying
$20,000 for health insurance. Or the farmer named Marty who
came up to me in a Chick-fil-A and said, ``My monthly premium
was $300 a month and now it is $1,300 a month.'' It has gone up
under Obamacare that much.
I could spend the whole 5 minutes talking about my
disappointment that we could not agree on our proposal
supported by the President, and Senator McConnell, and Speaker
Ryan to reduce those premiums by up to 40 percent, according to
independent experts. That would have meant that a $20,000
premium could have gone down to $12,000 over 3 years.
ASSOCIATION HEALTH PLANS
I think we have now conclusively proved that Democrats and
Republicans cannot agree on changing a single sentence of the
Affordable Care Act. But you appear to have found a solution--
and I want to make sure I understand it--with your proposal for
Associated Health Plans.
Now, the plumber and the farmer are part of 9 million
Americans who are not eligible for subsidies under the
Affordable Care Act. So they are in, what we call, the
individual market.
People who are in Medicare or Medicaid get some government
subsidy.
More than half of Americans get their insurance on the job
from employers. My figures show that the subsidy they get is
about $5,000 a person because, in general, spending by the
employer on employee insurance is exempt from income or payroll
taxes.
Does that sound about right to you?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, those strike me as reasonable
numbers.
Senator Alexander. So the difference between someone who
gets insurance at IBM and someone who is self-employed, and
paying for their own without subsidy, starts out with a,
roughly, $5,000 cost differential.
So we could lower the cost of health insurance by $5,000 if
we could find a way to make more of the small businesspeople or
the self-employed people, the farmer and the plumber, eligible
for the same kind of insurance that large group people have.
I assume that is your objective.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, that is the objective. We have
what we call a small group plan.
Senator Alexander. Now, let me go a little more rapidly
because I have only 2.5 minutes.
COVERAGE UNDER ASSOCIATION HEALTH PLANS
What we are not talking about are the short-term, limited
duration insurance plans. That is something else, right?
Secretary Acosta. Something else.
Senator Alexander. We are talking about giving employees of
smaller businesses the same kind of insurance coverage
employees of large business get.
Secretary Acosta. That is correct.
Senator Alexander. That would mean local bakeries from
Nashville or Phoenix could band together, or Uber or Lyft
drivers could band together, and get the same kind of coverage
that employees at IBM or Wal-Mart enjoy.
Mr. Secretary, would the new protections afforded by the
Affordable Care Act for the large group market, the Wal-Mart
and IBM people, apply to the Association Health Plans you
propose?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, Association Health Plans, as
proposed, would be in the large group market. Therefore, the
answer is the protections of a large group market apply.
Senator Alexander. Give me as short an answer as you can.
Secretary Acosta. Yes.
Senator Alexander. Just as under the large group market, an
Association Health Plan would be banned from charging patients
higher premiums because of a preexisting health condition. Yes?
Secretary Acosta. That is correct.
Senator Alexander. Just as under the large group market, an
Association Health Plan would not be allowed to ban or deny
coverage of a preexisting health condition.
Secretary Acosta. As proposed, that is correct.
Senator Alexander. Just as under the large group market, an
Association Health Plan would be required to offer coverage to
dependent children up to age 26.
Secretary Acosta. As proposed, that is correct.
Senator Alexander. Just as under the large group market, an
Association Health Plan could not cancel an employee's plan
because the employee got sick.
Secretary Acosta. As proposed, that is correct.
Senator Alexander. Just as under the large group market, an
Association Health Plan cannot place a ban on annual or
lifetime limits or benefit coverage.
Secretary Acosta. As proposed, that is correct.
Senator Alexander. Just as under the large group market, an
Association Health Plan must provide coverage of preventive
health services free of charge to the patient.
Is that correct?
Secretary Acosta. As proposed, that is correct.
Senator Alexander. So, in effect, your proposed rule would
give the same opportunities and provide the same protections to
self-employed Americans and Americans working for small
businesses that are available to people with coverage from
large employers today.
Secretary Acosta. Senator that is the crux of the proposed
rule.
Senator Alexander. And so, I could say to the plumber and
to the small farmer in Tennessee that if they could, under the
terms of your rule, associate with others in a similar
profession to meet those qualifications, that they could buy
the same sort of insurance with the same protections and at the
same cost advantage that the IBM, or Wal-Mart, or the employee
of a large group has today.
In other words, the small percentage of people in the
individual market who pay their own way, the 9 million
Americans, would have the same kind of healthcare that 160
million Americans have in large group employer insurance.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, as you pointed out--may I
answer, Mr. Chairman?
Senator Blunt. Yes.
Secretary Acosta. As you pointed out, the theme of the
proposal with the appropriate caveat that this is a proposal
and not yet final, the theme of the proposal is we have small
group plans and large group plans. And within the small group
market, there are a number of Americans that do not even have
healthcare because the small business that they work for does
not provide healthcare.
So by associating together, they would have access to the
large group market. So the employees of the small business
would have access to the same market as the employees of
Microsoft or any other large corporation with all the same
protections that are afforded those employees.
Senator Alexander. And the cost advantage as well.
Secretary Acosta. And the cost advantage, which is quite
significant between the large group and the small group market.
Senator Alexander. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Blunt. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Manchin.
Senator Manchin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
BIPARTISAN HEALTHCARE REFORM
First of all, I want to say my good friend from Tennessee,
Senator Alexander, I was one of the 12 Democratic cosponsors
along with 12 Republican cosponsors for a major fix on
healthcare. I have to be honest with you. I am befuddled why we
have not done it, why we have not come to an agreement because
I thought we were moving most progressive.
I am a small businessperson, so I am very much concerned.
It would be very helpful for my family, and all the families I
work with, to have healthcare that everyone can benefit by.
So the door is open. I am ready to go again, sir. You had
wonderful meetings. You brought us all together. I would like
for that to happen again.
MINERS PROTECTION ACT
With that being said, I want to go to the Miners Protection
Act. The miners in West Virginia, and all over this country,
have done the heavy lifting for our country, given us the
country we have today, and I am very proud. I know Senator
Capito and I have cosponsored many bills to help the mining
profession, if you will, and the miners who have sacrificed.
The Miners Pension Plan has over 86,000 miners involved. We
have 26,000 West Virginians. By 2022, it goes down, as you
know. And sir, the only thing I can tell you, it is going to be
a horrible situation because the average coalminer, or most of
them, are widows who are receiving these pensions, only $595 a
month. And that means a difference between do they make some
payments? Do they have any quality of care, or a home, or not?
So we sure are asking for your involvement in this and a
solution for this problem because it is a big one, and it is a
multilayered plan. There is a Mid State debacle going on right
now and they are all rolled into one.
But the miners are the only ones who have, basically, a
piece of legislation that is guaranteed they be able to be
taken care of. And we would hope that you would be able to give
the attention we need to that.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, as you know, you, Senator
Capito, and I were----
Senator Manchin. And I want to thank you for that too and
you still remember that, and you told me you had the picture
hanging, so we are very appreciative.
Secretary Acosta. I do.
Senator Manchin. You are an official West Virginian now
because you have gone down under.
Secretary Acosta. It is a tough job and they deserve that
we work together----
Senator Manchin. Yes.
Secretary Acosta [continuing]. To address a solution.
MSHA SAFETY STANDARDS
Senator Manchin. Let me just say this. The Mine Safety and
Health Administration, MSHA as we know it, I am concerned about
some of the proposed rollbacks. I know the funding has been
increased, but some of the rollbacks of the safety measures,
especially air quality standards, I am very much concerned
about that, sir, because we have come a long way.
But let me tell you what really bothers me more than
anything. Since the beginning of 2017, 19 miners have died in
America, coalminers. Ten of them have been in my State and
Senator Capito's State of West Virginia. That is totally
unacceptable. It is going the wrong direction.
I have been to too many funerals and sat with too many
families over the years. And I have experienced it myself in my
own family.
But I introduced the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection
Act with Senator Casey and a few others. It strengthens safety
standards, whistleblower protection, and penalties for bad
actors.
I do not know if you have looked at that bill and if you
have taken a stand on that bill, and if you would comment, if
you had.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, I have not looked at that, but I
will commit to looking at that bill.
DISLOCATED WORKER GRANTS AND FIGHTING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
Senator Manchin. The other thing we have is the Dislocated
Worker Grants to help fight the opioid epidemic, and you know
it is just a horrible tragedy on our country.
But really, we are ground zero in West Virginia because of
the heavy lifting. Sometimes they are prescribed prescriptions
that are very addictive and it has really destroyed their
lives.
I do not know; have you committed? Have you looked at this
from the working standpoint?
I have fallen down to around 50 percent or 49 percent of my
working adults that are capable and able of working, actually
working. A lot of it is because either addiction or skill sets,
or a combination of both.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, if I could comment on that.
I had the opportunity to visit an opioid treatment center.
One thing I was struck by is that they did a good job at
treating, but they did not integrate that with job
opportunities.
And so, we have announced a little over $20 million in
grant opportunities to create pilot programs. And the money, I
believe, does come from the Dislocated Worker Grant money to
create grant opportunities.
From my perspective, if you are treating someone and then
saying, ``Now, you have been treated. Go forth,'' but you do
not have a job or a job opportunity, that treatment is not
complete.
Senator Manchin. Right.
Secretary Acosta. What I would love to see--and I mention
this because of the overlap between the Appropriations and the
authorizing committees--is the integration of career,
education, and career opportunities into opioid treatment, I
think it is important.
We have been able to allocate $20 million toward that and I
hope we have greater opportunity to talk about that. That is a
very important issue.
Senator Manchin. Mr. Chairman, if I could, just one
question, very quickly to follow up with.
SPECIAL BENEFITS FOR DISABLED COAL MINERS PROGRAM
The Special Benefits for coalminers program, it is very
disturbing because the President has proposed cutting this $45
million from Special Benefits for Disabled Coal Miners. They
are going from $69 million down to $24 million. It is mostly
for black lung and we have people, basically, right in there. I
mean, they are at the frontlines, if you will. To have that
kind of a cut of $45 million into the Special Benefits, which
is mostly used for black lung, and they are having a hard time.
If you are not prepared to answer that and have not looked
into it, maybe we can provide you with it. We would love to
have a follow up.
You have been very, very attentive, and I appreciate that.
This is a big one.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, I do not know if that is
discretionary or mandatory. So I need to look into that.
Yes, I will get back to you on that.
AIR QUALITY STANDARD FOR MINES
Senator Manchin. Yes, because we have a rise, especially
young miners going into these mines now. Remember, I talked to
you about the air quality?
Well, if we change the standards of air quality, I can
guarantee you, the black lung disease will continue to
increase. This is the only way we had to fight that and to try
to stop it.
But if you can, sir, I would just appreciate your
attention.
Secretary Acosta. Absolutely, and to just follow up briefly
because there is a misconception out there around the air
quality.
In a prior rulemaking, the Department committed to engage
in an air quality study. That was a preexisting commitment that
goes back several years.
And so, when the Department indicated that it was engaging
in that study, that was pursuant to a prior commitment. That is
not initiating a new rulemaking process.
Senator Manchin. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am sorry for the extra time.
Senator Blunt. Senator Capito.
Senator Capito. Thank you to the Chairman and the Ranking
Member.
I want to thank the Secretary for the visit to West
Virginia. The visits to West Virginia and going underground, I
think, does really make you realize what a tough job coalmining
is. Even with all the mechanization and everything, it is
always eye opening. And I have the same picture hanging in my
office too. So it was a good day and thank you for that.
FOCUSING ON MINE SAFETY
Several of the questions that Senator Manchin asked, I had,
obviously, with MSHA and with the 19, in the last year and a
half or year and several months, deaths.
Can you speak to what you are doing that may be making
changes to when you recognize some of these accidents? I know
some of them are vehicular.
What kind of special emphasis are you doing through MSHA to
try to alleviate that?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, and if I could, as I see Senator
Manchin exiting, I have a quick answer to his question.
The reductions are based on workload and not a benefit cut.
It is mandatory funding. To the extent that the need exists,
because it is mandatory, it automatically kicks in. It is
mandatory not discretionary funding.
Senator Capito. Thank you.
Secretary Acosta. With respect to your question, Senator
Capito, and so, yes, a number of them are vehicular and we are
looking with specificity both on focusing enforcements efforts
around that and on whether there are new rules or approaches
that we can put into place to address some of those.
It has been, in part, we have new miners who have not been
underground before.
Senator Capito. Right.
Secretary Acosta. And so, we need to be extra vigilant and
extra careful in their education around safety issues.
But it may be that we also need to look at some rules or
warning signs around those vehicles, and MSHA is looking at
that.
Senator Capito. Well certainly, technology is leading us
with a push for autonomous vehicles, technology is leading us
to all kinds of different cameras, and different angles, and
everything that may be very helpful with that.
Secretary Acosta. And warnings as individuals get within a
danger zone of a certain vehicle. Correct.
Senator Capito. Right. I did want to ask you about
apprenticeship, but Senator Murray covered that, and I think
you talked about that pretty deeply too.
RESPIRABLE DUST RULE
I also want to thank you for--in my reaction to--your
announcement on the dust rule. You did come to my office to
clarify it, and I am glad you clarified that before the
committee today.
There is no rolling back of the standard of the dust rule
that was passed. You are simply deciding when and how to move
forward with the study.
Is that correct?
Secretary Acosta. That is correct. We are fulfilling a
commitment made by the Department to engage in the study.
Senator Capito. Thank you.
ASSOCIATION HEALTH PLAN PROPOSAL
And also on the Associated Health Plans, a long time
coming; I am glad to see in a regulatory sense you have been
able to grasp this one. I think it will have a lot for smaller
States, and in particular, with a lot of small businesses it is
going to have a great impact.
So these are the two off-the-wall questions that I wanted
to ask.
MAKING WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS MORE EFFICIENT
One of the things that always troubles me, and particularly
when you are looking at it from a budgetary standpoint, is all
of the different, across many agencies, workforce training
programs there are.
You addressed in your statement, in your written statement,
about how you are working with education, for instance, and
other departments to try to consolidate and make these
workforce training programs more efficient.
Could you speak to that briefly?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, this is a very, very important
topic and that is correct.
There are between, I forget the exact number, there are
between 40 and 50 different workforce training programs or
workforce education programs we can identify. And I certainly
think that there is a great need for consolidation.
Some have been around for quite a while and there is a need
to update them. Others, the apprenticeship program, for
example, have great results. And so, there is a value to
focusing spending on those with great outcomes.
Related to that, we have also requested flexibility in the
upcoming budget so that governors have discretion to move money
around from funding line to funding line. And that is so
important.
Every governor that I have spoken to, on both sides of the
aisle, would like the flexibility to move funding around. They
will say, ``West Virginia is different from Washington, and it
is different from Missouri, and so, our needs are different. We
would like the flexibility working with the Department to
reallocate from Program A to Program B to Program C.''
I have very limited flexibility in giving those types of
waivers. Even if we cannot consolidate programs, and I
understand the difficulty of doing that legislatively,
providing more discretion on waivers--even if it comes with a
report back to Congress on the waivers and why they were
granted--I think would empower governors to do what they
believe, what he or she believes is best for their State. And I
think that is so important.
Senator Capito. I have one more question.
Senator Blunt. Yes.
Senator Capito. Thank you.
TAX REFORM BILL AND EMPLOYEE WAGES
With the tax reform bill that was passed at the end of the
year, several private entities have initiated raises in their
minimum wage.
What kind of role does the Department play in terms of
monitoring? I know you do enforcement to make sure minimum wage
is being executed properly. But what are you seeing there in
terms of what happened last year; any changes? What do you
anticipate as we move forward?
Secretary Acosta. Well, Senator, certainly based on data
that I have seen, we have had more than 4 million individuals
receive bonuses or increases as a result of that congressional
action.
And one of the reasons that we are asking for additional
enforcement action is so we ensure that as companies----
You have all these great employers that are moving forward,
and really rewarding their employees, and saying, ``We want
greater engagement and greater productivity.'' You have a few
bad actors and it is important that the bad actors cannot free
ride.
If you let a bad actor get away with something, that hurts
all the good employers because it is a lot harder for those
good employers to compete.
And so, my view of enforcement is you do not enforce only
because there is a bad actor. You also enforce because you need
to level the playing field to let all those good actors, who
are giving all these wage increases and tax bonuses, the
opportunity to compete on an even playing field.
Senator Capito. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Secretary Acosta. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Blunt. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Murray.
Senator Murray. Thank you very much.
BIPARTISAN BUDGET AGREEMENT OF 2018
Mr. Secretary, we are hearing, it is being reported that
President Trump is developing a rescission package that would
undo the compromise bipartisan budget agreement of 2018 we just
passed and he signed into law.
Now, the omnibus bill that we implemented was not one I
would have written or Senator Blunt would have written. It was
hours of negotiated agreement that allowed us to get the votes
that we needed to get out of here. So it was bipartisan.
I wanted to ask you which parts of our bipartisan agreement
are you recommending to the President to be undone?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, I am hearing exactly what you
are hearing from the same sources, which is the media. So at
this point, I have received no request to make any
recommendations for any rescissions.
Let me comment more generally.
The budget process is a process and those of us that have
been through this, even if for only a year, recognize that. And
so, I recognize I am here. I am testifying. You are all going
to make the decisions you make and that is the way the process
works.
Senator Murray. Well, I appreciate that and I would just
say, in general, that reneging on an agreement that took us a
long time--it was very hard to get there--if we undo that, it
is going to be very hard moving forward for us to be able to
know that agreements are agreements, and we move on. So I hope
we do not go down that road. Just for the record.
Let me ask you one more question.
OVERTIME RULE
In 2016, the Obama Administration finalized an overtime
rule which would have strengthened worker protections to make
sure about 13 million workers are paid for the hours they work.
As you know, this rule is blocked in court by corporate
interests, and last year, the Trump Administration decided to
abandon the workers and the overtime rule.
Since that time, it has now been estimated that in my home
State alone, we have lost more than $11 million in wages they
would have been received if the Obama overtime rule had been in
place. By the end of this year, without strong overtime
protections, the country's workers will lose an estimated $1.2
billion in wages had the rule been in effect.
So it has been 6 months now since the comment period closed
on your request for information on a new overtime rulemaking. I
want to ask you what your timeline is and when this is going to
be implemented.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, thank you, for the question.
We are working diligently on this rule. As we have spoken
before, we are looking to rewrite it.
Senator Murray. What is the timeline on that?
Secretary Acosta. These rules have taken, in the past,
years. My hope is that we are faster than previous
administrations.
And so, I cannot commit to a specific timeline other than
to say I am hoping it does not take nearly as long as it has in
the past.
Senator Murray. Which is not saying much. Well, a lot of
people are waiting. This is a critical rule and we hope that
you urge your Department to move quickly on it.
Secretary Acosta. I understand, Senator.
Senator Murray. Thank you.
Senator Blunt. Let me ask, I have a few questions left, let
me ask one of them while Senator Baldwin gets ready to ask her
questions in a moment or two.
JOBS STATISTICS
This is a Bureau of Labor Statistics question. You
mentioned the Bureau earlier, that you were not involved in
trying to manage their numbers, of course, but we would like
their numbers to be accurate.
In December of 2017, there was a ``Wall Street Journal''
article entitled, ``25 Cities Adding (and Losing) the Most Jobs
in 2017.'' That article ran again in ``USA Today''. It listed
Cape Girardeau, Missouri as the number one area in job loss for
2017. Bad enough to hear that if it is true; worse to hear it
if it is not true.
I am sure that the Cape Girardeau Chamber President John
Mehner would like me to be sure and mention today that it was
not accurate.
All of their local information indicated it was not
accurate, but there really appears to have been, at that point
at least, no recourse at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to say
anything about this in the same public manner that the ``Wall
Street Journal'' article did.
So I think what we found out by March was that the numbers
were released and corrected. But clearly, a thought was put in
peoples' minds about what is happening to both their local
economy and people looking at that economy as a place they
might want to move to, or might want to invest in.
As it turned out, they had job growth as the local
university statistics indicated and their own statistics
indicated they did.
So I guess the question is can you tell us what we can do
to have more transparency there, to have some recourse if
cities want to dispute their data, and what we need to do
moving forward to be sure that we do not have communities
listed as losing jobs on preliminary statistics when it turns
out that they were a community, as that community has for
years, that were gaining jobs?
Secretary Acosta. Mr. Chairman, having been someone that
sees headlines about the Department sometimes and scratches
one's head saying, ``That is contrary to fact'', I not only
fully empathize with the President of the Chamber of Commerce,
who was put in that situation, but it is a very bad situation
to be put in because once that headline is out there, it is
very, very difficult to retract it.
I know that our staff at BLS, and yours, has discussed
this. One of the issues here is when you have preliminary data
that data, as a statistical matter, will vary. Sometimes it is
close, sometimes it is not.
I see this often, for example, with the unemployment
numbers where there are revisions, and the revisions will
actually show that there was more employment than we thought,
but the headlines never picked that up.
One thing that I think is particularly important is the
Commissioner for BLS has been pending on the floor. And in
leadership, they have had no leadership, no confirmed
leadership now for several months.
And so, I would encourage that we move on the Commissioner
because with the Commissioner in place, it is much easier to
look at those. Are we reporting preliminary data too early?
Should we wait a little bit longer to make sure that the data
is fact?
Because what happened in this case, I am told, is they
reported preliminary data. The media ignored the fact that it
is preliminary and just assumed that it was final. By the time
the final data was reported, the number was corrected. It was
just a statistical variance, but those statistical variances
have consequences.
Senator Blunt. Well, and I think what happened with that
statistical variance is they did targeted interviews with
specific employers.
Secretary Acosta. Right.
Senator Blunt. Who, for whatever reason, those employers
had lost jobs, but the community had not come close to losing
jobs.
Secretary Acosta. Correct.
Senator Blunt. And we all have seen the growth numbers that
turn out to be, one way or another, different a month later
than they were. The economic growth numbers, the unemployment
numbers; that has some impact. I think it has more impact if
you are talking about a specific community or a specific
employer. There may be some reason to rush preliminary numbers
out in a greater context.
I really cannot imagine what the reason would be, the merit
would be to have preliminary numbers that may very well be
wrong in a more specific context. That would be my advice on
that.
Your point is well taken that you need some help over
there. I think we finally, after 11 months on the job, you now
have one Senate--confirmed nominee, and that is a problem of
ours, and we would accept that.
However, this is a problem that was in December of last
year. It is a fairly recent problem.
Secretary Acosta. It is a substantial problem when it
impacts a city because it is hard for the city to forget that
headline.
And so, one of the difficulties is I am hesitant as
Secretary to get into the statistical methodology of a
statistical agency, and I know you have acknowledged that.
But having a confirmed head of BLS, I think, would be
helpful.
Senator Blunt. It would be helpful. This may require a
community visit on your part or something, Mr. Secretary. I do
not know how they will be able to recover otherwise.
Senator Baldwin followed by Senator Murphy.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And Secretary Acosta, welcome.
OSHA ELECTRONIC INJURY REPORTING ANTI-RETALIATION RULE
In 2016, OSHA issued the OSHA Electronic Injury Reporting
Anti-Retaliation Rule in an attempt to move OSHA into the 21st
century, gather more detailed workplace injury data, target
limited resources to high hazard industries, and protect
workers who report hazards.
In your agency's latest regulatory agenda, the Department
of Labor announced plans to revise or revoke certain parts of
the rule.
Secretary Acosta--and I am hoping you can give me a yes, or
a no, or short answers since I have so many questions--do you
agree that it is important for OSHA to have access to accurate
injury and illness data so as to target limited resources to
the most dangerous workplaces? And if data is not informing
your priorities, then tell me what is.
Secretary Acosta. I believe that data that can be helpful
in targeting enforcement is, in fact, important.
Senator Baldwin. Is the Department of Labor planning to
repeal OSHA's electronic injury reporting and anti-retaliation
rule?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, briefly, if I could comment,
yes-no answers are sometimes difficult on this.
I very much believe that information, so that we can target
enforcement, is important and matters. I also think it is
important to respect the privacy of individuals and employees.
And so, we are looking at methods where we can obtain this
data, while at the same time respecting the privacy of
individuals. We are looking at methods where we can obtain the
data en masse without individual identifying information
because once we receive the data, it can eventually become
subject to disclosure.
The concern around this not whether we want data on exactly
what is happening in a workplace, because I do think data is
important, but how we can get that data in an aggregate form
without that individual identifiable information.
Senator Baldwin. So will you commit, then, to at least
keeping that ability intact?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, it is my wish and desire to. I
believe that data is important so we can target enforcement.
In my opening statement, I talked about how in OSHA
enforcement we have actually had more inspections. I think that
it is not just more inspections, but inspections that are
better focused on where injuries are occurring, and what types
of injuries.
I do want that data. I want to gather it in a form that
respects privacy.
Senator Baldwin. Certainly in other contexts, I know, large
agencies have been able to anonymize data. So I would hope this
would be a pretty straightforward task.
Secretary Acosta. Unfortunately, it is not anonymizing, as
Congress has recently found out, it is not as straightforward
as one may think. In the aggregate, this is data that, I think,
is useful and necessary.
Senator Baldwin. Okay.
APPRENTICESHIP AND THE PARTNERS BILL
I understand that earlier this week you hosted your third
meeting with the Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Task
Force. As your Department continues to work towards expansion
of apprenticeship and work-based learning, it is important that
we are engaging small and local businesses, community colleges,
as well as the national and local community-based workforce
organizations.
I am currently working with Senator Isakson to craft, what
we are calling, the PARTNERS Act. The PARTNERS Act would
establish a grant program to support the creation and expansion
of industry and sector partnerships to help small and medium
sized businesses develop work-based learning programs and
provide mentoring and support services for workers.
How would the Department of Labor's plans to spend the
fiscal year 2019 funding work to support local, industry-driven
sector partnerships, help businesses expand apprenticeships,
and help workers access those opportunities, as my PARTNERS
bill aims to do?
And I will just note before you answer, as soon as we
finalize our bill language, I will be making sure you get a
copy for input.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, as the Ranking Member pointed
out a little bit earlier, the apprenticeship funding that is
currently appropriated under the apprenticeship budget line is
focused on registered apprenticeships. For the most part, small
businesses do not engage in registered apprenticeships.
This is one reason why we are looking to set up a second
type of apprenticeship, which is the industry-recognized
apprenticeship structure. So that small businesses--that are
interested in having work-based learning--can work with
industry associations that can provide guidance. That could
provide quality control. That could provide curriculum, and
could work with community colleges, and push and expand that
apprenticeship model to small businesses. So I fully, fully
agree with that.
Let me also pick up and highlight something that you said
that is very important, which is partnerships.
Some of the best programs that I have seen are programs
where community colleges come together with businesses often
with a little bit of seed money from the Department.
I am thinking of a program that I saw in Reno around HVAC
(heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). I think it was
Truckee Meadows Community College. I am thinking of Indian
Hills Community College in Iowa that actually works with one of
our Job Corps centers that is co-located.
One of the things that I have been speaking about with the
American Association of Community Colleges--Dr. Bumphus, who is
their President--are about ways that we can support
partnerships between community colleges and business.
Critical to that is, I think, businesses need to have skin
in the game. I think that if you have a true partnership, it
cannot be enough to say, ``We have a business partner.'' But
there should be some type of in-kind, or matching contribution,
or something like that because then you really are creating a
partnership. And where those interests are aligned, I have seen
really incredible, and I could share the stories later, but I
have seen really incredible success.
Senator Baldwin. Yes. I have had a chance to have some
visits in the State of Wisconsin where I feel I am seeing very
much the same thing to the great advantage of smaller and
medium sized businesses, as well as the participants. In one
case, the apprentice said his only challenge was that all of
his coworkers are jealous that he is getting that opportunity
and they did not.
Secretary Acosta. Yes.
Senator Baldwin. One other question.
Senator Blunt. There will be time for a second round of
questions.
Senator Baldwin. Okay.
Senator Blunt. Senator Murphy.
Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
MENTAL HEALTH PARITY
Let me thank you and the Ranking Member for all of the
attention you have given to the issue of mental health funding,
and the conversation we have been having over the last few
years around the issue of mental health parity. And that is the
subject of the first question I wanted to ask you about, Mr.
Secretary.
I want to commend you on comments that you made before
President Trump's opioid commission. In that meeting, you
mentioned that it would be helpful if the Department had
additional authority, that it does not have currently in law,
to levy civil monetary penalties for mental health parity
violations and the ability to enforce the law on insurance
companies.
We received, actually on this subcommittee, I believe, a
new report maybe from about 6 months ago, which detailed the
unjustifiable difference in the way that insurance companies
reimburse for opioid and addiction treatment versus how they
reimburse for other types of treatment. And everybody who has
been in an addiction situation can tell you that story very
personally.
So I raised this issue yesterday at a HELP committee
hearing that we had on a package of bills that Senator Murray
and Senator Alexander are thinking about putting forward.
I just wanted to ask you to comment on why you think that
these new capacities, these new authorities, are important to
make sure the industry is in compliance with mental health
parity laws?
Secretary Acosta. Well, Senator, thank you for the
question, and I did testify at the President's Commission. I
think the President's Commission adopted the recommendations.
Senator Murphy. They did.
Secretary Acosta. We have been tasked with enforcing these
mental health parity laws, but the way we enforce them is
against each individual insurance plan.
And so, if you have an insurance company with 500 insurance
plans, we would have to enforce as against each insurance plan.
What we do is notify the insurance company and the good
insurance companies, of course, would change all their plans to
be in accordance.
But as someone that thinks of things, to some extent, from
a law enforcement perspective, if you have one person that has
umbrella authority over the content of the various plans, to
enforce against each individual plan is a highly inefficient
enforcement mechanism.
The second point I would make is the reality is there are
always limited resources. And as companies are looking to
ensure that benefits are, in fact, keeping with the law, as a
general matter, the presence of a civil penalty tends to focus
attention more than the absence of a penalty.
Senator Murphy. And you do not have that authority, under
existing law, either to look at the insurance company writ
large versus the individual plans or to levy civil penalties.
Secretary Acosta. We do not have enforcement as against the
insurer.
Senator Murphy. Right.
Secretary Acosta. And we do not have penalty assessment
authority.
Senator Murphy. Well, I look forward to working with you,
and with Senator Murray, and Senator Alexander to try to
reconcile that, try to fix that for you.
EASTERN CONNECTICUT MANUFACTURING PIPELINE INITIATIVE
The second question is on the interaction and integration
that you have with the Department of Defense. The Department of
Defense has been given a slug of new resources. They are going
to be purchasing a lot more from suppliers and contractors all
across the country. That will be happening in Connecticut where
we are going to be asked, and are glad to be asked, to produce
additional undersea capacity for the Navy.
Your Department has had a longstanding, very important
partnership with the Eastern Connecticut Manufacturing Pipeline
Initiative, which is a really innovative program in which
Electric Boat, the local workforce development port, and the
Department of Labor have aligned resources that have resulted
in 600 job placements through this pipeline, ending up at
Electric Boat.
Given the fact that Electric Boat is going to be asked to
do more, this pipeline now becomes more important than ever,
because if we cannot find the workers to do this work here in
the United States, either we will not deliver the product, or
we will be forced to buy more of this overseas, especially the
parts that go into the submarines. And I could tell you the
same story with respect to jet engines or helicopters.
But I would love to have you come at some point and see the
very smart investment the Department of Labor has made in the
Eastern Workforce Pipeline Initiative. And I just wanted you to
comment on how important it is to make sure that all of this
new military programming gets done in the United States,
because we have made investments in the workforce.
Secretary Acosta. Senator, I am a big fan of having it done
in the United States, and I am happy to commit to visit. I try
to visit various places to learn. I see great partnerships
sometimes with community colleges, as I mentioned to Senator
Baldwin, and I think it is important to get out there. So I am
happy to commit to that.
Senator Murphy. Great.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Senator Blunt. Thank you, Senator Murphy.
I have two more questions and then anybody else that has
more, we will move toward finishing here.
H-2B VISAS
On H-2B visas, once again, the Congress failed to give you,
and the Department of Homeland Security, specific guidance on
how to solve this problem. However, the Omnibus did give you
exactly the same guidance you had last time.
So two parts to this question are, since the guidance in
the new law is exactly the same as it was a year ago, is it
necessary to go through another rulemaking process?
The second part of that question is, if it is necessary,
how quickly does that start?
At a hearing yesterday, the Secretary of Homeland Security
said that she was going to reach out to you this week to talk
about moving forward sooner rather than later.
What is the answer to those two questions?
Secretary Acosta. Well, Senator, as the Secretary said,
that she indicated she was going to reach out to me and now has
reached out to me.
I think this is a very frustrating situation for the
American people. In private conversations, I urged several
Senators and several members of the House to come up with a
specific number.
One of the concerns that I raised in private conversations
is that if there is a discretionary authority, that that
discretionary authority requires rulemaking. And while we can
expedite the rulemaking, it is subject to discussion with
counsel, but my preliminary view is that that rulemaking is
required.
I think this puts the American people in a really difficult
situation because every year they ask, ``Are we going to get
our visas? Are we not going to get our visas?''
As difficult as it is to make a decision, I think we owe it
to the American people to come up with a number and that way
they know, ``This is the number.'' They do not have to sit
around and wait until April, May, June, or July by which point,
some of those visas are no longer of benefit anyhow.
There is value in certainty and certainly, I can talk about
some suggested reforms. The provisions, the drafts that I saw,
would not have been the way I would have written them, but they
were a compromise, and I think compromises are sometimes better
than nothing at all. And so, I would encourage, this time
around, Congress to----
I am happy to even personally work with members to develop
some kind of approach where we can bring certainty to this.
Senator Blunt. Well, I agree with that need for certainty
totally. We were moving, I thought, in the right direction to
give you some specific things to work with and then did not.
I would just suggest that you might seek a second legal
opinion and see if it is possible since the situation is
exactly where it was a year ago, if that requires a new rule.
And if it does require a new rule, whatever could be done to
appropriately expedite that until the Congress can do its job,
which is tell you what needs to be done here.
These are workers that come for less than year round
employment and then return at some point to the country they
came from. These are not visas where people come and
permanently stay in the United States. They are critical in
some short-term employment situations.
As you know better than anybody else, because of all the
requests you get, the effort they have to make to hire people
in this country before they can turn to this program and take
advantage of it.
FIDUCIARY RULE
My last question would be on the 15th of March, the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans vacated the fiduciary
rule saying it constituted unreasonableness. I think at that
time, the following Monday, your Department told CNBC that
pending further review, it would not be enforcing the 2016
fiduciary rule.
Is that your position still?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, we are not enforcing, pending
that court decision, we are not enforcing the rule. We already
had an 18-month delay on portions of the rule, but we are not
enforcing. We have not yet made a determination as an
administration how to proceed on this matter.
H-2B VISA APPLICATION PROCESS
If I could, if I could go back in the short time I have
left to the earlier question around the visas, there is a
second issue related to that, that I want to highlight for the
Committee that, I think, is a simple, good government matter.
The current process for issuing those visas is horribly
antiquated. We asked for specific funding to update that
process. And it strikes me that, irrespective of the difficult
decision as to the amount of visas, the updating of the process
is something that everyone should agree on.
Under the current computer system, someone applies to the
Department of Labor. We review and certify the application. We
then actually print out a certification on secure paper and we
send it back to the applicant.
The applicant then puts it in the mail, and sends it to the
Department of Homeland Security that then reviews it, and then
puts it in the mail, and sends it to the State Department.
We are at a point where we should have the technology to
have someone apply, and much like most of us have on various
apps, see where the application is and have it proceed
electronically through the process with a database where
Americans can see what jobs are available in case Americans
want to apply for these jobs.
We have asked for funding now twice to put this project
into place. It is a small amount. It gets caught up in the
issues around the visa, but I want to highlight it because I
just think this is a good government matter.
Senator Blunt. Okay. We may want to pursue what the
complicating issues are, but we will look at that carefully, I
can assure you.
Senator Kennedy, are you ready?
Senator Kennedy. I am, Mr. Chairman. Thanks, very much.
I will be brief, Mr. Secretary. I am sorry I was late. I
apologize and I understand Senator Murray has already asked
this question, but I was not here, obviously, to hear the
answer.
QUANTIFYING COSTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Is it possible to quantify the economic costs of sexual
harassment?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, I do not think you can quantify
the economic costs. Is it possible, it is a broad question, but
I have no idea how you would do that.
Senator Kennedy. Well, we know it has a cost.
Secretary Acosta. It has a cost, but I think to say that
the costs are limited to economic costs is an overstatement.
There is certainly----
One could measure the economic costs associated with the
harassment, but I do not think those are the only costs of the
harassment.
Senator Kennedy. I agree. I absolutely agree with that, but
I am just thinking in terms of breaking it down into bite-sized
pieces.
Secretary Acosta. I see.
Senator Kennedy. If you are sexually harassed, it is
obviously going to affect your productivity.
Secretary Acosta. Sure.
Senator Kennedy. Is there some way to measure that impact
on Gross Domestic Product?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, there may be.
Senator Kennedy. Would you look into that?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, I am glad to.
One of the comments that I made to the Ranking Member is I
am aware of the request. I have shared that with the Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
One of the areas that I will just mention, that I think is
important for someone in my position to be careful about, is
being overly directive with respect to a statistical agency
such as BLS because there is a value to having a little bit of
separation between agencies that gather things like the
unemployment data and the Secretary's Office.
And so, while I am happy to talk about thematics, I think
my telling them how to measure something would cross the line.
Senator Kennedy. Sure, yes. Well, I would not want you to
do anything inappropriate.
I just think it will help the American people understand
the issue better. Obviously, money is not everything, but it is
a telling statistic.
My profession is law and I remember, for example, 35, 40
years ago, or at least I have read about it, a lot of the
larger law firms did not have women partners or women
associates. And then, I think some of them changed because it
was the right thing to do.
Some of them changed, though, because they said, ``Whoa,
this is costing us money. This bright, young law graduate, who
happens to be a woman, is smarter than any of her colleagues
and works harder. So maybe we ought to. We ran the numbers and
we have been born again.''
Now, I am not saying that was always the case, but I think
it did happen.
LABOR PARTICIPATION RATE
Let me ask you another quick question. Labor participation
rate. Certainly, the unemployment rate is important, but in my
State, our unemployment rate has come down like everyone
else's. We are still higher than more States. But our labor
participation rate is dismal.
What can we do about that?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, this is an issue that has
baffled a lot of folks. You have, I believe, 4.5 percent
unemployment rate in your State, but it is similar to the rest
of the Nation. The labor participation rate is probably
somewhere in the low 60 percent.
Senator Kennedy. Which, actually, I think our labor force
participation rate is actually lower than that. It is an
embarrassingly low figure.
Secretary Acosta. So there are a few issues behind it, and
they are worth discussing and breaking down.
First, the population as a whole is aging. It peaked
somewhere around 15 years ago. If you look at the labor force
participation rate of what is called ``prime age,'' the 25-54,
it is much higher than the 55 and above. And so, there has been
just under a 10 percent shift from prime age to 55 and above
that may impact some States more than others, and that is
certainly part of labor force participation.
A second really important part of labor force participation
has to do with younger Americans. There was a time when we
measured college graduation in 4 years, and now we are
measuring college graduation in 6 years.
Senator Kennedy. That is a good point.
Secretary Acosta. I think that we need to have a discussion
as a Nation about, whether higher education doing what it
should to ensure that folks are not just lifelong learners, but
lifelong earners?
And so, I like to say when I talk about this, have
individuals been to a study abroad or do they know someone who
has been to a study abroad? If they do, would it make sense to
have a criminology major study at a police academy for a
semester? Or for someone who is prelaw to spend a semester
working at a law firm so that they learn not just theory, but
life skills? I also think that would lead to, if someone knew
that upon graduation, they had a job as a police officer, or as
a legal assistant, or something else waiting for them, they
might graduate sooner and faster.
The labor force participation rate among young Americans
has declined by a level of magnitude.
EFFECTS OF OPIOID CRISIS ON LABOR PARTICIPATION RATES
Thirdly, I would just cite the opioid crisis. I believe it
was under President Obama, BLS did a survey and they asked
adult men not in the labor force that were prime age, 25 to 54,
``Did you take a painkiller yesterday?'' And 44 percent said,
``Yes.''
Senator Kennedy. My God. Could you repeat that?
Secretary Acosta. Adult men between 25 and 54 not in the
labor force. I am happy to provide the Senator with the data. I
am working off memory, 44 percent said yes.
Then I believe an individual, I am blanking on the name
now, who is a professor at Princeton, he was one of President
Obama's economic advisors. (I am citing the prior
administration to show the bipartisanship of this issue.) He
followed up with a subset of that study.
Professor Alan Krueger, followed up with a subset of the
data for painkillers and opioids, and 31 percent said yes. The
use was not last month or last week, but was yesterday. I do
think that some States are harder hit by this issue.
So when you have 31 percent of men not working between the
ages of 25 and 54 saying they took an opioid yesterday, I think
that that highlights a third issue with the labor force
participation that I think is important.
Senator Kennedy. I am out of time, Mr. Secretary, but I
really do appreciate it, and if you could send me that, that is
breathtaking.
Secretary Acosta. We will do that.
Senator Kennedy. I am sorry I went over, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Blunt. Interesting question and a very interesting
answer, both of the young people in the workforce and people
who are outside the workforce, those are both statistics that
go a long way toward explaining some of these numbers that we
have a hard time wrapping our mind around, I think.
Senator Baldwin, do you have another?
Senator Baldwin. I do.
Senator Blunt. Go right ahead.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you.
I wanted to just wrap up the question I was asking before,
or at least clarify something on the apprenticeships, and then
ask you a question about Trade Adjustment Assistance.
REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS
You were talking about the current grant programs for
registered apprenticeships and then providing more
opportunities for small and medium sized businesses moving for
industry recognition.
I just wanted to emphasize that one of the things I am
looking at is making it easier for small and medium sized
manufacturers and businesses to work in partnership for the
primary apprenticeship, which would be a registered
apprenticeship.
Secretary Acosta. That is fair. Thank you, Senator.
TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE
Senator Baldwin. On Trade Adjustment Assistance.
Secretary, the Department of Labor has certified that at
least 25,000 Wisconsin workers have lost their jobs due to
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). The same number of
workers has received vital job training supports through the
Department of Labor's Trade Adjustment Assistance program. This
training helps workers build new skills and get back into the
workforce as soon as possible.
The President's budget includes a proposal to refocus the
TAA (Trade Adjustment Assistance) program on apprenticeships,
what we were just talking about. Yet, the legislative change
results, as I read it, in a $1.7 billion cut to the TAA
program.
Wisconsin workers, manufacturers, and farmers are all
concerned about this Administration's trade strategy and how it
might cost them jobs, depending on how these things play out.
Given this concern, how can you justify cutting the Trade
Adjustment Assistance program, which has helped so many
Wisconsin workers retrain after losing a job due to NAFTA?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, thank you for the question. Let
me try to break that apart into a few questions, because I do
not think it is as portrayed, but I will try to explain that.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance program, I think, is very
important and is really intended to help individuals who lost
jobs because of something like NAFTA.
If you look at the data, less than half of individuals that
received TAA receive actual training and effectively zero
percent--I think, 369 out of more than 57,000 receive on-the-
job training. And so, it is our hope and intent, if approved,
to focus the TAA program for on-the-job training.
The TAA jobs particularly involve sometimes older workers
or second career workers who are not looking to go back to sit
in a classroom, that are not looking for online. And so,
apprenticeships, or on-the-job training, or others, we believe,
is the best way to address their needs.
Secretary Acosta. This, I believe, this is a mandatory
spending line, correct?
So this is a mandatory spending line. Because it is
mandatory, once someone is certified, the money is spent.
Congress is not appropriating it year to year.
The budget estimates--and this is an OMB (Office of
Management and Budget) and CBO issue--that because of the
greater success, the overall impact on the budget will go down
by the amount that you specified because of savings in
unemployment insurance because people are going to go back to
work that much sooner.
So it is not a cut in the benefit, but it is a reduction in
the budget because of greater success in the program.
Did that make sense?
Senator Baldwin. It did. I may want to follow up with you
on more details just to see how OMB approached that.
One additional question, you noted that TAA comes into
effect when something like NAFTA, I think I am quoting you, is
at play.
TARIFFS AND TAA
Given all the trade-related tariff discussions that are
going on right now, do you believe you have the authority to
use TAA to retrain workers who may, in the future, lose their
jobs due to tariff retaliation, for example?
Secretary Acosta. Senator, I said something like NAFTA
because TAA is a very complicated program and statute. And
while as a general matter, you need a Free Trade Agreement or
an agreement in play, it is not quite that simple. And so, when
an individual loses their job because of a tariff or trade, it
is really a fact-bound determination.
So, for example, with respect to the recent solar panel
tariffs, I believe we have--have we not provided about 400? I
apologize.
Secretary Acosta. Four hundred thirty-seven individuals
with TAA arising from the solar panel tariffs that were
recently imposed.
What I will commit to the Senator is this: To the extent
that I do not have authority under TAA, we also have access to
the dislocated worker monies. And so, States could apply for
Dislocated Worker Funds. I certainly would want to use my
discretion to use those funds where TAA is not available.
Senator Baldwin. Well, given that I am a glass half full
person, I am hearing interest in making this work.
Secretary Acosta. I want to help.
Senator Baldwin. If you would keep in touch, especially
over the next few weeks and months, as a lot of things are
playing out at once. Whether you believe you have authority
without a change of law and then let the committee know if
there are further tools that need to come under the
consideration of this committee that would be helpful.
Secretary Acosta. I will do so, Senator. Thank you.
Senator Blunt. Thank you, Senator.
Secretary, is there a topic we have not brought up, or do
you have anything you want to say in your final comments before
we gavel out here?
TIP CREDIT ANALYSIS
Secretary Acosta. Yes, I would like to take a minute to
address an issue, and it is an issue that has a good story at
the end, but I have not talked about it, in part, because I do
think it is important that we proceed with care. But it has to
do with, I thought, the bipartisan outcome that we got on the
tip credit.
I could not help but notice that there were stories about
whether we did a quantitative versus a qualitative analysis. As
I mentioned to some Senators privately, my predecessor, when
the rule was written in 2011, did a qualitative analysis, and
we did the exact same thing, yet there was no outcry at the
time in 2011. And so, I wanted to just talk a little bit about
the data that we have and just put it on the record. And so,
here is what we know.
We know that total wages paid to bartenders and waitstaff
in the United States is about $81 billion. We know that the
portion of these wages--and this is all public data--we know
that the portion of these wages that go to tipped employees is
about $29 billion. We know that of this $29 billion, about $15
to $16 billion is the amount of wages required by the relevant
minimum wage laws. And so, we know that there is about $13 to
$14 billion that remains and that is a big pot, and that is
composed of a lot of things.
That is composed of wages paid in addition to and above the
relevant minimum wage. It is composed of wages paid for
overtime, wages paid for commission, and wages paid for tips.
That is pretty much all that we know in terms of data.
And so, to measure economic transfers related to employers
keeping tips, to the extent employers would keep tips, we need
to make a series of assumptions. The most significant, which
include:
What percent of this amount is due to tips as opposed to
overtime, or commissions, or wages paid in addition to minimum
wage?
What percent of this amount is earned in localities or
States that do not allow tip pools? And there are several.
What would customer behavior do if customers found out that
any establishment would keep a tip? Personally, I think
customers would be pretty furious and would make that known.
Would restaurants, in fact, keep tips?
We have little to no data on these questions. So, for
example, we could assume that:
--the overtime paid to all employees, that actually get tips
in the United States, is zero. I think that is a pretty
unrealistic assumption;
--that about one-third of the Nation's tipped employees work
in locations that prohibit tip pools. That could be a
guess;
--that no customer would object to a restaurant's keeping
tips in a way that would impact their behavior, the
amount of tips that they give, or the desire to
frequent that establishment. I think that is a very
unrealistic assumption because customers would, in
fact, be pretty upset; and
--that no employee would respond to a restaurant's keeping
tips by quitting, by working fewer hours, by working
less efficiently. I think that is also a crazy
assumption because, I think, employees would be pretty
upset. In this era of tight labor markets, most of them
would walk.
Now, if we made these wildly crazy assumptions, we could
come up with a number and that number would be somewhere
upwards of about $600 million. But those are one set of
assumptions, and depending on the assumptions that you make,
you could go anywhere from zero to $13 billion.
One group that commented offered a range of $523 million to
$13.2 billion.
And so, my point is this, when we write rules, I think it
is important that the analysis should be relevant based on
realistic assumptions and helpful to the public. It should not
be a ``check the box'' exercise.
Qualitative analysis in NPRM (Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking) is used often, and in fact, was used in writing the
initial 2011 rule. And so, while no one on this Committee made
comments, I could not help but notice that there were public
comments made about this, and that those same public comments
were not made in 2011.
I think that is indicative of an unfortunate state of
affairs that we are at, but that is why I am really glad that
we had a happy ending because from my perspective, I did not
think employers would keep tips. I think that is a nasty thing
to do. I think people would walk. I think customers would
leave. I think they would lose waitstaff and so, making it
unlawful is perfectly fine because it should be. From the
perspective of others, they thought employers may keep tips,
and so, making it unlawful was also a good thing.
From my perspective, there are a lot of hardworking people
in the back of the house that really deserve to be part of that
tip pool: the cooks, the dishwashers, the folks that make sure
that the food arrives warm, on clean dishes. And so the
tradeoff between having a tip pool that shares between the
front of the house and the back of the house in return for as a
matter of law saying, ``Employers cannot keep tips,'' I think
it is kind of win-win.
I just wanted to thank the Ranking Member, to thank the
Chairman, to thank leadership on both sides. And just say,
look, if we can communicate, I think sometimes there are
solutions. So thank you.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
Senator Blunt. Well, thank you, Mr. Secretary, and thank
you for your answers, and your time today, and your leadership
at the Department.
The record will stay open for one week for additional
questions.
[The following questions were not asked at the hearing, but
were submitted to the Department for response subsequent to the
hearing:]
Questions Submitted by Senator Roy Blunt
dislocated workers funding
Question. The Omnibus appropriations bill included a new $30
million Dislocated Workers funding initiative targeted to the Delta
Regional Authority and the Appalachian Regional Commission regions.
These are two of the hardest hit regions in the country that have
unemployment rates much higher than the national average. Many have
lost significant jobs during the last Administration's war on coal, and
it is important to respond to those employment needs.
Could you discuss your plans for this funding and how it will be
focused in this region? In particular, how will you engage the Delta
Regional Authority and the Appalachian Regional Commission in your
plans?
Answer. The Department welcomes the opportunity to address economic
and workforce-related challenges across the Appalachian and Lower
Mississippi Delta regions. These funds allow the Department to invest
in the planning and implementation of workforce strategies for regions
and communities negatively impacted by changes in the coal economy.
Since fiscal year 2017, the Department has awarded funds to West
Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia. The Department will continue to
contact these States and local areas within Appalachia and Lower
Mississippi Delta to ensure the States are aware of the funds and
encourage the States to develop innovative and critical projects to
help get Americans back to work and into family-sustaining jobs. The
Department will continue to engage the Delta Regional Authority and
Appalachian Regional Commission to help with outreach to the regions
that may benefit from these resources.
hire vets act
Question. Every year, nearly 200,000 service members transition
from active duty to civilian life and finding the right opportunity in
the private sector can prove challenging. It is critical that the
Department help ensure veterans can connect with employers that
recognize the unique value they bring to the job. The Omnibus included
funding and authority to establish the HIRE Vets bill that awards
employers based on their contributions to veterans' employment.
Can you discuss how you will implement HIRE Vets?
Answer. The HIRE Vets program will recognize job creators for their
investments in recruiting, employing, and retaining our Nation's
veterans. The program will recognize large, medium, and small job
creators at two levels, platinum or gold, depending on the criteria
they meet. Veterans bring experience, adaptability, and focus that
employers can use for their competitive advantage.
On November 9, 2017, the Department published the final rule
required by the HIRE Vets Act. The HIRE Vets Act is statutorily
authorized to begin in 2019 and not sooner. On February 2, 2018, the
Department launched the HIRE Vets Medallion Demonstration Program,
which allows the Department to demonstrate the HIRE Vets Medallion
Program application process, raise awareness of HIRE Vets, and enable
more employers to prepare to successfully garner recognition when HIRE
Vets launches in 2019. The Demonstration Program will recognize up to
300 employers in November 2018 for their investments in recruiting,
employing, and retaining our Nation's veterans. As of April 24, 2018,
more than two thousand potential applicants registered in the system
and the Department closed the application window upon reaching its
established demonstration program goal.
In accordance with the statute, the Department will begin accepting
applications for the statutorily-authorized HIRE Vets Medallion Program
no later than January 31, 2019, based upon the established selection
criteria and will stop accepting applications for 2019 on April 30,
2019.
veterans' employment and training service (vets) funding
In March, we learned that the unemployment rate for all veterans
hit its lowest point in almost two decades, declining to 3.7 percent.
This is a great sign of both our improving economy and the experience
and training veterans bring to the civilian workforce. The Omnibus
funding bill passed last month increased funding for veterans
employment and training by $16 million.
Question. How will the Department continue to target the employment
needs of the veteran population?
Answer. Within the Department, the Veterans' Employment and
Training Service (VETS) is tasked with bringing all of the Department's
resources to bear for America's veterans, separating service members,
and their families. VETS' mission is focused on four key areas: (1)
preparing veterans for meaningful careers; (2) providing them with
employment resources and expertise; (3) protecting their employment
rights; and, (4) promoting the employment of veterans and related
training opportunities to employers across the country.
The Department has the expertise and a nationwide network to
provide workforce education and employment opportunities, and veterans
receive priority of service. This integrated network and the
Department's programs that provide services to our veterans continue to
deliver positive employment outcomes for the men and women who have
served our country.
The HIRE VETS program will recognize job creators for their
investments in recruiting, employing, and retaining our Nation's
veterans. The program will recognize large, medium, and small job
creators at two levels, platinum or gold, depending on the criteria
they meet. Veterans bring experience, adaptability and focus that
employers can use for their competitive advantage.
In fiscal year 2018, the Department received additional resources
in the Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) budget activity, the TAP
budget activity, the Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program budget
activity, and the Federal Administration budget activity. VETS will use
the appropriated resources to support additional JVSG-funded staff to
provide services to veterans, fund the delivery of the DOL Employment
Workshop and Career Technical Training Track (CTTT) workshops, fund the
Veterans Data Exchange Initiative (VDEI), award additional grants to
grantees serving homeless veterans, and begin implementing the Honoring
Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Act
of 2017 (HIRE Vets Act) program.
The Department is using an additional $7.5 million made available
by Congress to address ways in which harmonizing licensing requirements
across States can reduce barriers to labor market entry and mobility,
particularly for dislocated workers, transitioning service members,
veterans, and military spouses. The Department recently announced two
funding opportunities to be awarded in the summer of 2018. The first
initiative will provide grants to selected States to review and
streamline occupational licensing requirements in State-identified
occupations and to promote portability of their licenses to other
States, which is of particular concern to dislocated workers and
military families. The second initiative will award cooperative
agreements to fund partnerships to develop bridge curriculum as open
educational resources to address military-to-civilian skill gaps
related to licensure, which is of concern to transitioning service
members and veterans. The Department will allocate the remaining funds
to procure support for the development and dissemination of an
interagency technical assistance and outreach/communications strategy
related to occupational licensure and remedies to assist military
spouses to obtain licensure in their new State of residence.
On May 9, 2018, the President signed Executive Order 13832,
Enhancing Noncompetitive Civil Service Appointments of Military Spouses
(EO). The EO requires the Department to recommend new ways to improve
occupational license portability and remove barriers to the employment
of military spouses and further demonstrates the Administration's
commitment to enhance employment support for military spouses. The
Department is actively working to implement the EO. For example, the
Department recently launched a professional license and credential
finder portal for military spouses. The new webpage brings together
license portability resources from across the Federal Government. This
new site highlights States' efforts to help military spouses secure
good, family-sustaining jobs. The webpage can be found here: https://
www.veterans.gov/milspouses.
workforce training
Question. By 2020, 60 percent of jobs will require education or
training beyond high school. Many employers state that the inability to
find qualified workers is their biggest obstacle to growth.
How does the Department prioritize youth-targeted workforce
development training within the other priorities to grow our future
workforce?
Answer. A large portion of the Department's discretionary skills
instruction and employment funding, over $2.8 billion, is prioritized
to target youth and young adults, including the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth formula grant, YouthBuild, Reentry
Employment Opportunities, and Job Corps programs. These programs
prioritize youth with barriers to employment by providing services that
prepare them for success in employment and post-secondary education.
Program activities are aimed at developing a strong career pipeline to
provide youth, including out-of-school and justice system-involved
youth, with work readiness skills and industry-driven credential
attainment opportunities. These programs also equip youth with skills
that prepare them for success in growing and in-demand industries.
Through these youth programs, the Department is also providing
opportunities for young people to access more earn-and-learn work-based
models, such as apprenticeships. Paid work experience alongside the
ability to earn educational credentials is one of the most effective
ways individuals can prepare for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
Currently, the WIOA Youth program emphasizes pre-apprenticeship
opportunities by prioritizing work experience alongside education and
workforce development. The YouthBuild program is expanding its focus to
include in-demand industries beyond construction that are aligned with
the apprenticeship model. The Reentry Employment Opportunities grants
now include a focus on apprenticeship and other intensive occupational
skills instruction models to expand those opportunities to youth
involved in the justice system.
youth-targeted skills development
Question. How can the apprenticeship program help youth-targeted
skills development?
Answer. High school is a critical time for youth to make career and
educational choices, and communities across the country are starting to
launch programs that allow high school students to pursue career-
oriented coursework coupled with work-based learning opportunities.
These programs have different names, such as high school
apprenticeship, school-to-apprenticeship, or youth apprenticeship, but
all have the same goals--providing students with access to high-
quality, industry-focused education that combines classroom and on-the-
job learning with affordable pathways to college and careers in high-
demand industries.
High school apprenticeship programs also provide industry with
solutions to their workforce needs. By mentoring and providing
workforce education to young apprentices, companies can develop
employees who are trained to their precise specifications and have
learned the company's unique workplace culture. High school
apprenticeship programs also provide a source of qualified workers,
reducing recruitment costs and ensuring industry has the workforce they
need today and for the future. Additionally, high school apprenticeship
programs are frequently linked to ``adult'' apprenticeships, post-high
school apprenticeships in which companies hire individuals (18 years of
age and older) as full-time employees. Through effective partnerships,
entry into adult apprenticeships can be facilitated through the high
school programs.
High school apprenticeships are also valuable for school systems,
as applied learning and hands-on experience may enhance school
retention, academic performance, and graduation rates. These programs
also create stronger linkages between high school and 2- and 4-year
colleges, which often provide leadership, technical education, and
support to programs. Building on college credits earned in high school,
participating students are motivated to continue their education after
graduation.
Question. In particular, you have discussed expanding the program
to new industries. What new trades does the Department want to focus
the expansion?
Answer. The Department is committed to increasing the number of
high-quality apprenticeships, including expansion into high-growth,
emerging sectors where apprenticeships have historically been rare.
Pursuant to the President's Executive Order 13801, Expanding
Apprenticeships in America, the Department is developing a framework
for industry-recognized apprenticeships that are flexible and
responsive to market needs, less bureaucratic, and more attractive to
American job creators. The Executive Order established a Task Force on
Apprenticeship Expansion, including members from companies, trade and
industry groups, educational institutions, labor unions, and others.
The Task Force convened weekly to discuss how to engage more job
creators and rapidly expand these models to help more Americans get
back to work and issued its Final Report to the President on May 10,
2018. The Department is starting to implement many of the
recommendations outlined in the report. Industry-recognized
apprenticeships will expand on the successes of the apprenticeship
model. Industry-recognized apprenticeships will offer the workforce the
benefit of companies, trade and industry groups, educational
institutions, labor unions, and others coming together to fill open
jobs by discerning the skills demanded by job creators and connecting
those skills needed for job seekers. Once private, third-party
certifiers are in place, industry-recognized apprenticeships will
benefit from a streamlined process that ensures high-quality
apprenticeships.
An overwhelming majority of apprenticeship programs registered with
the Department and State apprenticeship agencies are limited to job
preparation in the traditional trades, such as construction. Our
efforts have been focused on expanding the apprenticeship model into
non-traditional industries where the Department sees the most growth
and opportunity for employment. Industries such as advanced
manufacturing, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and healthcare are new to
earn-while-you-learn strategies and will benefit from this model. The
Department's goal is to supplement, not supplant, the Registered
Apprenticeship system in order to rapidly scale up the number of
apprenticeships for in-demand occupations.
Question. How would the Department focus these opportunities
towards youth who are preparing to enter post-secondary education or
the job market?
Answer. The Department has a wide array of youth workforce
development activities, including the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth formula grant, YouthBuild, Reentry
Employment Opportunities, and Job Corps programs. These programs help
youth with barriers to employment by providing services that prepare
them for success in employment and post-secondary education. Program
activities are aimed at developing a strong career pipeline to provide
youth, including out-of-school and justice system-involved youth, with
work readiness skills and industry-driven credential attainment
opportunities. These programs also equip youth with skills that prepare
them for success in growing and in-demand industries.
Through these youth programs, the Department is also providing
opportunities for young people to access more earn-and-learn work-based
models, such as apprenticeships. Paid work experience alongside the
ability to earn educational credentials is one of the most effective
ways individuals can prepare for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
Currently, the WIOA Youth program emphasizes pre-apprenticeship
opportunities by prioritizing work experience alongside education and
workforce development. The YouthBuild program is expanding its focus to
additional in-demand industries beyond construction that are aligned
with the apprenticeship model. The Reentry Employment Opportunities
grants now include a focus on apprenticeship and other intensive
occupational skills training models to expand those opportunities to
youth involved in the justice system.
underperforming job corps centers
Question. Many may not know that 20 percent of Job Corps centers
are run by the U.S. Forest Service. Unfortunately, many of these
centers are chronically underperforming. We spend $1.7 billion a year
on Job Corps training and we need to make certain that every dollar is
going towards programs that are preparing young adults to enter the
workforce.
Secretary Acosta, can you discuss your proposal to compete
contracts to non-Federal entities?
Answer. The Department recognizes the uneven performance of Job
Corps centers and is committed to ensuring that students receive high-
quality workforce development at high-performing centers. As such, the
fiscal year 2019 President's Budget proposes ending the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's (USDA) role in the program. Workforce development is
not a core USDA function, and the centers it operates are
overrepresented in the lowest-performing cohort of centers. The Budget
also proposes to allow the Department to competitively select a non-
Federal entity to operate the former USDA centers where appropriate.
The President's Budget also takes important steps to improve Job Corps
for the youth it serves by focusing the program on the older youth for
whom the program is more effective; improving center safety; and making
other changes to sharpen program quality and efficiency. This can be
achieved by entering into agreements with colleges and apprenticeship
programs; providing thorough policy guidance in all areas of center/
outreach and admissions/career transition services operations; and
continuing to deliver a wide-ranging program that prepares youth for
the future, among other examples. This will allow the Department to
maximize the effectiveness of the Job Corps program and ensure young
Americans are learning the skills demanded by job creators in the 21st
century.
The Department is conducting a programmatic assessment of
performance center by center, surveying physical facilities, assessing
programmatic sustainability, and considering the workforce development
needs in each State and area served by a Job Corps center. Using this
deliberate approach, the Department will develop a plan to allocate the
program's fiscal year 2019 resources. It is the Department's
expectation that through concentration of Job Corps activities in
higher-performing centers, the Department will provide Job Corps
participants with higher-quality services that lead to better outcomes.
Question. Will any of the currently run Forest Services centers be
closed?
Answer. In April 2018, the Department announced its final decision
to close the Golconda Job Corps Center in Golconda, Illinois, based on
chronic low performance and student safety concerns. Section 159(j) of
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act establishes procedures
that must be followed before a Job Corps center may be closed. Prior to
the closure of any Job Corps center, the Department is required by
statute to announce publicly the proposed closure and allow for a
comment period, not to exceed 30 days, before closing the center. The
statute also requires that the Department notify the Members of
Congress who represent the district in which the center is located.
Should the Department determine to close any centers, the Department
will provide the Members of Congress and the public with appropriate
notification, before closing a center.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
gulfport, ms job corps center
Question. Secretary Acosta, it is my understanding the Department
has been working to rebuild the Gulfport Job Corps Center for a number
of years. The rebuilding of this Center was important to my
predecessor, and I will continue to work towards its completion to
benefit my constituents in South Mississippi. It is my hope that your
Department will remain committed to work to ensure that the Center is
rebuilt to full capacity, and I commend the progress that has been made
in recent years.
Can you please update the Committee on your Department's progress
this year? Please give an estimated timeline of completion on the
Gulfport Job Corps Center.
Answer. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by the
Department of Labor, the Mayor of Gulfport, and the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation, and was effective on September 19, 2017. Since
that time, the Department issued the pre-solicitation for the
Architect/Engineer (A/E) services and prepared the Scope of Work, which
provides guidance to the selected A/E team on various aspects of the
design, coordination of the design with all MOA signatories and the
concurring party, and coordination with the City of Gulfport and all
utility companies required to be involved on the project. The
Department received a number of proposals from A/E firms in response to
the pre-solicitation, which closed on March 3, 2018. The Department
anticipates final award of the design in late 2018.
This project involves the significant elements of historic
preservation, facade support to enable preservation, and a multiparty
MOA. As such, the Department's projected timeline anticipates that the
design phase will take 17 months and the construction phase is expected
to take an additional 19 months.
The Department also submits a monthly update to the Committee on
its progress, pursuant to Senate Report 115-150 accompanying the Senate
bill for Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018 (S. 1771).
expanding apprenticeship programs in rural and underserved communities
Question. Mr. Secretary, I am aware that the Administration is
committed to expanding apprenticeship programs to meet the needs of our
evolving workforce. In my home State of Mississippi and other States
across the Nation, rural communities are faced with different
challenges than urban areas.
Would you tell the Committee what the Department is doing to
address the unique workforce challenges faced by rural and underserved
communities?
Answer. Under Public Law 115-141, the Consolidated Appropriations
Act of 2018, Congress provided $30 million to the Department to address
the employment needs of workers in the Appalachia and the Lower
Mississippi Delta region. The Department is currently working with
leaders in these regions, including the Delta Regional Authority, to
tailor these grants to specifically address the workforce needs in
these rural and underserved communities.
In fiscal year 2017, the Department awarded $50 million in grants
to 36 States to expand Registered Apprenticeships across their States.
Recently, the Department awarded the Mississippi Department of
Employment Security a $1.2 million State expansion grant to fund the
Mississippi Apprenticeship Program, a new initiative to expand
Registered Apprenticeship programs in the State and transform workforce
development in Mississippi. This initiative, which operates in
collaboration with all 15 Mississippi community colleges, focuses on
developing apprenticeships in the automotive sector, advanced
manufacturing, and other high-demand, emerging industries. The program
anticipates serving apprentices throughout Mississippi, with a special
emphasis on recruiting dislocated workers, women, veterans, persons of
color, and individuals with disabilities.
In addition, the Department's Office of Apprenticeship in
Mississippi promotes apprenticeship across the State at job fairs and
other local community events, and regularly meets with representatives
from local business and industry to promote apprenticeship as an
effective workforce development strategy. The Department would be happy
to set up a meeting to discuss further.
Question. Does the Department plan to expand apprenticeship
programs to meet the needs of rural constituents?
Answer. The Department, through its apprenticeships grants, is
committed to increasing the number of high-quality apprenticeships,
including expansion into high-growth, emerging sectors and in rural
areas where apprenticeships have historically been rare. It is also
possible that the Department could utilize a portion of the $30 million
appropriated under Public Law 115-141, the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2018, to provide employment services, including connecting
unemployed workers to applicable apprenticeship programs, to the rural
and underserved communities in the Appalachia and Lower Mississippi
Delta regions.
In fiscal year 2017, the Department awarded $50 million in grants
to 36 States to expand Registered Apprenticeships. These grants have
provided governors and State workforce agencies with the ability to
develop programs and upskill workers across all areas of the State.
Pursuant to the President's Executive Order 13801, Expanding
Apprenticeships in America, the Department is developing a framework
for industry-recognized apprenticeships that are flexible and
responsive to market needs, less bureaucratic, and more attractive to
American job creators. The Executive Order established a Task Force on
Apprenticeship Expansion, including members from companies, trade and
industry groups, educational institutions, labor unions, and others.
The Task Force convened weekly to discuss how to engage more job
creators and rapidly expand these models to help more Americans get
back to work and issued its Final Report to the President on May 10,
2018. The Department is starting to implement many of the
recommendations outlined in the report. Industry-recognized
apprenticeships will expand on the successes of the apprenticeship
model. Industry-recognized apprenticeships will offer the workforce the
benefit of companies, trade and industry groups, educational
institutions, labor unions, and others coming together to fill open
jobs by discerning the skills demanded by job creators and connecting
those skills needed for job seekers. Once private, third-party
certifiers are in place, industry-recognized apprenticeships will
benefit from a streamlined process that ensures high-quality
apprenticeships.
An overwhelming majority of apprenticeship programs registered with
the Department and State apprenticeship agencies are limited to job
preparation in the traditional trades, such as construction. Our
efforts have been focused on expanding the apprenticeship model into
non-traditional industries where the Department sees the most growth
and opportunity for employment. Industries such as advanced
manufacturing, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and healthcare are new to
earn-while-you-learn strategies and will benefit from this model. The
Department's goal is to supplement, not supplant, the Registered
Apprenticeship system in order to rapidly scale up the number of
apprenticeships for in-demand occupations.
dol regulations
Question. Mr. Secretary, I am aware that President Trump signed an
Executive Order instructing Department Secretaries to review and reduce
over-burdensome, costly regulations. My office continues to hear from
constituents and businesses in our State concerned about guidance and
regulations issued by the previous Administration.
Would you please update the Committee on the Department's continued
work to reduce overbearing rules and regulations that adversely affect
constituents and small businesses?
Answer. Pursuant to Executive Orders (EO) 13563 (Improving
Regulation and Regulatory Review) and 13610 (Identifying and Reducing
Regulatory Burdens), and consistent with EO 13771 (Reducing Regulation
and Controlling Regulatory Costs) and EO 13777 (Enforcing the
Regulatory Reform Agenda) (collectively, EOs), the President directed
agencies to review regulations that unnecessarily eliminate jobs,
inhibit job creation, are unnecessary, or impose costs that exceed
benefits. The Department is directed by EO 13777 to establish a
Regulatory Reform Task Force (RRTF) to help with these reviews.
Following the President's directive, the Department is undertaking
a comprehensive review of regulations. The Department solicits
stakeholder input through ongoing agency-specific engagements, while
also taking advantage of opportunities for broader, more formal
outreach. For example, staff members from the Department's national and
regional offices participated in at least six Regulatory Reform
Roundtables across the country hosted by the Small Business
Administration's Office of Advocacy. The roundtables were listening
sessions allowing Department representatives to hear regulatory reform
ideas directly from owners and representatives of small businesses
around the country.
The Department incorporates the work of the RRTF into the
development of the Department's submission to the Unified Regulatory
Agenda. As part of the agenda development, agencies included
deregulatory actions repealing, replacing, or modifying outdated,
inefficient, or overly burdensome regulations. As a result of this
review, the Department included a total of 23 deregulatory actions in
its Spring 2018 Unified Regulatory Agenda. Each regulatory agency
continues to work diligently to identify regulations or alternative
regulatory approaches that will reduce accumulated regulatory burden
while ensuring that protections afforded workers are not diminished.
The mere fact that a regulation is expensive is not, taken alone, a
reason to rescind it. Sometimes regulations may have significant costs
associated, but are necessary to protect the safety and health of hard-
working Americans. The Department's regulatory agencies are working
diligently to identify regulations or alternative regulatory approaches
that will reduce regulations that impose unjustified costs, or that
simply ignore costs, to expand opportunity to more Americans while
ensuring important health and safety protections for workers. When the
Department makes the decision to repeal, replace, or modify
economically-significant regulations, the Department is committed to
fully considering the costs and benefits of each regulation to inform
decisions.
youthbuild program
Question. Mr. Secretary, YouthBuild is a program that positively
impacts my home State through five sites across Mississippi. This
program provides Mississippi youth with valuable skills necessary to
join the workforce.
Would you tell the Committee what the Department is doing to ensure
that this program continues to benefit my constituents?
Answer. Under the 2014 reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the YouthBuild program was expanded beyond
construction into additional in-demand industries. Known as
Construction Plus, YouthBuild now educates youth for certification and
placement into in-demand industries such as healthcare, information
technology, logistics, advanced manufacturing, and hospitality. In
fiscal year 2018, YouthBuild is strengthening its pre-apprenticeship
and apprenticeship opportunities for youth in these new industries to
better align with locally in-demand careers. The Department is focusing
these funding opportunities on programs that provide young people with
the on-the-job skills needed in growing industries to ensure they are
prepared to enter into a workforce that is thriving with the skills
necessary to compete.
Mississippi has one on-going YouthBuild grant with the Natchez
Housing Authority to provide at-risk youth with construction and
leadership skills. In addition, awards were provided to CLIMB Community
Development Corporation in Gulfport in 2016, the Mississippi Action for
Community Education, Inc. in Greenville in 2015, and West Jackson
Community Development Corporation in Jackson in 2014.
Question. How does the Department plan to increase these sites in
our rural communities?
Answer. The Department continues to emphasize geographic diversity
in awarding YouthBuild grants. The expansion into additional in-demand
industries also benefits rural communities where construction may not
be a growing field, unlike industries such as logistics or healthcare.
The Department provides dedicated technical assistance to rural
YouthBuild grantees, including a dedicated program coach who provides
ongoing support to rural programs and understands rural communities'
unique needs. The Department has also met with rural tribes through the
National Congress of American Indians to discuss the program model and
encourage participation.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Patty Murray
paid pilot program
Question. Mr. Secretary, your testimony mentioned a new PAID Pilot
program at the Wage and Hour division that I am concerned will amount
to nothing more than amnesty for employers engaged in wage theft. You
further stated that ``employers prefer to correct their mistakes and
voluntarily pay their employees' wages they are owed.''
Is it the case that employers already can audit their pay practices
and voluntarily provide backpay to workers, without DOL's involvement?
Answer. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) allows employers to
conclusively settle claims for FLSA wage violations in only two ways:
via court-ordered settlement or via Wage and Hour Division (WHD)-
supervised settlement. If an employer pays back wages to its employees
outside of a court-ordered settlement or the Payroll Audit Independent
Determination (PAID) program (a WHD-supervised settlement), then the
employer will not have conclusively resolved the violation.
When employers make inadvertent mistakes, the PAID program helps
employees receive their overtime and minimum wages as quickly as
possible. The PAID program includes significant protections for
employees and allows each employee to make the decision that is best
for him or her. Employees can accept payment under the PAID program, or
they can determine to decline the payment and retain their private
right of action. Employees will receive 100 percent of the back wages
paid, without having to pay any litigation expenses or attorneys' fees.
The PAID program allows employers and employees to resolve inadvertent
violations expeditiously and without litigation, and allows employees
to accept the payments and release their rights to privately sue the
employer for the unpaid wages. In general, PAID will streamline the
resolution of compliance issues and improve compliance overall, which
WHD expects will enable the agency to focus more of its resources on
bad actors who intentionally violate the law.
Question. Why is this pilot program needed if employers already may
audit their pay practices and voluntarily provide back pay to workers?
Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
Question. Are you concerned that this PAID pilot program will erode
the deterrent effect to employers stealing wages, leaving workers
harmed by unpaid rent and other costs of living, while an employer is
able to avoid paying damages for such behavior?
Answer. The Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program
allows more employees to receive 100 percent of their back wages--
faster--without having to pay any litigation or attorney's fees. An
employer may not initiate the process to resolve any issues if the Wage
and Hour Division (WHD) is already investigating the employer, or if
the employer is already litigating in court, in arbitration, or
otherwise. An employer likewise may not initiate the process when an
employee's representative or counsel has already communicated an
interest in litigating or settling the issue. Also, employers cannot
use the program to repeatedly resolve the same violations; the PAID
program is designed to identify and correct non-compliant practices,
and to increase overall compliance by educating employers about how to
comply in the future.
The PAID program further seeks to improve compliance by providing
employers with easy-to-access compliance assistance materials
concerning the FLSA, requiring employers to review those materials
before they can qualify to participate in the PAID program, and
requiring employers to certify that they will comply with the FLSA
going forward.
Question. When DOL brings wage and hour claims on behalf of
workers, it pursues the higher minimum wages provided for by many
States' laws in determining backpay both for minimum wage and overtime
pay; will DOL pursue those higher wages for participants in the PAID
program?
Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) does not have jurisdiction
to enforce States' or localities' minimum wage laws or supervise the
settlement of State law claims. Accordingly, WHD cannot provide waivers
of employees' rights under State laws and can only supervise the
payment of back wages within the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)'s
statute of limitations period.
Question. Under this program, is it true that DOL will not be
pursuing interest on the backpay? If so, what differentiates the PAID
program from a program allowing employers to take interest-free loans
from workers' paychecks without their approval?
Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) does not charge interest
in any cases if employers pay back wages by the next full pay period.
Employers under the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID)
program must pay all back wages due by the end of the next full pay
period after receiving the summary of unpaid wages, and provide proof
of payment to WHD expeditiously. Nothing about how or when WHD charges
an employer interest will change as a result of this program.
Question. How will the Wage and Hour division (WHD) make
determinations consistent with the announced purpose of the program
which is, according to its March 6, 2018 press release, ``expedites
resolution of inadvertent overtime and minimum wage violations under
the Fair Labor Standards Act''?
Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) maintains its discretion
to determine whether to accept employers into the Payroll Audit
Independent Determination (PAID) program. Potential participants are
examined on a case-by-case basis. WHD will accept employers into the
PAID program using the following criteria, among others, which are also
clearly outlined for employers on WHD's website at www.dol.gov/whd/
paid.
--Neither WHD nor a court of law has found within the last 5 years
that the employer has violated Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
minimum wage and/or overtime requirements by engaging in the
same compensation practices at issue in the proposed PAID self-
audit.
--The employer is not currently a party to any litigation (private or
with WHD) asserting that the compensation practices at issue in
the proposed PAID self-audit violate FLSA minimum wage and/or
overtime requirements.
--WHD is not currently investigating the compensation practices at
issue in the proposed PAID self-audit.
--The employer is not specifically aware of any recent complaints by
its employees or their representatives to the employer, to WHD,
or to a State wage enforcement agency asserting that the
compensation practices at issue in the proposed PAID self-audit
violate FLSA minimum wage and/or overtime requirements.
--The employer has not previously participated in the PAID program to
resolve potential FLSA minimum wage or overtime violations
resulting from the compensation practices at issue in the
proposed PAID self-audit.
--The employer has a continuing duty to update WHD on any changes to
the above information and/or representations.
Question. Won't the denial of participation of an employer to the
PAID pilot and DOL's promise not to investigate such an employer
prevent WHD from enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act for employees
not being paid what they are owed under the law?
Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) does not grant immunity
from investigations to employers who request participation in the
Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. If WHD declines
an employer's request to participate, the employer's request to
participate will not serve as the basis for a future investigation
unless WHD has reason to believe that health or safety are at risk (for
example, if there are child labor violations). To illustrate, if an
employee subsequently submits a complaint to WHD concerning the
employer's compensation practices, WHD may still investigate that
complaint. WHD always maintains its discretion to determine whether to
accept employers into the PAID program.
WHD is always ready to help employers understand and comply with
their legal obligations. WHD encourages employers to proactively seek
compliance or technical assistance to comply with the laws the WHD
enforces, and the PAID program is designed to facilitate this process.
WHD wants to work with good faith employers to resolve inadvertent
violations of FLSA minimum wage and overtime requirements. The
Department remains committed to protecting all workers by fully and
fairly enforcing the law.
Question. Finally, how does the Wage and Hour division plan to
evaluate outcomes of the PAID pilot beyond the increased timeliness of
payment of back pay?
Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will implement the Payroll
Audit Independent Determination (PAID) pilot program nationwide for
approximately 6 months. At the end of the pilot period, WHD will review
lessons learned and evaluate options for effective implementation
moving forward. WHD will use a balanced approach in assessing all
aspects of this pilot phase of the program, including quantitative and
qualitative measures, as well as feedback from employees, employers,
and WHD staff. Given that we remain in the pilot phase, it is too early
to begin meaningfully evaluating the pilot.
advisory board on toxic substances and worker health
Question. Secretary Acosta, as a senator from the State of
Washington, the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
Program Act (EEOICPA) program is really important to me because we have
thousands of workers and their families at the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation located in the Tri-Cities who helped America win World War
II and the Cold War and continue to support a critical cleanup mission
at Hanford. It's also important to other members representing similar
heroes and their families who are trying to secure compensation and
care in a fair and timely manner. In 2014, Congress established the
Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health (Advisory Board)
to assist the Department in improving the program and process for
workers to receive the healthcare and benefits they have earned.
While I appreciate your efforts to seek nomination and
reappointment requests for the Advisory Board, the Department has now
been reviewing nomination materials for over 5 months. In the meantime
you've allowed the terms of all 15 Advisory Board members to expire in
February and March of this year. I am very concerned that the great
strides the Advisory Board made in recommending ways to improve Part E
of EEOICPA is in limbo.
When can we expect the Advisory Board to be appointed and
functioning again?
Answer. Twelve members were recently appointed to the Advisory
Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health for the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. The Department is
currently in the process of notifying the selected appointees as well
as the nominees who were not selected. Once the notification process is
completed, a public announcement will be made naming each of the
selected members. The Board will meet at least twice per year.
osha inspector vacancies
Question. Mr. Secretary, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (``OSHA'') has responsibility to set health and safety
standards for over 100 million workers at millions of workplaces across
the country and investigate corporations that may be putting their
workers' lives and wellbeing at risk.
But unfortunately, OSHA does not have the resources to meet this
responsibility. Currently Federal OSHA only has the capacity to inspect
workplaces under its jurisdiction once every 159 years.
You've acknowledged the need to replace vacant inspectors and
provided an exemption to the hiring freeze in order to start the
process of hiring inspectors at OSHA. I believe you've stated that as
of this month OSHA has about 65 hiring actions underway.
What progress are you making in filling these vacant positions?
Answer. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2018, 42 Compliance
Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) have been hired. In addition, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has another 40
pending selections currently in process. For 20 of the pending
selections, the selected candidates have Entry-on-Duty (EOD) dates and
will be on-boarded shortly. For the remaining 20 actions, selections
have been made, pending documentation from tentative selections, or
required physicals and/or security clearances. OSHA is also recruiting
to ensure there is a continuous pool of CSHO applicants for selection
for vacancies.
It should be noted that despite the temporary reduction in
inspectors due to attrition and retirements, between January 1 and
December 31, 2017, OSHA conducted 31,944 inspections and issued
citations for 52,515 violations. The number of inspections conducted in
2017 increased year over year for the first time in 5 years despite
OSHA's suspension of enforcement activities to provide more compliance
assistance and to facilitate the provision of personal protective
equipment during the hurricane recovery in areas affected by natural
disasters this year.
Question. When will these vacancies be filled with inspectors in
the field conducting inspections?
Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
requires a comprehensive training program for inspector positions. New
hires complete introductory courses at the OSHA Training Institute, on-
the-job training, and independent study before being released to do
inspections independently. Supervisors evaluate and determine when each
new hire has enough hands-on education and experience to conduct
inspections independently.
Question. The fiscal year 2019 budget request for OSHA is seeking
funding for 42 additional enforcement positions, which I am happy to
see. How many of these 42 new enforcement positions are for inspectors?
Answer. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget request for the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforcement is for 42
inspector positions.
hiring freeze exemptions
Question. I am pleased that you have recognized OSHA does not have
enough enforcement personnel and requested an exemption from the hiring
freeze to begin hiring those needed staff. Will you be requesting
exemptions to hire additional enforcement positions in your other
essential agencies, including WHD?
Answer. The Department of Labor no longer has a hiring freeze and
there is no longer an exemption process. Following the approval of the
Department's fiscal year 2018 Budget, the hiring exemption process was
replaced with a streamlined personnel action authorization process that
enables program offices, including the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), to
expedite recruitment actions for mission critical occupations,
particularly those in safety and enforcement positions. While the
Department continues to review hiring requests for all position
vacancies, the process is much faster, more streamlined, and requires
only a one-page signoff for most of the Department's vacant positions,
including positions such as wage and hour investigators in WHD, mine
safety and health inspectors in the Mine Safety and Health
Administration, occupational safety and health professionals in the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other investigative
positions in the Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Employee
and Benefits Security Administration. The streamlined approach puts
most of the personnel decisions back in the hands of agency heads,
while still requiring a central review for budget and other related
considerations.
gao report on workplace violence (gao-16-11)
Question. In 2016, in response to a Government Accountability
Office report on workplace violence (GAO-16-11) that I requested along
with Representatives Bobby Scott, Joe Courtney and Frederica Wilson,
OSHA updated its voluntary guidelines on preventing workplace in
healthcare and social services and its enforcement procedures for
addressing workplace violence under OSHA's general duty clause.
However, OSHA has yet to issue its report that will help compliance
officers develop citations in workplace violence cases.
When will the report be issued?
Answer. The Department recognizes the importance of preventing
workplace violence in all workplaces, including the healthcare and
social assistance sectors, and it has a long history of commitment to
protecting healthcare employees from work-related physical harm and
threats of physical harm.
In December 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) published a Request for Information (RFI), which will help the
agency identify existing workplace violence prevention requirements.
OSHA continues to review and analyze the comments submitted to the
record in response to OSHA's RFI. OSHA is also conducting a formal
assessment of healthcare violence using all data available through the
Department (e.g., Bureau of Labor Statistics, OSHA) to establish a
baseline for future assessment and is reviewing enforcement data from
2005 to the present to inform this process.
In addition, OSHA is currently working with the Institute for
Healthcare Improvement/National Patient Safety Foundation to identify
best practices related to the nexus between patient care and healthcare
worker protections with industry stakeholders.
osha workplace violence standard
Question. In early 2017, OSHA granted a petition from healthcare
unions and committed to issuing a workplace violence standard for
healthcare and social services, and started to move forward with the
rulemaking process. But the Trump administration has sidetracked that
effort, taking the workplace violence standard off the active
regulatory agenda, placing it in a long- term status with any further
action ``undetermined.''
Secretary Acosta, do you agree that workplace violence is a serious
and growing safety and health threat to workers- particularly women
workers?
Answer. The evidence points to workplace violence as a serious and
growing concern in the healthcare and social-assistance sectors. In
addition to information provided by stakeholders in response to a
Request for Information, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) is conducting a formal assessment of healthcare
violence using all data available through the Department (e.g., Bureau
of Labor Statistics, OSHA) to establish a baseline for future
assessment and is reviewing enforcement data from 2005 to the present
to inform this process. OSHA is currently working with the Institute
for Healthcare Improvement/National Patient Safety Foundation to
identify best practices related to the nexus between patient care and
healthcare worker protections with industry stakeholders.
OSHA has conducted 60 workplace violence investigations in the
healthcare setting in fiscal year 2018. Currently, 20 of these
inspection are open. As a result of inspections initiated in fiscal
year 2018, OSHA issued 14 hazard alert letters and two violations.
Question. What action is OSHA taking under the Trump administration
to address this threat? Will the Trump administration commit to move
forward to develop an OSHA workplace violence standard and put the
rulemaking back on the active regulatory agenda this spring?
Answer. The Department recognizes the importance of preventing
workplace violence in all workplaces, including the healthcare and
social assistance sectors, and it has a long history of commitment to
protecting healthcare employees from work-related physical harm and
threats of physical harm.
In December 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) published a Request for Information (RFI), which will help the
agency identify existing workplace violence prevention requirements.
OSHA continues to review and analyze the comments submitted to the
record in response to OSHA's RFI. OSHA is also conducting a formal
assessment of healthcare violence using all data available through the
Department (e.g., Bureau of Labor Statistics, OSHA) to establish a
baseline for future assessment and is reviewing enforcement data from
2005 to the present to inform this process.
In addition, OSHA is currently working with the Institute for
Healthcare Improvement/National Patient Safety Foundation to identify
best practices related to the nexus between patient care and healthcare
worker protections with industry stakeholders.
evidence-based program initiatives
Question. Please describe the actions the Department is taking to
develop more effective indicators for the spread of evidence
development and use within and across DOL agencies.
Answer. To develop more effective indicators for the spread of
evidence development and use within and across the Department's
agencies, the Performance Management Center (PMC), located in the
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management,
leads the Department's results-driven management through strategic
planning, continuous process improvement, and performance reporting
associated with the Government Performance and Results Modernization
Act of 2010. To ensure consistency across agencies and programs, PMC
works closely with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy.
PMC also manages the Department's strategic planning process and
agency-level operating plans; leads departmental reviews and public
reporting to promote analysis, problem solving, risk management, and
accountability; and promotes the use of data and evidence to manage
programs and make decisions. In addition, PMC supports agencies in
designing and executing operational improvements; provides analytical
and statistical services to assist agencies in program design and
development; and provides third-party facilitation of strategic
planning, operations planning, or brainstorming activities.
Question. Have you considered adopting the percentage of agencies
appropriately applying evidence--as reviewed by the Chief Evaluation
Officer--in agency grant programs and programmatic initiatives as a way
to further the appropriate development and use of evidence throughout
the Department?
Answer. There are a number of strategies underway to ensure that
the Department's agencies build and use evidence in program design and
execution. Regular reviews of the agencies' operating plans are
undertaken to continually improve efficiency and effectiveness of their
programs. The Department uses results-based, data-driven management
techniques. Each agency in the Department prepares an annual Operating
Plan that details the strategies and resources it will apply to reach
goals and objectives at all levels of the organization. Departmental
leaders review performance against those operating plans each quarter
to monitor progress and hold agencies accountable for implementing the
plans, achieving milestones, and making adjustments as needed.
To promote the development and use of evidence in agency grant
programs, the Department requires as a condition of grant receipt, that
all competitive grantees fully participate in Department evaluations.
In some cases, grantees are required to procure an independent third-
party evaluation with incentives for rigorous designs. Some grant
funding announcements use tiered funding, scoring priorities, or bonus
scoring for evidence-based interventions or the inclusion of rigorous
evaluation. The Chief Evaluation Officer works with program offices to
draft grant funding announcements and often reviews grant applications
and assesses the extent to which they include evidence-based
strategies.
elimination of women's bureau grant funding
Question. The Women's Bureau is the only agency dedicated to
identifying and promoting opportunities for women in the workplace. For
almost 100 years, it has been the leading agency voice on equal pay;
and it has a track record of performing cutting-edge research and
policy analysis.
This month, we recognized Equal Pay Day, marking how far women had
to work into this year to make the same amount that men were paid last
year.
How will the Women's Bureau be more effective without grant funding
for research on these critical issues and far fewer staff?
Answer. The Women's Bureau's goal of promoting and advancing the
interests of working women is important, and portions of that mission
are recognized in other agencies across the Department. The Women's
Bureau will focus its efforts on helping agencies, within and beyond
the Department, to develop policies that advance the interests of
working women and their families. This work is done by designing the
research necessary to identify issues and solutions for working women,
collaborating where appropriate with other agencies such as Employment
and Training Administration, Office of Disability Employment Policy,
and Veterans' Employment and Training Service, as well as relevant
national, State, and local stakeholders outside the Department.
Wage discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal and wrong. To
ensure compliance with Federal anti-discrimination laws and provide
redress in the event violations are found, Executive Order 11246 vests
the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) with the
authority to investigate gender-based employment discrimination
complaints and to remedy documented cases of pay discrimination for
Federal contractors and subcontractors. Executive Order 11246 requires
that Federal contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action,
prohibits them from discriminating against applicants and employees on
the basis of sex, and also prohibits discrimination against applicants
or employees who discuss, disclose, or inquire about their compensation
or the compensation of others, subject to certain limitations. The
fiscal year 2019 President's Budget will focus OFCCP on doing high-
impact systemic compliance evaluations, implementing agency reforms
that strengthen the contractor workforce development and education to
support voluntary compliance with equal employment opportunity and
nondiscrimination requirements.
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) also supports a robust enforcement
and compliance assistance operation to ensure workers are remunerated
fairly. WHD focuses many of its investigations in industries that
typically employ large numbers of women workers. These industries,
where labor violations are most prevalent, include the janitorial,
healthcare, hotel, day care, garment, and restaurant industries. While
WHD does not report gender-disaggregated back wage recovery data, in
fiscal year 2017, WHD recovered more than $270 million in back wages
for more than 240,000 employees, an average of $1,114 per person. In
fiscal year 2017, WHD concluded more than 29,000 cases.
In addition to enforcing wage protections, WHD also enforces the
provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which entitles
eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected
leave for specified family and medical reasons. These protections can
make a critical difference in women's ability to deliver on family
caregiving obligations without sacrificing job security and long-range
earning potential. In fiscal year 2017, WHD recovered almost $1.5
million in back wages for FMLA violations by employers.
The gender wage gap is a complex issue influenced by a variety of
factors. The Department, through a combination of research and
analysis, compliance and enforcement activities, and direct service
programming delivered through the Federal workforce development system,
is working to address this issue. The Women's Bureau serves an
important role at the Department, utilizing research and educational
tools to better understand and inform the public of the factors that
may drive the gender wage gap. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget
will allow the agency to undergo reforms to focus on a narrower set of
high-priority policy issues, working in close coordination with the
White House and other Federal agencies.
The Employment and Training Administration also supports programs
to provide workforce development services for female workers. For
example, the Women's Bureau is collaborating with the Office of
Apprenticeship to recruit and retain women in pre-apprenticeship and
apprenticeship programs as potential pathways for women to non-
traditional occupations that may have higher average salaries.
reporting local job growth
Question. You and Senator Blunt discussed BLS data that did not
reflect the gains in job growth that a community had experienced.
What is the level of additional funding that the Bureau of Labor
Statistics must have in order to provide more timely local employment
information? Please include the additional funding requirements for
both the development of internal BLS systems as well as the additional
funding that BLS must provide to its State partners.
Answer. The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program recently
reviewed potential enhancements to its program including aligning CES
estimates more frequently with population estimates, which would adjust
current and historical estimates sooner. Aligning CES estimates with
population estimates, or benchmarking, more frequently than once a year
would require approximately $5 or $9 million per year in additional
funding for Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) depending on whether
benchmarking is done on a semi-annual or quarterly basis. This effort
would take 2 years before the semi-annual or quarterly benchmarking
could be implemented. In addition to the funding required to conduct
more frequent benchmarking, BLS would need an additional $2.5 million
per year to provide to its State partners for analysis of the benchmark
revisions and outreach activities.
closing the career awareness gap
Question. I appreciate your stated priority to close the ``career
awareness gap'' so that students have the information they need to make
good career decisions.
To address this gap, what program improvements will the Bureau of
Labor Statistics and the Employment and Training Administration make?
Answer. The Department currently provides career information and
career exploration tools that highlight work activities, wages, and
typical education preparation, including related apprenticeship
programs and certification. These include a site hosted by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics (BLS) designed for K-12 use, www.bls.gov/k12, which
includes career posters and other materials; the BLS Occupational
Outlook Handbook, available online; My Next Move, www.mynextmove.org,
which includes a career interest assessment and extensive information
on a variety of different occupations and the preparations needed for
those careers; and the mobile-friendly Get My Future site,
www.careeronestop.org/GetMyFuture, designed for youth. The Department
also makes available the workforce data used in these websites for
public consumption.
To help further reduce the career awareness gap, the Department's
focus on promoting apprenticeship and other work-based learning
approaches will provide opportunities to help young people learn of
more career options and understand how best to achieve their career
goals. Pre-apprenticeships, in particular, provide an important avenue
for students to gain career and technical education to prepare them to
enter full-time apprenticeship programs. The Department invests funds
through YouthBuild, Job Corps, and apprenticeship grants to better
connect at-risk students, especially those who have dropped out of high
school, with hands-on occupational workforce education to better
prepare them for jobs that they may otherwise be unaware exist.
In accordance with the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA), the Department is also developing an Eligible
Training Provider Scorecard. When complete, the Scorecard will provide
job seekers, employers, and workforce system administrators with
program of study-level information on WIOA-funded workforce development
programs. This information, which will include data such as employment
rates and earnings levels, will help support informed skills
instruction and career decisions. The Department anticipates releasing
the Scorecard in late 2019.
Question. What are the budget requirements of these actions?
Answer. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget requested
$67,194,000 for Workforce Information-Electronic Tools System Building
through which the Department supports the collection and communication
of workforce information as well as online career tools, including
maintenance of the Eligible Training Provider Scorecard; $2,000,000 for
Technical Assistance that supports key Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act implementation activities; $84,534,000 for YouthBuild;
$200,000,000 for apprenticeships; and $1,296,938,000 for Job Corps
under the Employment and Training Administration. The fiscal year 2019
President's Budget also requested $273,957,000 for Labor Force
Statistics in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Budget, through which the
Department supports activities such as the Occupational Outlook
Handbook, Employment Projections, and Occupational Employment
Statistics.
proposed tip pooling rule
Question. At the end of your testimony, you spoke at length about
the analysis you performed for your proposed tip rule. Just to be
certain we have clarity on the issue:
Did DOL perform a quantitative analysis for your proposed tip rule?
If so, who made the decision to not include it in the NPRM for the tip
rule?
Answer. Thank you, Senator Murray, and all others involved for
working with the Department to create a bipartisan, win-win solution to
the tip pooling issue. It is a positive outcome for all involved and a
great model of how Washington can work together to solve issues
affecting working Americans.
Now that Congress has given the Department--for the first time--
express authority to prevent employers from taking employees' tips in
all circumstances, the Department will use its new enforcement tools to
protect American workers' tips--including by recovering all tips
unlawfully kept by employers, and imposing liquidated damages and civil
monetary penalties as appropriate. Consistent with the law, the
Department will likewise use its enforcement tools to prohibit
supervisors and managers from participating in tip pools. The
Department issued Field Advisory Bulletin 2018-3, which confirms the
Department's immediate enforcement of these new statutory provisions.
As for the economic analysis in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,
the Department looked at a number of options for calculating the
potential costs and benefits of the proposal. In the end, the
Department determined that the assumptions required to include a
specific number were too unrealistic and did not provide accurate or
helpful information for the public to use in evaluating the proposed
rule. Instead, the Department included a qualitative analysis--just
like the Department did in 2011 when it first promulgated the tip rule
at issue--and asked the public to provide additional information
concerning the assumptions and potential analyses for inclusion in the
final rule.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Richard J. Durbin
career placement for at-risk youth
Question. Chicago has experienced a heartbreaking wave of gun
violence--in many cases, the areas in the city with the highest
unemployment rates are the same as those with the highest rates of
violence. Among young people of color in the Chicago metro area, youth
disconnection is extremely chronic and concentrated with more than 20
percent of Black youth and more than 11 percent of Latino youth ages
16-24 both out of school and out of work. Youth employment programs in
Chicago have played an important role in giving young people economic
opportunity. These programs have been shown to reduce violent crime
arrests by 33 percent. I've spoken with you several times about the
importance of Federal support for programs that help reduce violence
and create economic opportunity. In your testimony, you again mentioned
your focus on ``eliminating programs that are less efficient or less
effective''. I am concerned that this Administration has repeatedly
spoken of eliminating certain workforce development programs. We should
be working to build up these programs, not eliminate them. I've seen
what these programs do--I've visited them, and I've heard from youth
whose lives have been changed because they were given a chance at
economic opportunity. I recently met with a group of YouthBuild
students from Illinois. Each had a powerful story about the way the
program had changed their lives, enabling them to develop new skills
and become leaders in their communities.
In the past year, what Federal initiatives has DOL supported to
ensure that youth, especially those living in communities with high
levels of violent crime, will have access to long-term career pathways
that create economic mobility?
Answer. The Department shares your concern about helping young
people of color residing in high-crime communities access the necessary
programs and skills to develop long-term career pathways. Recently, the
Department awarded $84.4 million in Reentry Employment Opportunities
(REO) grants to serve ex-offenders and justice system-involved youth
residing in high-poverty, high-crime neighborhoods. Some of these
awards were made to intermediary and community-based organizations,
many of which are focused on serving young adult offenders.
This past year, the Department also awarded $80 million in
YouthBuild grants to 77 localities to allow youth to learn construction
and other skills while building homes for low-income or homeless
families. The Department also continues to serve at-risk youth through
its Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Youth Formula programs and
Job Corps, which provides education and workforce development services
to at-risk youth between the ages of 16--24.
Question. How is your Department working with public- and private-
sector partners, including State Workforce Agencies that administer the
Work Opportunity Tax Credit, to place at-risk youth into long-term
employment after completing job training programs?
Answer. The Department's Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
Youth program, YouthBuild, REO grants, and Job Corps engage small,
medium, and large companies in order to provide meaningful work
experience opportunities for at-risk youth. The Department also works
with industry groups, companies, non-profit organizations, unions, and
joint labor-management organizations to develop workforce development
programs, such as pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, and career
pathways that allow young people to earn and learn simultaneously,
leading to family-sustaining jobs.
The Department provides support to States to administer the Work
Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and the Federal Bonding Program. WOTC
provides a tax credit to employers that hire formerly-incarcerated
youth and young adults. The Federal Bonding Program provides bonds to
employers that hire formerly-incarcerated youth and young adults. The
Department is committed to promoting effective strategies that help
lessen recidivism by partnering with industry, State agencies, and
community and faith-based organizations, among others, through grants,
technical assistance, and outreach efforts.
taskforce on apprenticeship expansion
Question. I have supported expanding access to accountable,
nationally-recognized registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship
programs. Last November, I sent you a letter asking you to use your
role as Chair of the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion to identify
strategies to increase apprenticeship opportunities for at-risk youth.
In your response, you noted some of the great partnerships happening in
Chicago between community colleges and companies that have developed
their own apprenticeship programs.
Can you provide me with examples of initiatives the Department is
pursuing to make federally-supported apprenticeship programs accessible
for at-risk youth?
Answer. The Department recently awarded a $1.3 million grant to the
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to fund the
Illinois Apprenticeship Plus System, an initiative for developing a
comprehensive and modern apprenticeship system for Illinois. This
project is projected to serve more than 3,000 apprentices by 2020. This
initiative, which focuses on women, individuals with disabilities,
communities of color, at-risk youth, individuals transitioning from
incarceration, and low-income persons, will provide these underserved
populations with apprenticeship opportunities in high-growth, in-demand
occupational fields as manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and
distribution and logistics.
The Department also recently awarded a National Equity contract to
the Chicago Women in Trades' National Center for Women's Equity in
Apprenticeship and Employment as part of a $20.4 million initiative to
expand apprenticeship opportunities around the country for groups that
are historically underrepresented in apprenticeship. This initiative
emphasizes expanding access to apprenticeships for women, people of
color, and other underrepresented populations in Chicago and its
surrounding areas. The National Center will work with a consortium of
10 organizations representing nearly every staffed tradeswomen's
organization in the country and national subject matter experts to
expand access to apprenticeship opportunities.
In addition, the Department awarded a $2.5 million grant to Harper
College in Palatine, Illinois to fund Apprenticeships on Demand, a
program that integrates related technical education and on-the-job
learning to educate workers in high-growth and in-demand occupations.
Those completing the program may earn Associates' and Bachelor's
degrees paid for by employers in fields such as manufacturing,
insurance, and information technology. Forming a groundbreaking
apprenticeship program in the insurance sector, Harper College
partnered with Zurich North America, a global insurance company.
Question. Has DOL continued to consult with stakeholders in
Illinois about how apprenticeships can help youth in underserved
communities?
Answer. The Department has engaged in ongoing conversations with
stakeholders to encourage apprenticeship development in the Chicago
metropolitan area. For example, the Department has engaged in dialogues
with not-for-profit organizations, such as the City Colleges of
Chicago, Thrive Chicago, the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance, and
One Million Degrees, in order to explore strategies for expanding the
availability of apprenticeships for underserved communities and at-risk
youth.
impact of automation on the us workforce
Question. According to Ball State University, 50 to 60 percent of
jobs in Illinois could be at risk of becoming automated when broken
down by county. These changes in the American labor market will likely
have a disproportionate impact on low-income workers. Today's workforce
must be able to think and design with computerized tools to work
through challenges in a modern manufacturing plant. Employees often
find themselves working with advanced equipment and robotic instruments
that require programming skills to operate them.
What action does DOL plan to take to respond to changes in the
workforce as a result of automation?
Answer. The Department, in collaboration with the Department of
Education, is focused on fostering strong collaboration between our
workforce and educational systems. This collaboration is crucial to
help ensure workers earn the credentials and workplace skills required
to gain and maintain family-sustaining jobs.
Further, as the nature of work continues to change, it is clear
that we must also change our approach to preparing our workforce for
the workplaces of the future. The most visible approach is one of the
Department's top priorities--expanding apprenticeship opportunities.
Apprenticeship systems must become more flexible to allow key
stakeholders to adapt to changes in technology and to evolve to meet
the skills demanded by employers.
The Department is committed to increasing the number of high-
quality apprenticeships, including expansion into high-growth, emerging
sectors and in rural areas where apprenticeships have historically been
rare.
Pursuant to the President's Executive Order 13801, Expanding
Apprenticeships in America, the Department is developing a framework
for industry-recognized apprenticeships that are flexible and
responsive to market needs, less bureaucratic, and more attractive to
American job creators. The Executive Order established a Task Force on
Apprenticeship Expansion, including members from companies, trade and
industry groups, educational institutions, labor unions, and others.
The Task Force convened weekly to discuss how to engage more job
creators and rapidly expand these models to help more Americans get
back to work and issued its Final Report to the President on May 10,
2018. The Department is starting to implement many of the
recommendations outlined in the report. Industry-recognized
apprenticeships will expand on the successes of the apprenticeship
model. Industry-recognized apprenticeships will offer the workforce the
benefit of companies, trade and industry groups, educational
institutions, labor unions, and others coming together to fill open
jobs by discerning the skills demanded by job creators and connecting
those skills needed for job seekers. Once private, third-party
certifiers are in place, industry-recognized apprenticeships will
benefit from a streamlined process that ensures high-quality
apprenticeships.
An overwhelming majority of apprenticeship programs registered with
the Department and State apprenticeship agencies are limited to job
preparation in the traditional trades, such as construction. Our
efforts have been focused on expanding the apprenticeship model into
non-traditional industries where the Department sees the most growth
and opportunity for employment. Industries such as advanced
manufacturing, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and healthcare are new to
earn-while-you-learn strategies and will benefit from this model. The
Department's goal is to supplement, not supplant, the Registered
Apprenticeship system in order to rapidly scale up the number of
apprenticeships for in-demand occupations.
In today's rapidly-changing economy, it is more important than ever
to prepare workers to fill existing jobs and to prepare workers for the
jobs of the future. Our educational and workforce systems must prepare
individuals to acquire new skills as technology advances that enable
individuals to become lifelong learners.
Question. Is the Department working with businesses and States to
determine what skills and training programs will be needed to address
this shift?
Answer. Yes. The Department administers the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which is a State and locally-operated
system led by business and industry. The majority of members on State
and local workforce development boards consist of employers, who
understand the skills needed to fill critically important positions.
These boards are responsible for investing the majority of Federal
workforce development dollars in communities and are designed to bridge
the skills gap between job seekers and in-demand and growing
industries. State and local workforce development boards work with
governors and local elected officials to align workforce, economic
development, education, and social service organizations and funding
streams to provide streamlined, seamless services to employers and job
seekers. Through this system, the Department, States, local
governments, and the boards work together in close coordination with
business and industry to provide workers with the skills they need for
in-demand jobs in their local labor markets.
American Job Centers also have Business Services Representatives
(BSRs), who communicate information about apprenticeships to employers
in their regions. This employer engagement is critical to ensuring that
apprenticeship is incorporated into local workforce development
strategies, supplementing traditional tools used by BSRs such as career
fairs and recruitment support. American Job Centers may use work-based
job education, internships, and/or workforce development as part of the
array of services offered to businesses. BSRs can build on the trust
they have developed with employers through these services to engage in
a dialogue about apprenticeship.
job corps marketing
Question. The Job Corps program is key to providing disconnected
youth with the education and job training necessary to successfully
enter the workforce and earn a living wage. In fiscal year 2018, the
Committee report urged the Office of Job Corps to strengthen marketing
for the Job Corps program and hire additional Outreach and Admissions
staff to increase recruitment efforts in large cities in the United
States, in particular cities currently experiencing increased levels of
community violence. The budget proposal provides very little detail
about a proposal to have Outreach and Admissions functions for Job
Corps operated by State American Job Centers.
How is the Department currently working with States and other
partners to promote Admissions and fill Job Corps Centers, especially
in cities with high levels of community violence?
Answer. The Department's Office of Job Corps works primarily
through its system of local Outreach and Admissions (OA) contractors to
promote admissions and facilitate the enrollment of Job Corps students.
OA providers develop relationships with local volunteer and civic
organizations, faith-based groups, and other community organizations to
promote the Job Corps program. The Office of Job Corps supports its OA
contractors by providing a wide array of media and material for use
during outreach events and to share with interested youth and groups
that provide referrals. To have the greatest impact, Job Corps has
targeted its national marketing strategy to digital advertising on
online platforms, including social media, that are most likely to reach
the Job Corps youth demographic. Job Corps is evaluating its outreach
needs in high-crime urban areas that could benefit from more intense,
targeted, grass-roots campaign approaches.
job corps curriculum addressing labor market needs
Question. One of the goals of WIOA is to ensure that workforce
training programs are reflective of the economic needs of the local
areas they serve. In line with these goals, Job Corps Centers are
required to work closely with local and State Workforce Development
Boards and employers in order to ensure that trades and Industry-
Recognized Credentials are reflective of local economic needs.
How are the Employment and Training Administration and the National
Office of Job Corps working with Centers to ensure that trades offered
at Centers are reflective of the local labor market?
Answer. As required by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA), all center operations solicitations require that offerors
describe the career pathway programming activities that will be offered
at the center and describe how the academics and career and technical
education reflect State and local employment opportunities, including
opportunities in in-demand industry sectors and occupations.
Job Corps policies also require all centers to establish a
workforce council to review local labor market information, including
related information in the State or local plan, to provide
recommendations to the center regarding its Career Technical Training
offerings. Workforce councils are required to meet on a semiannual
basis and are made up of employers, representatives of labor
organizations, and often members of industry and workforce development
organizations. Job Corps policy also requires center operators to
participate in Local Workforce Development Board meetings and
activities to ensure that the center is offering workforce development
that aligns with local labor market needs.
Question. Is the National Office of Job Corps working to develop
new partnerships in communities that do not have a Center, or have
recently experienced a Center closure, to expand access to training in
underserved communities?
Answer. The Office of Job Corps actively pursues partnerships at
the national, regional, and center levels to expand access to workforce
development services in underserved communities. Deliberate efforts are
made to ensure that potential program candidates have access to
outreach and admission services throughout the Nation. The Department
is conducting a programmatic assessment of performance center by
center, surveying physical facilities, assessing programmatic
sustainability, and considering the workforce development needs in each
State and area served by a Job Corps center. Using this deliberate
approach, the Department will develop a plan to allocate the program's
fiscal year 2019 resources. It is the Department's expectation that
through concentration of Job Corps activities in higher-performing
centers, the Department will provide Job Corps participants with
higher-quality services that lead to better outcomes.
In addition, in areas where a center has closed, efforts are made
to ensure at-risk youth in those areas are able to attend centers that
are nearby and offer skills instruction in trades that they are
interested in pursuing.
Under Title I of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA),
formula funds are provided to States and local workforce areas to
deliver a comprehensive array of youth services. WIOA youth formula-
funded programs and YouthBuild offer many of the same or similar
services delivered through Job Corps in a non-residential setting, such
as: tutoring; alternative secondary school services; paid and unpaid
work experiences; occupational skills education; leadership development
opportunities; support services; comprehensive guidance and counseling;
financial literacy education; entrepreneurial skills education; and
postsecondary education and workforce development preparation
activities. These programs focus on underserved populations, much like
the Job Corps program.
Further, the fiscal year 2019 President's Budget takes important
steps to improve Job Corps for the youth it serves by focusing the
program on the older youth for whom the program is more effective;
improving center safety; and making other changes to sharpen program
quality and efficiency. This includes ending the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) role in the Job Corps program. Workforce
development is not a core USDA function, and the 25 centers it operates
are overrepresented in the lowest performing cohort of centers. The
fiscal year 2019 Budget continues the authority included in past
appropriations bills that would allow the Department to competitively
select a non-Federal entity to operate the former USDA centers.
The Department is also working to enter into agreements with
colleges and apprenticeship programs; provide thorough policy guidance
in all areas of center/outreach and admissions/career transition
services operations; and continue to deliver a wide-ranging program
that prepares youth for the future. This will allow the Department to
maximize the effectiveness of the Job Corps program and ensure young
Americans are learning the skills demanded by job creators in the 21st
century.
youth skills development training
Question. By 2020, a majority of jobs will require education and/or
training beyond high school. If the American workforce is not prepared,
there could be a shortage of 5 million workers by 2020. Employers
throughout Illinois have expressed concern about their inability to
find qualified workers. This is an obstacle to growth for both American
businesses and the American workforce. The Federal Government must
prioritize providing young Americans with the tools they need to
upskill and prepare for the workforce.
How is the Department prioritizing youth workforce and skills
development training?
Answer. A large portion of the Department's discretionary skills
instruction funding, over $2.8 billion, is prioritized to target youth
and young adults, including the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (WIOA) Youth formula grant, YouthBuild, Reentry Employment
Opportunities, and Job Corps programs. These programs prioritize youth
with barriers to employment by providing services that prepare them for
success in employment and post-secondary education. Program activities
are aimed at developing a strong career pipeline to provide youth,
including out-of-school and justice system-involved youth, with work
readiness skills and industry-driven credential attainment
opportunities. These programs also equip youth with skills that prepare
them for success in growing and in-demand industries.
Through these youth programs, the Department is also providing
opportunities for young people to access more earn-and-learn work-based
models, such as apprenticeships. Paid work experience alongside the
ability to earn educational credentials is one of the most effective
ways individuals can prepare for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
Currently, the WIOA Youth program emphasizes pre-apprenticeship
opportunities by prioritizing work experience alongside education and
workforce development. The YouthBuild program is expanding its focus to
additional in-demand industries beyond construction that are aligned
with the apprenticeship model. The Reentry Employment Opportunities
grants now include a focus on apprenticeship and other intensive
occupational skills instruction models to expand those opportunities to
youth involved in the justice system.
Question. You have supported expanding the apprenticeship model.
How does the Department plan on providing full access to these new
opportunities for young people who are preparing to enter the job
market?
Answer. Included in the May 2018 Final Report to the President by
the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion was a recommendation to
specifically expand and support pre-apprenticeship activities in middle
and secondary schools. In implementing this recommendation, the
Department will invest resources to reach out to younger students to
educate them on different career paths so that they have a wider array
of options and a clearer understanding of how to achieve their career
goals from the start. The Department also provides opportunities for
young people to access the apprenticeship model through each of the
Department's youth programs. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act Youth program emphasizes pre-apprenticeship opportunities by
prioritizing work experience alongside education and workforce
development. The YouthBuild program is expanding its focus to
additional in-demand industries beyond construction that align with the
apprenticeship model and is strengthening its pre-apprenticeship
programs. The Reentry Employment Opportunities grants now include a
focus on apprenticeship to expand those opportunities to youth involved
in the justice system.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Jack Reed
understanding consequences of automation for middle-class workers
Question. The fiscal year 2018 Omnibus provides funding for the
Department of Transportation to conduct a study with the Department of
Labor to better understand the consequences of automation for middle-
class workers.
Have you begun coordinating with the Department of Transportation
on this study?
Answer. The Department began initial conversations in the spring of
2018 with the Department of Transportation regarding the study.
Question. What are the plans and timeline for conducting the study?
Answer. The Department of Transportation is leading this study. The
Department of Labor is consulting with the Department of Transportation
regarding plans and timelines, and is scheduled to meet the requested
submission date of March 23, 2019.
taskforce on impact of automation
Question. Do you think that the Department should establish a
taskforce on automation and its impact on our workforce, particularly
for industries related to transportation?
Answer. On July 19, 2018, President Donald J. Trump issued an
Executive Order entitled, ``Establishing the President's National
Council for the American Worker.'' The Council will provide a forum for
the development of a national strategy to address urgent workforce
issues, including reskilling workers to account for new technology and
automation for future economic growth.
In addition, the Department of Transportation manages the
Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee,
administered according to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which
deals with all matters relating to the study, development, and
implementation of intelligent transportation systems. Membership
includes government agencies, companies and trade associations, and
educational institutions. Although the Department of Labor is not an
official participant on this Committee, the Department regularly
coordinates with the Department of Transportation and other agencies to
address matters related to workforce development. The Committee meets
multiple times a year and addresses topics such as the impact of shared
mobility, data-sharing policies for automated and connected vehicles,
and workforce development initiatives.
worker dislocation resulting from automation
Question. What are your plans to address worker dislocation due to
automation through your grant making authority such as through the
National Dislocated Worker Grants?
Answer. The Department's Dislocated Worker programs are currently
positioned to assist workers to increase their skill levels as jobs
become automated. The Dislocated Worker formula program and the
National Dislocated Worker Grants provide resources to individuals and
communities impacted by layoffs and other events. These programs help
workers attain the skills they need to successfully transition into new
careers. The Department is available to work with State and local
governments and provide assistance in serving workers who may be
impacted by automation in the future.
work sharing programs
Question. The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012
included the Layoff Prevention Act, which modernized Federal work
sharing laws. According to the Department of Labor, work sharing helped
to save over 130,000 jobs before Federal incentives expired in 2015.
Multiple studies show that communities with work sharing laws are in a
stronger position to weather economic shocks with fewer jobs lost.
Do you believe that work sharing programs also have the capacity to
be used innovatively, such as to prevent layoffs due to automation?
Answer. Work-sharing programs have the opportunity to be used
innovatively. Short-Time Compensation (STC), also known as work sharing
or the shared-work program, is an alternative to layoffs for employers
experiencing a reduction in available work. STC preserves employees'
jobs and employers' workforces during times of lowered economic
activity. STC allows employers to reduce hours of work for employees
rather than lay off some employees while others continue to work full
time. Employees experiencing a reduction in hours are allowed to
collect a percentage of their unemployment compensation (UC) benefits
to replace a portion of their lost wages. STC cushions the adverse
effect of the reduction in business activity on workers by averting
layoffs and ensures that these workers will be available to resume
prior employment levels when business demand increases.
STC is intended to provide assistance during times of reduced
economic activity in anticipation that the employer's business activity
will resume and, ultimately, layoffs will not occur. The STC program is
designed to help employers, employees, and communities weather and
minimize the impact of downturns due to macroeconomic factors or
business-specific situations.
The Dislocated Workers program, authorized under the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act, provides funding to States, which may
be used to support layoff aversion strategies, including promotion of
the STC program to businesses. The Department routinely promotes STC as
a lay-off aversion tool, such as through its Rapid Response website
(https://www.doleta.gov/layoff/employers.cfm), in policy guidance
(https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEN/TEN_9_12.pdf), and when
providing technical assistance to States on rapid response and business
engagement strategies.
As the marketplace evolves, for example due to new technology, it
is critical that employers and businesses adapt. While not a direct
solution to layoffs due to automation, it is feasible that STC might
support companies and their employees during a transition period as a
company adopts new technologies. The program allows for STC
participants to attend workforce education to acquire new skills and
remain eligible for STC benefits. Thus, STC may be used while impacted
employees are being upskilled, for example to repair and service new
automated system(s), or transitioned to a different part of the
employer's operations.
matching credentials with local economic needs
Question. Job Corps Centers are required to work closely with local
and State Workforce Development Boards and employers in order to ensure
that trades and Industry-Recognized Credentials they offer are aligned
with local economic needs.
What is the process for a Center to change a trade if they and
their local partners deem it necessary?
Answer. Job Corps Career Technical Training change requests require
a center to provide justification for the trade change by submitting
relevant labor market information and supportive documentation from
local and State workforce development boards, employers, and industry
councils. This information is verified by the Office of Job Corps, and
if determined to be cost effective, the request to change the trade is
approved.
Question. How is the Employment and Training Administration and the
National Office of Job Corps working with Centers to ensure that trades
offered at Centers are aligned with local labor market needs?
Answer. As required by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA), all center operations solicitations require that offerors
describe the career pathway programming activities that will be offered
at the center and describe how the academics and career and technical
education reflect State and local employment opportunities, including
opportunities in in-demand industry sectors and occupations.
Job Corps policies also require all centers to establish a
workforce council to review local labor market information, including
related information in the State or local plan, to provide
recommendations to the center regarding its Career Technical Training
offerings. Workforce councils are required to meet on a semiannual
basis and are made up of employers, representatives of labor
organizations, and often members of industry and workforce development
organizations. Job Corps policy also requires center operators to
participate in Local Workforce Development Board meetings and
activities to ensure that the center is offering workforce development
that aligns with local labor market needs.
job corps instructors
Question. Is Job Corps facing any teacher shortages?
Answer. Job Corps serves at-risk youth often with multiple learning
challenges and delivers educational programing on a twelve-month basis
rather than on a traditional school-year calendar. Both of these
factors contribute to teacher recruitment and retention challenges
nationwide, but the program is not facing a widespread teacher
shortage.
Question. How competitive are Job Corps teachers' wages relative to
public school teachers?
Answer. Job Corps requires its contractors to pay wages comparable
to those in the local market area for similar occupations based on
local economic conditions. Contractors must be familiar with the local
area labor market when recruiting for occupations that are critical to
the performance and operation of the contract, including teachers.
Question. How recently has the Office of Job Corps conducted a
survey to update its estimates of market wages for teachers and other
Job Corps staff in each locality?
Answer. The Office of Job Corps has incorporated current salary
data from the Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS) into the Independent
Government Cost Estimates that are required for center operations,
Outreach/Admissions, and Career Transition procurements. The
information is updated at a minimum every 2 years using the BLS data,
which is locality specific. The last data update was made in the spring
of 2016 using 2015 data. The Office of Job Corps is currently engaged
in a data update using 2017 data.
workforce innovation and opportunity act implementation and public
libraries
Question. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act included
language that encouraged States and local workforce boards to partner
with public libraries.
How have States included public libraries in their State plans?
Answer. States have used a portion of their Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding for partnerships with public
libraries to conduct digital and financial literacy education
activities; educate library staff about in-person and virtual
employment and workforce development resources available; provide
resume writing, interview preparation, and other adult education
programs; use libraries' space to provide career assistance and host
job fairs; and share workforce and labor market information.
Examples of specific State plans show both innovations in the types
of services being provided and institutionalization of library-
workforce partnerships. Rhode Island's Family Literacy Initiative has
instituted technology workforce education and coaching in two public
libraries and at an American Job Center to advance digital literacy.
Ohio passed legislation to facilitate better partnerships between
American Job Centers and public libraries. The Department understands
that this has led to Memoranda of Understanding in several local areas
between libraries and the workforce system. The New York Department of
Labor awarded a grant using WIOA funding to the Queens Library to
implement a curriculum that uses an integrated approach for adult
educational providers to help meet the needs of high school equivalency
students transitioning into higher education or a career.
Question. How is the Department of Labor collaborating with the
Institute of Museum and Library Services to implement these provisions?
Answer. The Department has partnered with the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) for several years and continues to
collaborate with libraries since the passage of Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act. This collaboration included webinars to ensure
both libraries and the workforce development system knew about the
assets and services they each had available that could support
jobseekers. The Department published guidance to the workforce system
reiterating the importance of library partnerships and continues to
make the workforce system aware of the resources available in libraries
to support workforce development (See Training and Employment Notice
35-15, ``Encouraging Collaborations between the Workforce Investment
System and Public Libraries to Meet Career and Employment Needs'').
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Jeanne Shaheen
job corps funding cuts
Question. As I travel across New Hampshire and talk to stakeholders
ranging from small business owners to students getting ready to pursue
employment, a common theme I hear is about the importance of
apprenticeships and how they help train the next generation to succeed
in a changing workforce.
That is why I have advocated for the Job Corps since my time as
Governor. And I was proud that a center finally came to New Hampshire
in 2015. The Center, which is located in Manchester, serves 350
students annually. In the current program year, the Manchester Center
has placed over 94 percent of its graduates in full-time jobs or
advanced education.
The Center serves individuals like Michline Cruz-Gonzales, who
before arriving at the New Hampshire Job Corps in August 2016 didn't
even have her driver's license. However, after 10 months working with
the Center, Michline obtained her driver's license and completed
Center's Clinical Medical Assistant trade program. Since June 2017,
Michline is a full-time Medical Assistant at Portsmouth Internal
Medicine making over $15 an hour
Unfortunately, similar to last year's budget request, the President
is again proposing to ignore this successful program that prepares
students for apprenticeships by over $500 million or 30 percent. All
the more concerning is the DOL's continued focus on closing some
underperforming centers rather than working to improve their services.
I was pleased that in the bipartisan omnibus that was just signed
into law that Congress opposed these unwise cuts and provide Job Corps
with the resources the programs need to continue training students. I
am hopeful that we will do the exact same thing for this upcoming
fiscal year.
That's because--simply put, cutting resources will leave fewer
opportunities nationwide for disadvantaged youth to obtain the skills
and opportunities they need to gain employment.
Secretary Acosta, if the Department believes that apprenticeships
are an important tool to address workforce challenges, why does the
Department continue to advocate for dramatic cuts to successful
programs, such as the Job Corps?
Answer. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget takes important
steps to improve Job Corps for the youth it serves by focusing the
program on the older youth for whom the program is more effective;
improving center safety; and making other changes to sharpen program
quality and efficiency. This includes ending the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) role in the Job Corps program. Workforce
development is not a core USDA function, and the 25 centers it operates
are overrepresented in the lowest performing cohort of centers. The
fiscal year 2019 Budget continues the authority included in past
appropriations bills that would allow the Department to competitively
select a non-Federal entity to operate the former USDA centers.
The Department is also working to enter into agreements with
colleges and apprenticeship programs; provide thorough policy guidance
in all areas of center/outreach and admissions/career transition
services operations; and continue to deliver a wide-ranging program
that prepares youth for the future. This will allow the Department to
maximize the effectiveness of the Job Corps program and ensure young
Americans are learning the skills demanded by job creators in the 21st
century.
In addition, the Department is conducting a programmatic assessment
of performance center by center, surveying physical facilities,
assessing programmatic sustainability, and considering the workforce
development needs in each State and area served by a Job Corps center.
Using this deliberate approach, the Department will develop a plan to
allocate the program's fiscal year 2019 resources. It is the
Department's expectation that through concentration of Job Corps
activities in higher-performing centers, the Department will provide
Job Corps participants with higher-quality services that lead to better
outcomes.
job corps center closures
Question. Similar to last year's budget request, the budget
proposal does not elaborate on how the agency would go about closing
Job Corps Centers. If the Department of Labor continues to close
Centers, how will you provide sufficient notice to Congress and the
public?
Answer. The Department is conducting a programmatic assessment of
performance center by center, surveying physical facilities, assessing
programmatic sustainability, and considering the workforce development
needs in each State and area served by a Job Corps center. Using this
deliberate approach, the Department will develop a plan for allocating
the program's fiscal year 2019 resources. The Department is also
looking for new, innovative strategies to deliver education and
workforce development services to students enrolled in the Job Corps
program and will work with Congress on implementing those efforts.
Section 159(j) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
establishes procedures that must be followed before a Job Corps center
may be closed. Prior to the closure of any Job Corps center, the
Department is required by statute to announce publicly the proposed
closure and allow for a comment period, not to exceed 30 days, before
closing the center. The statute also requires that the Department
notify the Members of Congress who represent the district in which the
center is located. Should the Department determine to close any
centers, the Department will provide the Members of Congress and the
public with appropriate notification, as required by statute, before
closing a center.
job corps student slot capacity
Question. Another issue I am concerned with is the DOL's existing
authority to cut student slot capacity for a given Program Year. Last
year, the Department issued two information notices that indicated it
was planning to cut student capacity by nearly 5,000 prospective
students for the 2017 Program Year. You later rescinded this plan, but
I wrote to you and asked that you justify why you were making these
original capacity cuts. I am concerned the Department may do something
similar in the coming program years.
Does the Department intend to cut student capacity for the upcoming
program year?
Answer. The Department has made no decisions to cut student
capacity at this time. The Department is conducting a programmatic
assessment of performance center by center, surveying physical
facilities, assessing programmatic sustainability, and considering the
workforce development needs in each State and area served by a Job
Corps center. Using this deliberate approach, the Department will
develop a plan to allocate the program's fiscal year 2019 resources.
Question. Does the Department have an estimate for what the impact
of additional center closures will have on student capacity and
students served?
Answer. It is the Department's expectation that through
concentration of Job Corps activities in higher-performing centers, we
will provide Job Corps participants with higher-quality services that
lead to better outcomes. Any center that is identified for closure will
ensure students enrolled are transferred to nearby centers that offer
skills instruction in the fields they are most interested in pursuing.
wioa state formula funding
Question. I am also disappointed with your proposed cuts to State
job training programs funded through the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA). Your budget proposes cutting these programs by
over 40 percent in next fiscal year.
The widening skills gap has made it harder for employers to fine
qualified, skilled workers to fill job openings. Time and again,
business leaders across New Hampshire tell me that they have openings
and would like to hire and expand, but they can't find enough employees
with the right qualifications.
In your prepared testimony, you mentioned the importance of
``creating opportunities for Americans to develop the skills to fill--
and succeed in--the jobs of today and tomorrow.'' And I couldn't agree
more. To ensure a sustained high-performing economy both in New
Hampshire and around the country, we need to excel in aligning the
skills required by employers with the skill sets of the local and
regional labor pool.
However, cutting this essential source of funding for States would
likely have a devastating impact on a State's ability to address these
workforce challenges. And a 40 percent cut doesn't seem to align with
the message you brought today. For New Hampshire, your fiscal year 2019
budget means more than 6,000 workers will lose assistance. What our
State need is more resources, not less.
How do you think States that have relied on these sources of
funding for years will shoulder the burden of these cuts?
Answer. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget addendum restored
the proposed funding cuts for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (WIOA) formula programs. In addition, the fiscal year 2019 Budget
requested broad waiver authority for the core WIOA programs, which
would allow State and local leaders to better address their workforce
needs. Providing States greater flexibility to administer resources
efficiently and effectively is another way to better serve the
individualized needs of Americans.
Question. Does the Department have an idea of how these proposed
cuts would affect State agencies ability to address workforce needs?
Answer. The Department is committed to working with States and
local governments to ensure the American workforce is the greatest in
the world. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget request prioritizes
investments in effective programs that help to align workforce
development efforts with market demands.
Question. Were any States consulted as the Department assembled its
request?
Answer. The Department has and continues to work with States and
local governments to identify what works in the public workforce
system, and has included many of these recommendations within its
Budget request. Frequently, States have requested flexibility directly
from the Department, and where the law allows, the Department has
granted waivers to States requesting relief from some of the more
burdensome requirements under WIOA. To date, 14 States have received
such waivers after requesting such flexibility.
dol opioid-related grant program
Question. The opioid crisis has not only constituted a public
health emergency. But it has also affected businesses across the State.
I've heard from many employers who are very concerned about the toll
that the opioid crisis has taken on its employees. And when a worker is
unable to meet their work obligations because of a substance use
problem, it can also harm a company's ability to deliver for its
customers.
A report by New Futures found that in New Hampshire, substance
abuse imposes a cost of $2.36 billion annually, equal to $1,760 per
Granite Stater. The report also found that substance abuse causes $1.6
billion in lost productivity and reduces State and local revenue by
$87.6 million annually
Secretary Acosta, I am encouraged by the Department's recent
announcement that it will issue $21 million in grants to help provide
new skills to workers who have been or are being impacted by the opioid
crisis.
Can you elaborate on how the DOL will prioritize applicants for
these grants?
Answer. The tragedies of opioid misuse and abuse devastate families
and communities, and keep too many Americans out of the workforce. The
importance of a job and work in reducing opioid abuse cannot be
overstated. This is why the Department announced in March 2018 a
National Health Emergency (NHE) Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grant
Pilot Program--a grant program focused on returning individuals
impacted by opioids to the workplace. Recently, the Department of Labor
announced more than $22 million in this grant funding to six State
grantees. The grants will be used to provide reemployment services for
individuals impacted by the health and economic effects of widespread
opioid use, addiction, and overdose. The six States receiving NHE
Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grant funding are: New Hampshire
($5,000,000); Pennsylvania ($4,997,287); Washington State ($4,892,659);
Rhode Island ($3,894,875); Maryland ($1,975,085); and Alaska
($1,263,194). The Department recently announced the availability of up
to an additional $100 million for Trade and Economic Transition
National Dislocated Worker Grants.
For more information regarding the demonstration program and Trade
and Economic Transition National Dislocated Worker Grants, please
review Training and Employment Guidance Letters No. 12-17 and No. 2-18,
which provide information on eligible applicants, allowable activities,
and application requirements.
The Department is committed to helping Americans recover, rebuild,
and get back to work.
Question. Is this grant a one-time opportunity? Or does the
Department and Administration plan on rolling out similar opportunities
in the future?
Answer. The Department is committed to taking the steps necessary
to end the opioid crisis. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Time-Use
Survey found that 44 percent of prime-age men (aged 25--54) not in the
labor force acknowledged taking pain medication the previous day.
Recent studies suggested that up to 20 percent of the steady decline in
labor force participation among prime-age men may be attributed to
opioid use.
The National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker grants are the
first phase of funding opportunities available to counter the
employment impacts of the opioid crisis. The tragedies of opioid misuse
and abuse devastate families and communities, and keep too many
Americans out of the workforce. The importance of a job and work in
reducing opioid abuse cannot be overstated.
increasing h-2b visas
Question. As you know, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act
for fiscal year 2018, the Secretary of Homeland Security can, after
consulting with you, approximately double the number of H-2B visas
available for temporary nonagricultural workers for this fiscal year.
I have heard from many small businesses in New Hampshire who
desperately need workers for their peak seasons and who are struggling
under the current uncertain situation. As a result, I joined a
bipartisan group of 32 other Senators in a letter on April 2nd asking
you and the Secretary of Homeland Security to take immediate steps to
increase the number of available visas and efficiently process pending
petitions to ensure that American businesses are able to hire their
seasonal workers on time.
What is the status of your consultation with Secretary Nielsen?
Answer. On May 31, 2018, in an effort to assist U.S. businesses
that are unable to locate a sufficient number of American workers to
fulfill their workforce needs, DOL and DHS jointly published a
Temporary Rule: Exercise of Time-Limited Authority to Increase the
fiscal year 2018 Numerical Limitation for the H-2B Temporary
Nonagricultural Worker Program. This temporary rule provides a one-time
fiscal year 2018 increase of the H-2B visa cap by up to 15,000 visas to
assist those American businesses that are likely to suffer irreparable
harm (i.e., permanent and severe financial loss) without the employment
of H-2B nonimmigrant workers in fiscal year 2018. These employers must
also retain documentation that demonstrates their businesses'
likelihood to suffer irreparable harm if they do not receive H-2B
workers in fiscal year 2018. For additional details and requirements,
the Temporary Rule is published in the Federal Register here: https://
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-05-31/pdf/2018-11732.pdf.
In the first five business days of filing with U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) within DHS for the additional visas
(between May 31 and June 6, 2018), USCIS received petitions for more H-
2B workers than the additional 15,000 visas available under the fiscal
year 2018 temporary rule. USCIS conducted a lottery on June 7, 2018. On
June 11, 2018, USCIS announced completion of the lottery and began
issuing notifications to selected employers. Details on the USCIS
announcement can be found here: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/
uscis-completes-lottery-temporary-increase-fy-2018-h-2b-cap.
Question. When can businesses in New Hampshire and across the
country expect additional H-2B visas to become available?
Answer. In the first five business days of filing, DHS received
petitions for more beneficiaries than the 15,000 visas available under
the fiscal year 2018 temporary rule. Accordingly, regulations required
DHS to use a computer-generated selection process, commonly known as a
lottery, to randomly select enough petitions to meet, but not exceed,
the increased H-2B visa cap for fiscal year 2018. DHS conducted this
lottery on June 7, 2018, which included petitions received from
employers between May 31, 2018, and June 6, 2018. On June 11, 2018, DHS
announced completion of the lottery and began issuing notifications to
selected employers. Details on the DHS announcement can be found here:
https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-completes-lottery-temporary-
increase-fy-2018-h-2b-cap.
e-delivery of finanical information
Question. As I'm sure you agree, it is critical for individuals
planning for retirement to be able to access information about their
investments in a convenient fashion. Unfortunately, some of DOL's rules
for employees to receive DOL required information on their retirement
plan are out of date. Given the increase in employees accessing
retirement information electronically, it makes sense to have
electronic delivery be the default method for retirement savers while
including important consumer protections for those who would like to
continue receiving information on paper. This approach would save costs
for retirement savers, save countless amounts of wasted paper, protect
the environment and help connect savers with a wealth of online tools
and resources to help put them on a better path to a secure retirement.
Secretary Acosta, do you believe that eDelivery would help
employees better understand their retirement plans and help them save
for retirement?
Answer. Current law requires that workers receive many important
disclosures about their benefits, and the Department strives to make
sure those disclosures are understandable and useful. Disclosure rules
and regulations ought to be carefully crafted in light of the costs and
burdens imposed on workers, plan administrators, and employers.
The broader use of electronic delivery may be one way to improve
the effectiveness of disclosures and to reduce the costs and expense of
furnishing required disclosures. There have been substantial changes in
technology since the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act, both in the workplace and at home. The Department must
carefully consider those changes and the opportunities they have
created for the Department to improve its disclosure regulations
governing employee benefit plans, and consistent with law and sound
policy, make required disclosures more accessible and useful to workers
while reducing burden and cost.
Question. What steps will you take to ensure savers have access to
their financial information in a manner that is commensurate with the
21st century?
Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Brian Schatz
trade adjustment assistance program
Question. The fiscal year 2019 Budget Justification proposes a
change to the TAA program to focus on apprenticeships and on-the-job
training rather than classroom-based training. Specifically, the
Department proposes to make ``apprenticeship--which provides wages
along with a learning component--and on-the-job training the only forms
of allowable training, while still allowing participants to access
other forms of training if insufficient work-based training
opportunities are available in their area.''
How will the Department ensure that work-based training
opportunities are available in the participants' areas?
Answer. In the fiscal year 2019 President's Budget, the Department
proposes legislation to reauthorize the TAA for Workers Program through
fiscal year 2028, shifting the focus from traditional classroom
education to work-based education. This proposal refocuses the TAA
program by emphasizing the importance of on-the-job training, including
apprenticeship, which provides wages along with a learning component,
and participants would be able to continue to access other forms of
skills instruction if insufficient work-based skills instruction
opportunities are available in their area. Focusing the program on
these earn-as-you-learn strategies will ensure that participants are
obtaining skills for relevant occupations. States will also be
encouraged to place a greater emphasis on intensive reemployment
services for workers who are not participating in work-based education
by getting those workers into the workforce more quickly.
The Department has been working to expand apprenticeship,
particularly into non-traditional industries where the Department sees
the most growth and opportunity for employment in a local community and
region. Industries such as advanced manufacturing, infrastructure,
cybersecurity, and healthcare are new to earn-while-you-learn
strategies and offer more flexibility and the ability to work remotely,
more so than other sectors of the economy.
Question. Will the Department work with local employers to help
provide these opportunities?
Answer. Yes. The Department is working with businesses at the State
and local level through the State apprenticeship offices under the
registered system and State Apprenticeship Agencies, which have
Apprenticeship & Training Representatives that provide consultation to
all employers. The staff support the employers through the entire
process of developing and implementing apprenticeship programs.
The Department also oversees the administration of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which is a State and locally-
operated system led by business and industry. Employers make up 51
percent of the State and local boards that direct funding for
employment activities in in-demand and growing industries.
Apprenticeships are an integral and proven strategy for helping
individuals gain the skills needed to work, and will continue to be a
strategy utilized under WIOA. Registered Apprenticeships are also
automatically included on the State's Eligible Training Provider List,
which streamlines access to WIOA funding.
American Job Centers also have Business Services Representatives
(BSRs), who communicate information about apprenticeships to employers
in their regions. This employer engagement is critical to ensuring that
apprenticeship is incorporated into local workforce development
strategies, supplementing traditional tools used by BSRs such as career
fairs and recruitment support. American Job Centers may use work-based
job education, internships, and/or workforce development as part of the
array of services offered to businesses. BSRs can build on the trust
they have developed with employers through these services to engage in
a dialogue about apprenticeship.
Question. In the past 5 years, what percentage of TAA participants
used their funds for 1) on-the-job training only, 2) classroom-based
training only, and 3) mix of both?
Answer. From fiscal year 2012 through fiscal year 2017, the Trade
Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program provided on-the-job (OJT) and/or
classroom instruction to 63 percent of total participants. Of those who
received these services, 1 percent received on-the-job services only,
98 percent received classroom-based services only, and 1 percent
received both classroom-based and on-the-job services.
TAA PARTICIPANTS WHO RECEIVED OJT/CLASSROOM SERVICES
FISCAL YEAR 2012 THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Services Received Percent of Participants
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OJT Only 1
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Classroom Only 98
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Classroom and OJT 1
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Total 100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question. If workers would like to pursue a mix of both--i.e., if
the work-based training provides coursework opportunities--will
participants be allowed to do so under the Department's proposed
changes to the TAA program?
Answer. Yes, work-based education, such as apprenticeships,
includes an educational component, which can oftentimes require in-
classroom experience. This proposal refocuses the TAA program by
emphasizing the importance of on-the-job training, including
apprenticeship, which provides wages along with a learning component,
and participants would be able to continue to access other forms of
skills instruction if insufficient work-based skills instruction
opportunities are available in their area. Focusing the program on
these earn-as-you-learn strategies will ensure that participants are
obtaining skills for relevant occupations. States will also be
encouraged to place a greater emphasis on intensive reemployment
services for workers who are not participating in work-based education
by getting those workers into the workforce more quickly.
metrics for paid pilot program
Question. What are metrics of success for the Wage and Hour
Division's PAID pilot program? For instance, how much back-wage payment
should be made to workers for the Department to deem the pilot a
success?
Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will implement the Payroll
Audit Independent Determination (PAID) pilot program nationwide for
approximately 6 months. At the end of the pilot period, WHD will review
lessons learned and evaluate options for effective implementation
moving forward. WHD will use a balanced approach in assessing all
aspects of this pilot phase of the program, including quantitative and
qualitative measures, as well as feedback from employees, employers,
and WHD staff. Given that we remain in the pilot phase, it is too early
to begin meaningfully evaluating the pilot.
enforcement activity under paid pilot program
Question. Will the Wage and Hour Division's enforcement activity
decrease as a result of the PAID pilot program?
Answer. No. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) continues to maintain
an active and balanced enforcement program that includes both agency-
initiated cases and complaint cases, as well as compliance assistance.
In fiscal year 2017 alone, WHD found more than $270 million in back
wages--the second-highest amount WHD has ever recorded--for more than
240,000 workers.
Self-audits are one of many existing tools already available to
WHD. The Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) pilot provides
another avenue to recovery for employees who earned wages, but were not
appropriately compensated. In general, PAID will streamline the
resolution of compliance issues and improve compliance overall, which
WHD expects will enable the agency to focus more of its resources on
bad actors who intentionally violate the law. WHD will implement this
pilot program nationwide for approximately 6 months. At the end of the
pilot period, WHD will evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program,
including its impact on enforcement activity, before determining next
steps.
Question. Can you guarantee to me that the resources put behind
targeted enforcement will not decrease in fiscal year 2019 as a result
of the PAID pilot program?
Answer. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will not devote fewer
resources to targeted enforcement as a result of the Payroll Audit
Independent Determination (PAID) program. The percentage of agency-
initiated investigations target, which is a key WHD performance
measure, remains at 46 percent from 2018-2022 in the Department's
Strategic Plan. WHD will implement this pilot program nationwide for
approximately 6 months. At the end of the pilot period, WHD will review
lessons learned and evaluate options for effective implementation
moving forward. WHD will use a balanced approach in assessing all
aspects of this pilot phase of the program, including quantitative and
qualitative measures, as well as feedback from employees, employers,
and WHD staff.
regulation of the gig economy
Question. You have said in the press that you plan to remove
regulations that are holding back the gig economy.
Do you believe regulations are holding back workers, not just
companies, in the gig economy?
Answer. Workers in the entrepreneurial economy can benefit from
regulatory changes. Many small businesses and their employees have
struggled with government restrictions that limit access to quality,
affordable health coverage. The recently-finalized Association Health
Plan (AHPs) reform will address many of the inequities between small
and large businesses in access to that coverage. For the first time,
working owners without other employees (including sole proprietors,
such as those in the entrepreneurial economy) and their families will
be permitted to join AHPs.
The Department remains committed to protecting all workers by fully
and fairly enforcing the law. The Department's efforts are carried out
in accordance with both well-established case law and existing
Department regulations. The entrepreneurial economy is hamstrung by the
fact that labor laws were designed for a different time and do not
easily apply to many of the technological innovations that are
transforming how individuals choose to participate in the workforce.
Any change to the law would need to occur through the legislative
process.
Question. How does the Department plan to protect gig-economy
workers who lack the benefits and protections of full-time employees?
Answer. For the first time, working owners without other employees
(including sole proprietors, such as those in the entrepreneurial
economy) and their families will be permitted to join Association
Health Plans (AHPs). AHPs, under the Department of Labor's newly-
finalized rule, are group health plans that employer groups and
associations offer to provide health coverage to employees. AHPs allow
small employers to band together to purchase the types of coverage that
are available to large employers, which can be less expensive and
better tailored to the needs of their employees.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Tammy Baldwin
osha silica standards
Question. OSHA has issued two new standards to better protect
workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica, including one for
construction and one for general industry and maritime. Worker
inhalation of silica can lead to an incurable lung disease known as
silicosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and
kidney disease.
I am pleased that OSHA began enforcing the standard for
construction on September 23, 2017. OSHA reported that it would offer
compliance assistance for the first 30 days, and on October 23 it would
begin full enforcement of the silica construction standard.
How many inspections and citations has OSHA issued for that
standard since it went into effect?
Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
began enforcing the Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction
standard (29 CFR 1926.1153) on September 23, 2017. Since September 23,
2017, OSHA has conducted 116 not-in-compliance silica inspections,
resulting in 188 citations.
Question. Further, OSHA announced it will begin enforcing the
standard for general industry and maritime on June 23, 2018. As
Secretary, how will you ensure full implementation and enforcement of
the silica standards amid the administration's proposed DOL funding
decrease for fiscal year 2019?
Answer. OSHA is currently enforcing the silica rule in
construction, general industry, and maritime. The fiscal year 2019
President's Budget Request for OSHA does not reflect a programmatic
decrease, but rather includes a request for 42 additional compliance
safety and health officers. Additionally, OSHA continues to engage with
stakeholders in general industry to provide compliance assistance to
meet the new standard. OSHA's website has a number of helpful resources
including compliance materials, fact sheets, and best practices for
those seeking additional information on how to comply with the rule.
fair labor standards for gig economy workers
Question. States and local governments often serve as
``Laboratories of Democracy,'' where they enact new laws, and
regulations that eventually become the model for similar Federal
action. In recent years, States such as California and New York have
taken action to hold accountable so called ``gig economy'' companies
whose business models seem to skirt existing regulations. For example,
California's Public Utilities Commission recently announced that Uber
fits the State's definition of a transportation network company and has
for years unfairly avoided paying the requisite fees by not registering
as such. Other States such as New York and Massachusetts have heard
court cases on whether companies like Uber and Lyft misclassify their
employees as independent contractors.
Mr. Acosta, as these States take action to make sure all businesses
are adhering to the same fair labor and business standards, do you
believe there is a role for the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour
Division to look into whether these companies' labor practices violate
the Fair Labor Standards Act?
Answer. The Department remains committed to protecting all workers
by fully and fairly enforcing the law. In fiscal year 2017 alone, the
Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found more than $270 million in back
wages--the second-highest amount WHD has ever recorded--for more than
240,000 workers. The Department's efforts are carried out in accordance
with both well-established case law and existing Department
regulations. The entrepreneurial economy is hamstrung by the fact that
labor laws were designed for a different time and do not easily apply
to many of the technological innovations that are transforming how
individuals choose to participate in the workforce. Nevertheless, WHD
continues to work with our State partners in a variety of ways and has
entered into memoranda of understanding with more than 40 States to
collaborate on compliance assistance and enforcement. WHD remains
engaged at the local level via our 54 District Offices, and through its
Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialists, who engage
directly with States and stakeholders at the local level nationwide.
Question. Has your Department undertaken such a review? Do you plan
to in the future?
Answer. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
investigates companies on a case-by-case basis. The Department remains
committed to protecting all workers by fully and fairly enforcing the
law. The Department's efforts are carried out in accordance with both
well-established case law and existing Department regulations.
whistleblower protection program funding
Question. OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program faces many
structural and financial handicaps, making it difficult to enforce the
22 Federal whistleblower statutes that it administers. An audit by the
Department of Labor Office of Inspector General in September 2015
concluded: OSHA did not consistently ensure complaint reviews under the
Whistleblower Programs were complete, sufficient, and timely; OSHA did
not ensure the manual and training reflected the most recent program
updates and changing priorities; more than 70 percent of investigations
were not conducted within statutory timeframes; and OSHA did not
adequately and timely communicate the violations alleged by
whistleblowers internally to OSHA's enforcement units or externally to
other Federal agencies with jurisdiction to investigate the
allegations.
What concrete actions do you plan to take as Secretary to
prioritize OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program amid the proposed
DOL funding decrease for fiscal year 2019?
Answer. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget proposed no funding
changes to the Whistleblower Protection Program. The fiscal year 2019
request will enable the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) to continue to build on improvements in the program. OSHA
expects to receive approximately 3,400 docketed complaints and conduct
approximately 3,000 whistleblower investigations. To improve the
investigative process, OSHA will continue to pilot new processes, such
as the Expedited Case Processing and the Administrative Dismissals
Report of Investigation, with the purpose of identifying steps in the
investigative process that can be streamlined without compromising
quality. Successful pilot programs will then be implemented nationwide
and eventually incorporated into the Whistleblower Investigations
Manual (WIM).
osha investigator staff levels
Question. In 2016, at the recommendation of Congress, stakeholder
organizations, the GAO, and the Whistleblower Advisory Committee, OSHA
made substantial improvements to its Whistleblower Investigations
Manual. However, questions remain about effective enforcement of the
manual amid limited staff capacity and resources.
As Secretary, what actions would you take to ensure that OSHA
whistleblower investigators are fully staffed and in compliance with
the updated manual amid the administration's proposed DOL funding
decrease for fiscal year 2019?
Answer. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
working to fill whistleblower investigator vacancies to ensure the
agency is fully staffed. Since the start of fiscal year 2018, OSHA has
hired four whistleblower investigators, and there are ongoing hiring
actions for six additional whistleblower positions. OSHA will continue
to offer comprehensive training through webinars and in-person courses
at the OSHA Training Institute to provide investigator staff with the
most up-to-date techniques, strategies, and tools for conducting
successful investigations, consistent with the Whistleblower
Investigations Manual.
modernizing whistleblower protection regulations
Question. Outdated and inconsistent whistleblower laws (compounded
by resource restraints) have hampered DOL's ability to implement the
OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program. Most of the DOL-administered
whistleblower statutes enacted before 2000 have become obsolete and are
virtually unenforceable. For instance, more whistleblower complaints
have been filed under Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and
Health (OSH) Act of 1970 than all other combined whistleblower laws
enforced by DOL. However, between fiscal year 2005--2013 whistleblowers
won in less than 2 percent of cases. Part of the problem is the short
statute of limitations. One third of DOL's whistleblower laws require
employees to file a complaint within 30 days of the adverse action.
Yet, workers often do not learn an action is retaliatory until after
that timeframe and miss their window. Conversely, employees have 180
days to file a complaint under DOL's last 12 enacted whistleblower
laws, increasing their rate of enforcement. Inconsistencies with the
burden of proof, due process, and temporary reinstatement, among other
areas, also cripple the older statutes. This creates confusion among
DOL, employers and employees alike. Conversely, most Federal employees
enjoy whistleblower protections under one primary law, the
Whistleblower Protection Act, which Congress unanimously strengthened
in 2012.
As Secretary, do you support Title II of the Protecting America's
Workers Act, which would modernize section 11(c) of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act and expand coverage to additional workers?
Answer. The Department fully supports the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration's (OSHA) Whistleblower Protection Program (WPP),
including ensuring the appropriate and timely sharing of complaints
with other agencies and making sure there are appropriate resources to
fulfill the WPP's mission. OSHA collaborates with several partners and
other agencies impacted by the whistleblower statutes to ensure a basic
exchange of information and facilitate referrals between each agency,
including cross training investigators, conducting outreach, providing
technical support, and sharing information.
Question. Do you think Adjusting the 30 statute of limitations in
11(c) to be more consistent with the 180 days employers have to file a
complaint under DOL's last 12 enacted whistleblower laws would make the
law more consistent and fair to workers?
Answer. Please see the response to the prior question. In addition,
in July 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration revised
the Whistleblower Online Complaint form to assist whistleblowers in
finding the correct agency in which to file their complaint.
Question. Further, do you support consolidating the 22 DOL-
administered whistleblower statutes into one coherent law that reflects
the gold-standard whistleblower rights that have received unanimous
congressional support over the past decade?
Answer. Please see the response to the prior question.
greif inc. osha violations
Question. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
cited the Mid-America Steel Drum facility, located just North of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for 15 serious violations for exposing workers to
chemical and heat-related burns, toxic gases, dangerous noise levels,
risk of falls and other hazards. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has
reported that a former safety consultant to the company, Will Kramer,
documented these same safety violations and recommendations to abate
the hazards in a detailed report he provided to the company prior to
the OSHA investigation that led to these penalties. Mr. Kramer also
provided these detailed reports to OSHA prior to the Agency inspecting
and citing Mid-America Steel Drum for serious safety violations.
Why were the citations issued by OSHA not classified as willful
violations since both OSHA and Mid-America Steel Drum were made aware
of the safety violations by Will Kramer prior to the OSHA investigation
and the company being cited for 15 serious violations?
Answer. The inspection at the Milwaukee site was opened on October
27, 2016, after receiving an employee complaint, 4 months prior to the
Milwaukee Journal article citing allegations.
The actions and classification of penalties as established in
statute and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA)
Field Operations Manual were appropriate for the actual worksite
conditions identified by OSHA. The evidence indicated that the employer
had taken steps to correct hazards, and was actively working to improve
the overall safety and health of the facility. OSHA documented and
issued serious violations during the inspection. The evidence gathered
during the inspection did not prove the employer demonstrated
intentional disregard or plain indifference to workplace safety and
health hazards. At the time of the inspection, the employer had taken
actions to correct items identified in the self-audit, and hired a
different safety consultant firm to develop safety programs and train
workers.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Joe Manchin, III
dislocated worker grants to help fight the opioid epidemic
Question. Secretary Acosta, I was pleased to see that the
Department of Labor has announced new grants to help communities fight
the opioid epidemic by helping those in recovery gain job skills or by
helping communities train the professionals needed to provide substance
use disorder treatment.
These funds are desperately needed in a place like West Virginia
where I hear all the time from businesses that they have jobs and they
want to hire, but they simply can't find a clean worker. Our labor
force participation rate is the lowest in the Nation at 53 percent.
In the fiscal year 2018 omnibus, this Congress recognized the need
to direct funding to the hardest hit States and I can assure you that
no State has been hit harder than West Virginia--we've had the highest
opioid overdose death rate in the country for years now.
I applaud you for these grants, and I urge you to bring one of
those pilot programs to West Virginia.
Secretary Acosta, will you commit to working with me to address the
opioid epidemic and bring much needed resources to West Virginia to
help our workers train and our communities rebuild?
Answer. The Department is committed to taking the steps necessary
to end the opioid crisis. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Time-Use
Survey found that 44 percent of prime-age men (aged 25--54) not in the
labor force acknowledged taking pain medication the previous day.
Recent studies suggested that up to 20 percent of the steady decline in
labor force participation among prime-age men may be attributed to
opioid use.
The tragedies of opioid misuse and abuse devastate families and
communities, and keep too many Americans out of the workforce. The
importance of a job and work in reducing opioid abuse cannot be
overstated. This is why the Department announced in March 2018 a
National Health Emergency (NHE) Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grant
Pilot Program--a grant program focused on returning individuals
impacted by opioids to the workplace. Recently, the Department of Labor
announced more than $22 million in this grant funding to six State
grantees. The grants will be used to provide reemployment services for
individuals impacted by the health and economic effects of widespread
opioid use, addiction, and overdose. The six States receiving NHE
Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grant funding are: New Hampshire
($5,000,000); Pennsylvania ($4,997,287); Washington State ($4,892,659);
Rhode Island ($3,894,875); Maryland ($1,975,085); and Alaska
($1,263,194). The Department recently announced the availability of up
to an additional $100 million for Trade and Economic Transition
National Dislocated Worker Grants.
For more information regarding the demonstration program and the
Trade and Economic Transition National Dislocated Worker Grants ,
please review Training and Employment Guidance Letters No. 12-17 and
No. 2-18, which provide information on eligible applicants, allowable
activities, and application requirements.
Additionally, the Department continues to provide grants to support
the planning and implementation of workforce strategies for regions and
communities that have been negatively impacted by changes in the coal
economy. Since 2017, West Virginia has received a total of $1,056,000
in Dislocated Worker Grants for coal-related projects.
The Department is committed to helping Americans recover, rebuild,
and get back to work.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Patrick J. Leahy
gender pay gap
Question. April 10 was Equal Pay Day, which highlights the
outrageous fact that women are paid 80 cents on the dollar compared to
men. Given the fact that Equal Pay Day is the same week as your
appearance before the Subcommittee, I am disappointed that you chose
not to make any mention of this issue in your written testimony.
Please explain what actions the Department has taken under your
leadership to close the gender pay gap.
Answer. Wage discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal and
wrong. To ensure compliance with Federal anti-discrimination laws and
provide redress in the event violations are found, Executive Order
11246 vests the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
with the authority to investigate gender-based employment
discrimination complaints and to remedy documented cases of pay
discrimination for Federal contractors and subcontractors. Executive
Order 11246 requires that Federal contractors and subcontractors take
affirmative action, prohibits them from discriminating against
applicants and employees on the basis of sex, and also prohibits
discrimination against applicants or employees who discuss, disclose,
or inquire about their compensation or the compensation of others,
subject to certain limitations. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget
will focus OFCCP on doing high-impact systemic compliance evaluations,
implementing agency reforms that strengthen the contractor training and
education to support voluntary compliance with equal employment
opportunity and nondiscrimination requirements.
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) also supports a robust enforcement
and compliance assistance operation to ensure workers are remunerated
fairly. WHD focuses many of its investigations in industries that
typically employ large numbers of women workers. These industries,
where labor violations are most prevalent, include the janitorial,
healthcare, hotel, day care, garment, and restaurant industries. While
WHD does not report gender-disaggregated back wage recovery data, in
fiscal year 2017, WHD recovered more than $270 million in back wages
for more than 240,000 employees, an average of $1,114 per person. In
fiscal year 2017, WHD concluded more than 29,000 cases.
In addition to enforcing wage protections, WHD also enforces the
provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which entitles
eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected
leave for specified family and medical reasons. These protections can
make a critical difference in women's ability to deliver on family
caregiving obligations without sacrificing job security and long-range
earning potential. In fiscal year 2017, WHD recovered almost $1.5
million in back wages for FMLA violations by employers.
The gender wage gap is a complex issue influenced by a variety of
factors. The Department, through a combination of research and
analysis, compliance and enforcement activities, and direct service
programming delivered through the Federal workforce development system,
is working to address this issue. The Women's Bureau serves an
important role at the Department, utilizing research and educational
tools to better understand and inform the public of the factors that
may drive the gender wage gap. The fiscal year 2019 President's Budget
will allow the agency to undergo reforms to focus on a narrower set of
high-priority policy issues, working in close coordination with the
White House and other Federal agencies.
The Employment and Training Administration also supports programs
to provide workforce development services for female workers. For
example, the Women's Bureau is collaborating with the Office of
Apprenticeship to recruit and retain women in pre-apprenticeship and
apprenticeship programs as potential pathways for women to non-
traditional occupations that may have higher average salaries.
combating wage theft
Question. Wage theft is a serious problem that robs hardworking
Americans of the paychecks that are duly owed to them. According to a
Politico investigation in February, 41 percent of wages that employers
are ordered to pay back to employees are not recovered. Lack of
enforcement of our wage laws results in an estimated $15 billion in
lost wages for American workers. The same article noted that the
Department had more wage and hour investigators in 1948 than it does
today, despite the fact that there are seven times as many workers
currently in the workforce.
I appreciate the work the Department of Labor does to combat wage
theft. You previously testified before the Senate Commerce Committee
that you do not need additional authority to enforce our wage laws.
What additional resources would the Department need to make a more
meaningful impact on wage theft?
Answer. The recent media investigation you reference focuses on
enforcement of State and local minimum wage laws, not the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA). The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) understands that
various States and localities have implemented laws that require a
higher minimum wage than the FLSA requires, and that some States may
not robustly enforce their minimum wage laws. WHD does not have
jurisdiction, however, to enforce States' or localities' minimum wage
laws.
The President's Budget Request for the Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
requests $230,068,000 and 1,393 full-time employees (FTE) in fiscal
year 2019, which is an additional $2,568,000 and 38 FTE above the
fiscal year 2018 enacted funding level. WHD is committed to maximizing
its resources to achieve the greatest level of compliance. WHD uses
strategies to plan the optimal deployment of resources and resolution
of cases, focusing investigations on employers with the most serious
violations, and publicizing the results in order to educate and deter
other employers from violating the law. The fiscal year 2019
President's Budget proposed investments provide resources of updated
and modernized compliance assistance, and its accompanying technology,
to allow WHD to engage with industry leaders at the national, regional,
and local level. These additional resources will enable WHD to operate
more efficiently, to expand on its efforts to fully and fairly enforce
the law, and to make compliance information more accessible and
understandable to the employer community.
WHD's enforcement remains strong. In fiscal year 2017, WHD found
more than $270 million in back wages--the second-highest amount WHD has
ever recorded--for more than 240,000 workers.
Question. At a minimum, do you support restoring the number of wage
and hour investigators to the 1948 level? If yes, what would this cost?
And if not, why not?
Answer. At current levels, WHD's staffing is in line with
historical levels, and WHD's enforcement remains strong. In fiscal year
2017, WHD found more than $270 million in back wages--the second
highest-amount WHD has ever recorded--for more than 240,000 workers.
publication of secretary's travel and meeting schedule
Question. On December 26, 2017, Politico published an article
noting the limited public availability of your travel and meeting
schedule.
As someone who has long sought more transparency in our government,
can you explain what if any steps you have taken since the publication
of that article to improve public access to your travel and meeting
schedule?
Answer. At the Secretary's direction, the Department posts the
Secretary's monthly calendar on its website: https://www.dol.gov/dol/
foia/readroom.htm.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Blunt. And the subcommittee hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:59 a.m., Wednesday, April 12, the
subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of
the Chair.]