Jobs in home care are expected to grow by 40 percent in the next decade to meet demand from older adults and people with disabilities. Despite being part of one of the fastest growing industries, many home care workers did not have federal minimum wage and overtime protections until 2015. The Department of Labor extended these protections through a regulation known as the Home Care Rule. We compar...

The Department of Labor has awarded grants to help states address the opioid crisis through training and employment services. State officials told us that job seekers who are in recovery may have additional challenges with finding employment, in part, due to employers’ concerns about potential criminal histories, relapse, and social stigma. To help meet the training and employment needs of thos...

The Department of Labor’s Job Corps program helps low-income youth gain job skills at 118 centers across the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service operates 24 of the centers. In May 2019, both agencies proposed to return operation of the USDA centers to Labor. Labor proposed closing 9 of the 24 centers based on students' access to centers, and center cost and perform...

Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help improve the federal government. We alert department heads to the recommendations where they can save the most money, address issues on our High Risk List, or significantly improve government operations. This report outlines our 7 priority open recommendations for the Department of Labor as of April 2020. For example, we recommended that L...

H-2B visas are intended to help employers fill certain jobs (i.e. landscaping, seafood processing) when no U.S. workers are available. The number of visas is capped and they're generally first come, first served. Employers told us uncertainty over whether the visa process will provide enough workers hampers their operations, including their ability to plan expansions. The Homeland Security and L...

The federal government’s Black Lung Disability Trust Fund faces financial challenges and has borrowed billions to cover costs. The Trust pays benefits to certain coal miners when no coal mine operator can be held responsible, or when the liable operator does not pay. Three mine operator bankruptcies have further strained Trust finances by transferring $865 million in estimated benefit responsib...

The federal government’s Black Lung Disability Trust Fund faces financial challenges and has borrowed billions to cover costs. The Trust pays benefits to certain coal miners when no coal mine operator can be held responsible, or when the liable operator does not pay. Three coal mine operator bankruptcies have further strained Trust finances by transferring $865 million in estimated benefit resp...

The Federal Aviation Administration requires aircraft be repaired and approved for flight by mechanics who are “certificated.” FAA oversees the certification process of these mechanics and of repairmen who fix aircraft parts. We testified about federal data on this workforce as well as government and industry programs that support these workers. One of FAA’s goals is to promote the developm...

Federal law prohibits employers from employment discrimination based on race and gender (among other things). The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) are the primary agencies that enforce these laws. We testified about challenges these agencies face in ensuring that employers meet equal employment...

The Department of Labor’s Job Corps program helps low-income youth obtain various skills, including those needed to find a job. Its centers are operated mostly by contractors. We reviewed Labor’s use of bridge contracts at these centers. Such contracts can prevent a lapse in service after a contract ends. However, in certain circumstances, they may increase the risk of the government overpayi...