Forms of insecure employment have been increasing all over Europe in recent decades. These developments have been welcomed by those who argued that these types of flexible employment would not only foster employment but could also help women, in particular, to positively combine work and family life. This vision was questioned by others who argued…

This paper, by a teacher of migrants, summarizes various farm labor laws and child labor laws pertaining to migrant and seasonal workers. The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act of 1983 provides workers with assurances about pay, hours, and working conditions, including safety and health. This legislation permits anyone…

This report reviews the changing role of labor unions in the United States today and proposes actions to increase union membership and strength in the future. The report is organized in 10 sections. The first section describes changes in the work force, especially during the 1960s and 1970s. It is followed by sections describing (1) the failure of…

This guide to work-based learning and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is designed to serve employers, educators, agency placement staff, labor organizations, and persons involved in school-to-work initiatives by helping them to understand a variety of issues related to students in the workplace. The first part of the three-part guide covers…

This 4-part report is one of a series prepared to provide background material for United States businessmen and others employing local workers abroad, trade union and labor specialists, consulting economists, and students. The data used were obtained from personnel in London's Departments of Employment, Health and Social Security, the Commission…

This paper outlines the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (sometimes referred to as the Wage-Hour Law) that establishes a minimum wage, subminimum wage, training wage overtime pay, and recordkeeping requirements. The following topics are addressed: (1) covered employment; (2) exemptions; (3) hours worked; (4) board, lodging, and other…

The Department of Labor's (DOL's) worker protection functions touch the lives of nearly every worker. Its approaches to carrying out these functions may have met the needs of an earlier time, but today's work world presents new demands and challenges to the federal government's traditional role. Today it is time to question the DOL's role in the…

A study examined why employers use temporary agency and contract company workers and implications of these practices for wages, benefits, and working conditions of workers in low-skilled labor markets. Case studies in manufacturing (automotive supply), services (hospitals), and public sector (primary and secondary schools) industries defined the…

This report examines the issue of child labor and makes recommendations for changes in New York's child labor laws. It reviews the relationship of child labor to education, the relationship of child labor to social development, child labor and workplace safety, and the role of young workers in the economy. It concludes that simply relaxing child…

Workers in flexible staffing arrangementsincluding temporary agency, direct-hire temporary, on-call, and contract workersare much less likely than regular, direct-hire employees to be covered by laws mandating or regulating workplace benefits. They are also much less likely to receive pension, health insurance, and other benefits on the job.…

The current conditions of home workers in the garment industry in Toronto, Canada, were examined through in-depth telephone interviews with 30 Chinese-speaking immigrant women who were employed as home workers in 1999. The paper dicusses the formal training and informal learning experiences of immigrant woman who are garment workers. A comparison…

Recent employment law reforms in England precipitated a telephone survey of a stratified random sample of 5,120 employed people (1,000 respondents) that was intended to find their levels of awareness and knowledge of employment rights and their exercise of those rights. Survey results included the following: (1) nearly 70% of those questioned…