Labor and Workforce Development

Employee Protection

Employees work in a wide range of different job settings and need protections for their health, safety, and fair treatment in employment and compensation. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for many of these protections, including occupational safety and health, mine safety and health, regulation of wages and hours worked, employee benefits, and federal contractor compliance. We are conducting a national survey to provide an understanding of the prevalence and nature of violations of workers’ rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This information will allow the DOL to better target its enforcement efforts and compliance programs.

Employment and Training

Employers need workers with the necessary skills and training to meet their workforce requirements. Workers, especially the unemployed, may need employment assistance or job training to find or qualify for employment. Westat evaluates employment and training programs using rigorous methods to determine program impacts and outcomes. These methods include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as well as quasi-experimental designs. Westat is providing technical assistance to help states overcome barriers to providing evidence-based employment services to individuals with mental health disabilities.

Public Benefits and Work Requirements

Policymakers seeking to reduce dependence and encourage work consider work requirements and time limits important components of public assistance programs. It is, therefore, important to investigate the impact of these requirements on program participation and employment. For the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), we examined the effects of work requirements on participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), referred to as able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs).