Workforce
State and local governments face a tight labor market and a competitive disadvantage with the private sector. But salaries aren’t the only issue, with cities, counties and states all grappling with training, retention, remote work and increased union activity.
With enrollment trending down, colleges are simplifying the process for students to get credit for skills they already have, which can save them both time and money.
The state has recovered nearly all jobs lost early during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there has been a distinct change in the job landscape, which has caused near record-high job openings across Maine.
Several local governments across the state will implement four-day workweeks as a way to attract workers who are returning to the post-pandemic workforce and seeking better work-life balance.
Staff shortages and a rush to distribute funds generated confusion and mistakes, resulting in unemployment benefit overpayments to thousands of Alabamians. Now, the state wants its money back.
It has grown dramatically in the last decade, with the biggest increases in cybersecurity and user support. Salaries have grown too, but are still behind what the private sector pays its IT workers.
The state’s Wage Theft Task Force has helped 265 workers to recoup pay over the last two-and-a-half years during the pandemic and has brought charges against a dozen businesses for wage fraud.
Pandemic-related resignations and retirements have resulted in approximately 4,000 vacancies in budgeted city positions, which has caused complications for the delivery of basic city services.
One percent of city workers were placed on leave this month for failing to comply with the city’s vaccine mandate and 1 in 6 public safety workers have requested exemption from the requirement.
The tech district known as Cortex promised that its training programs would add economic vitality to the region. But as a September deadline approaches, it’s unclear how much support the city’s aldermen will offer.
Commissioner Adrian Garcia has said that his precinct’s pilot program, which paid participants $15 an hour to clean public spaces, was a success and will expand countywide with a $2.1 million budget.
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009. In the absence of action from Congress and state legislatures, local governments are adding capacity to their programs to support workers.
Dozens of city workers failed to comply with the weekly COVID-19 testing requirement and, therefore, could be at risk of termination. City officials said workers were given multiple opportunities to comply.
As the list of companies pledging to cover their employees’ abortion-related expenses continues to grow, some wonder if the employee will have to sacrifice privacy to access the financial benefits.
Companies across the nation have vowed to support access to abortion for their employees, sometimes offering as much as $10,000 to cover abortion-related expenses, but plans are unclear for how the coverage would play out.
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development said that it cannot access jobless claims data to make weekly unemployment benefit payments for 12,000 workers.
The California law, which makes it harder for companies to classify workers as contractors to legally guarantee minimum wages, overtime pay and compensation benefits, was challenged by freelance groups.
Before the pandemic, court systems across the nation were unable to meet the demand for public defenders, citing issues of low pay and severe overwork. COVID has only exacerbated the problem.
The e-commerce company has struggled throughout the pandemic with building too many warehouses and not having enough workers to staff them. But a 3.8-million-square-foot expansion in upstate New York has hired 1,500 full-time workers.
From 2000 to 2019, the Maine city’s pay gap between men and women shrank 21 percent and in 2019 women made 91 percent of what their male counterparts earned, 9 percentage points above the national average.
Some Alaskan employers are building housing for workers, including efforts to convert former military barracks and a state ferry into worker lodging, in hopes that relieving housing struggles will attract workers.
While new leadership and a quick economic rebound have allowed the state’s Employment Department to better address new claims and phone calls, the agency still has outstanding issues to be resolved.
In 2019, the New York State Industries for the Disabled helped employ 5,293 workers with a disability. Yet, the state ranked 43rd out of the 50 states for residents with a disability who were employed.
The ballot measure would have asked voters if app-based drivers should be considered employees or independent contractors. The judges said the petition was “vaguely worded.”
During the pandemic, a record-breaking number of people of all ages quit their jobs in “the Great Resignation.” But as inflation rises and employers increase wages to attract workers amid a labor shortage, many are returning to the workforce.
With historic funding for badly needed projects arriving at the same time as historic shortages of construction workers, what can states do to open up the employment pipeline?
While the unemployment rates are close to pre-pandemic levels, employers are still struggling to fill positions. Statewide, businesses reported about 30,000 fewer workers than in February 2020.
Forty-eight recreation centers in Philadelphia have just one full-time worker. Labor leaders and supporters of the city's parks and libraries are calling for more than $15 million in new funding to address staffing problems.
The county wants to require employers to disclose minimum and maximum pay for job listings. Currently, more than half a dozen states have pay transparency laws, including jurisdictions in New York.
A recent study found that the state’s investment to connect 238,000 households by 2026 would raise worker wages, help bridge digital divides and boost the state’s labor income by $843 million annually.
The state’s Employment Development Department says that it was flooded with 47,000 suspicious claims in early May, which would have amounted to as much as $560 million. There has not yet been word who is behind the fraudulent claims.
While many firms expect workers to be remote about 30 percent of the time after the pandemic, the rate has “stalled” around 40 percent since last fall. Cities will have to adjust as less workers commute into downtown spaces.
