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October 19, 2008 DOL Home > About DOL > Annual Report 2004 > Strategic Goal 4 |
DOL Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2004 Strategic Goal 4: A Competitive Workforce Maintain Competitiveness in the 21st Century Economy This goal was introduced one year ago in the FY 2003 2008 DOL Strategic Plan. It addresses the global economic issues facing American workers in the 21st Century. Two outcome goals describe strategies the Department has conceived to serve the needs of our country's changing workforce. Outcome Goal 4.1, Address demand for new, replacement, and skilled workers, focuses on workforce gaps that are likely to occur, including labor shortages for new and replacement workers, with an emphasis on knowledge workers, and on adapting the nation's workforce investment system to match workers and skills with employers' needs. Outcome Goal 4.2, Promote job flexibility and minimize regulatory burden, includes identifying and adopting innovative approaches for effective regulation, and expanding workplace flexibility consistent with the changing nature of work in the 21st Century. Implementation of this goal occurs primarily in training and job placement programs administered by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). In addition, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP) conducts oversight of all DOL regulatory functions in connection with the second outcome goal. Since creation of Outcome Goal 4.1, ETA has launched several initiatives aimed at gathering information on high growth industries, the skills needed by employers in those industries and adapting training programs to equip workers especially underutilized segments of the workforce to satisfy those requirements. Measurable results in connection with this goal are deferred until 2005, however, since the programs associated with this goal are all funded and tracked on a Program Year basis.26 A major accomplishment in the first year under Outcome Goal 4.2 was the addition of net benefit evaluations to all Regulatory Impact Analyses conducted during the year.
The outcome goals and programs listed above, along with their results, costs, and future challenges are discussed in more detail on the following pages. 26Program Year 2004 began July 1, 2004 and ends on June 30, 2005 Outcome Goal 4.1 Equip Workers to Adapt to the Competitive Challenges of the 21st Century The 21st Century has created new challenges and opportunities for American workers. To better prepare the Federal workforce system for the effects of globalization, changing demographics, and advances in technology, the Department has included a new strategic goal in the Strategic Plan that covers this report A Competitive Workforce. This outcome goal supports the new strategic goal by employing strategies that target assistance to American workers by helping them acquire the skills they need to obtain good jobs as quickly as possible. This in turn helps American businesses acquire competitive advantages needed to innovate, grow, and succeed in an increasingly global economy. Through this goal, DOL programs:
DOL's Revised Final FY 2004 Annual Performance Plan (dated January 27, 2004) included three performance goals in support of this outcome goal: 4.1A Analyze information collection and research programs for relevance; 4.1B Address worker shortages; and 4.1C Build a demand-driven workforce system. All three are associated with programs administered by ETA. Since all but a few of the programs are forward-funded,27 performance measurement lags funding and the first year's results will be reported in the DOL FY 2005 Performance and Accountability Report. Strategies aimed at supporting the Department's goal include: improved communication and collaboration among businesses, workers, and training providers; new partnerships with employers in high-growth industries; strategic initiatives with other government agencies; leveraging of private investments in training; and outreach to underutilized labor pools The discussion below summarizes progress to date in shifting emphasis of employment and training programs toward matching undersupplied businesses with underutilized workers and focusing on skills needed to keep American labor competitive. Results Summary
27A mechanism of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) that allows
for distribution of grant monies prior to measuring outcomes. WIA programs
operate on a July-June Program Year (PY). For example, PY 2004 began on
July 1, 2004 and ends on June 30, 2005. Future Challenges
For PY 2005, the Department has requested $250 million for the Community Based Job Training Grants. Outcome Goal 4.2 Promote Job Flexibility and Minimize Regulatory Burden Maintaining a growing, vibrant economy requires a competitive economic environment. Such an environment can only be achieved through a regulatory structure that assures regulations' benefits outweigh their burdens. A competitive economic environment must also take into account the modern workplace, with its increasingly flexible working arrangements. Many employment laws and regulations were written in the 1970's and were based on, among other things, traditional on-site, full-time, long-term employment relationships between workers and employers. The foundation and logic for these laws and regulations has changed considerably, yet the laws and regulations themselves have not. DOL is systematically reviewing the regulations it is responsible for enforcing, to ensure they do not unnecessarily pose barriers to flexible work arrangements. Regulatory flexibility, another priority at DOL, is being actively sought via reviews pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 to determine if regulations have or will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. These reviews also examine the effect on employers' compliance costs and whether the regulatory burdens of all employers, both large and small, are reduced. Outcome Goal 4.2 goals and indicators will measure DOL's success in creating a more competitive economic environment through promotion and development of a regulatory structure and workplace arrangements that are congruent with the modern workplace. Over the next several years, DOL will conduct a comprehensive review of the key laws and regulations governing labor standards, pensions, health care, and worker safety to determine their appropriateness in the new workplace. Once the review is complete, DOL will pursue needed changes to reduce regulatory burden to improve productivity and competitiveness, while simultaneously protecting worker rights, benefits, and safety. DOL has already made strides in modernizing its regulatory approach by 1) shifting our emphasis toward compliance assistance through outreach, education, and innovative programs designed to prevent violations; 2) targeting our enforcement efforts to address the most egregious problems; and 3) expanding electronic options for employers to meet their reporting obligations. Over the next several years, we will analyze the effectiveness of this overarching strategy, seek ways to build upon the successes, exploit technology to improve our effectiveness, and take other steps necessary to ensure that our regulatory infrastructure is consistent with the 21st Century work environment.
Net Cost of Programs Results Summary The Department is also reviewing pension plan and benefit plan regulations, as well as workplace safety regulations. For pension and benefit plan regulations, DOL is assuring that requirements for seeking exemptions from certain prohibited transactions, including loans to benefit plan participants will continue to protect beneficiaries while taking into account new forms of pension and benefit plans. The review process for these proposed regulations allows opportunities for public input, where appropriate, on both the selection of regulations for review and the outcomes of reviews. Through the Women's Bureau (WB) Flex-Options for Women and the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Telework Grants, the Department is making significant strides in creating more opportunities for flexible working arrangements. The WB enlisted women-owned businesses and other corporate mentors who developed a workplace flexibility policy/program for their workforces. Through the Telework Grants project, ODEP funds research examining how telework can be used as an employment option for people with disabilities. Future Challenges The move toward greater workplace flexibility requires that managers understand that critical planning, employee monitoring, teaming and coordination do not necessarily have to suffer due to the added flexibility. It also requires that advocates of greater workplace flexibility demonstrate that the ability for workers to spend more time with their families will only result from changes to the nation's labor laws. Many of these laws were designed a generation ago, and their provisions do not fit today's changing workplace. Promote Flexible Workplace Programs Maximize regulatory flexibility and benefits and promote flexible workplace programs Indicators Ensure that all new regulatory proposals identify monetary costs, benefits, and net benefits, and include a summary of this information in all Regulatory Impact Analyses performed by DOL agencies; Develop a plan to review all significant regulations for maximum flexibility in their reporting and record keeping requirements in order to assess whether DOL agencies are allowing the use of electronic technology by employers where practicable; and The Flex-Options for Women Project: Women-owned businesses will enhance their work forces/businesses by offering flexible workplace policies and programs that encourage a balance between home and work-life. The Women's Bureau will enlist 40 companies as corporate mentors and 80 women-owned businesses as companies seeking to establish workplace flexibility policies or programs. Program Perspective Results, Analysis and Future Plans Regulations The Fall Regulatory Agenda, to be published in late November 2004, will have 81 items on it, many of which continue agency efforts to meet statutory requirements and update obsolete standards. With input from all the DOL agencies, OASP also drafted a Federal Register notice requesting input from the public that can help agencies prioritize regulations for review and possible changes. This Notice will be published for a 60-day comment period in the fall 2004. Women's Bureau Flex-Options for Women: Approximately 41 women-owned businesses, assisted by 77 corporate mentors, have developed a workplace flexibility policy/program for their workforces. The target of enlisting 40 corporate mentors was exceeded. The target of reaching 80 women-owned businesses has not yet been attained. The Bureau is confident that the goal of identifying 80 newly initiated flex-options programs/policies will be reached by December 2004. ODEP Telework Grants Management Issues MSHA engaged a consultant to conduct an independent evaluation in order to determine how the agency could systematically select and prioritize regulations for review. This evaluation, Selecting Regulations for Regulatory Review, by ICF Consulting was completed in April 2004. The agency is currently evaluating the recommendations. Appendix 2 contains a detailed summary of the evaluation. EBSA is establishing a regulatory review program that will set forth a process for identifying initiatives for review, for providing for the evaluation of cost and benefits of identified regulations and exemptions and, to the extent legally permissible, modifying or eliminating those rules for which the costs and burdens outweigh the attendant benefits. Once established, the agency will apply the program's methodology to its regulations and prioritize specific ones for review. |
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