This guide was prepared as part of the Shared Success project, through which the Aspen Economic Opportunities Program has been working with a cohort of 11 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) on strategies to advance good jobs. Through this work, have consistently heard that small businesses are facing ongoing hurdles navigating and staying up to date on relevant compliance requirements at the local, state, and federal levels.

This resource guide is intended to help spur ideas for how small businesses can overcome compliance hurdles and navigate quickly evolving regulatory landscapes. The guide is also designed to help advisors or entities working with small business owners, such as CDFIs, facilitate access to potential partners to help their clients effectively address these matters in a more timely, high-quality, and consistent manner. This document is not meant to be legal advice or an exhaustive list of organizations, but rather a snapshot of potential regional and national resources where organizations could seek guidance and further partnership or support.

The passage of the 13th Amendment following the American Civil War abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, but it included a crucial exception: “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” This exception allowed southern governments to institute an early version of prison labor called convict leasing. Black Americans arrested for minor offenses, once imprisoned, were effectively purchased from state and local governments by individuals and companies looking to continue using cheap labor. This allowed individuals and companies to keep slavery in action. Though the practice of convict leasing ended in the mid-20th century, its infamous traits can still be seen in today’s incarceration system.

Today, the majority of incarcerated workers in the US, who are disproportionately Black and people of color, are often required to work or face retaliation such as solitary confinement, denial of opportunities to reduce their sentence, and loss of family visitation. They work jobs that might pay pennies on the hour, if they are paid at all, and are often not protected by labor laws. Many work in dangerous conditions. At the same time, some find deep purpose in their work behind bars, an opportunity to build skills, and support in making a successful transition to life after incarceration. In this recorded event, the first in a two part series, the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program explores the history and conditions of work for incarcerated people and ideas for creating more humane and dignified work for those behind bars.

Our second conversation, Re-Entry and Good Jobs: Building the Second Chances We All Believe In, explores the opportunities and challenges of work for returning citizens after they have been released from incarceration.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was designed to help workers move “into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.” A decade after its passage, however, it is clear that WIOA has often missed the mark in supporting workers’ success in accessing quality jobs or in effectively serving the high-road employers who provide good jobs. If legislators are serious about using WIOA to support quality jobs and good employers, then stronger efforts to support employee-owned companies would be a great place to start. This brief outlines the opportunity and the steps to achieve this goal.

This website includes resources to support pregnant and breastfeeding workers. Resources are designed to educate employees about their workplace rights, for employers to adopt family-friendly policies and ensure compliance with state and federal laws, and for policymakers and advocates to support pregnant and breastfeeding employees. Tools include a model policy that reflects current legal requirements, a webinar for employee training, and a chart of workplace accommodations for common pregnancy-related conditions. In addition to workers, employers, and policymakers, workforce development professionals who support workers may also find this resource guide useful.

This report uses principles of behavioral economics to offer recommendations to workforce development professionals about how to strengthen their collaboration with business leaders and better understand how they make decisions. The report outlines four cognitive biases that might affect an employer’s decisions, including those related to business practice changes, and suggests practical solutions.

The Job Accommodation Network’s publications include a resource series on Accommodation and Compliance, designed to support employers and employees in determining effective accommodations that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Each publication in the series addresses a specific medical condition and potential accommodations and points toward resources for additional information. These publications can be used by practitioners assisting employers in accommodating disabilities as well as by individual employees as they discuss accommodations with their employer.

This post and sample letter details how to document your disability and how to share the information with your employer to provide an accommodation. It includes helpful information about an employee’s rights and a sample letter of inquiry to an employer. Employees and the advocates who support them may find this tool useful when interfacing with an employer about needed accommodations.

This guide includes information about the legal basics of the Americans with Disabilities Act and how to request and negotiate an accommodation. Each section responds to commonly asked questions about the policies and practicalities of getting an accommodation at work, including if you have to disclose your disability to your employer and what accommodations you can request. This tool could be helpful for an individual employee, a practitioner informing clients of their rights, or an employer seeking to strengthen accommodations.

This six-step guide can help employers assess their employees’ financial stability and make an actionable plan to strengthen financial wellness. The foundational step includes assessing employee wages and benefits to ensure workers are earning a livable wage. The following steps guide employers through various financial wellness solutions, including how to implement and evaluate strategies and solicit feedback. This guide is written for employers, but it could also be used by workforce development professionals or worker advocates who work closely with employers.

Workforce development practitioners can use this guide to build capacity to strengthen relationships with employers. Turn to page 8 for instructions on finding and using local labor market information to help jobseekers make educated job decisions and to inform employer engagement, and relevant programming. While the guide is designed for workforce professionals in the Chicago area, many of the listed resources are national or have equivalents in other regions.