Equity & Inclusion Archives - Page 5 of 16 - Job Quality Center of Excellence

In this event, Natalie Foster, author of “The Guarantee: Inside the Fight for America’s Next Economy,” asks us to imagine a new economic framework that casts aside the failures of the trickle-down approach and builds economic security and well-being from the bottom up. Foster, who serves as president and co-founder of the Economic Security Project and as a senior fellow with the Institute’s Future of Work Initiative, describes a bold vision in which housing, health care, higher education, dignified work, family care, and an opportunity to build generational wealth are guaranteed for all by our government.

This is a collection of resources created by the Department of Labor and other federal agencies, relating to job quality and implementing good jobs priorities through federal investments and beyond. Many of these resources are no longer publicly available on government websites, though they were all at one point public and shared with the intent of preserving these resources for public use.

The Overview document provides a list of all resources contained in this archive and links out to these documents in the folder; this document will be the easiest starting point to search for relevant resources.

Please note that we cannot guarantee that information contained in these resources related to specific programs, policies, and processes remains accurate, though many best practices and examples remain useful. In addition, many of these resources link out to government websites that do not exist anymore. You may be able to find these linked resources in the archive itself by searching the Overview document. For more resources, please visit the Data Rescue Project website, at https://www.datarescueproject.org/

In this event, Nick Romeo, author of “The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy,” explores a paradigm shift in economic thinking, which challenges the prevailing notions perpetuated by many economists and business leaders. Romeo presents a vision of economies that are more equal, just, and livable, showcasing real-world examples of success and offering a glimpse into a viable alternative economic system.

The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy guide, “Retaining and Supporting Disabled Workers,” outlines practical steps for employers to build an inclusive workplace where workers with disabilities have the support and working conditions they need to thrive. Key strategies include creating an inclusive workplace culture that promotes flexibility in time and place (like flexible lunch breaks for medication or swapping tasks) and actively works to overcome bias and stigma, especially around mental health conditions. Employers must fulfill their obligation to provide reasonable accommodations, which often carry low or no cost, and offer sufficient leave, to ensure workers don’t have to choose between their job and medical needs. The guide also emphasizes that a good job must be a safe and healthy job, requiring employers to involve disabled employees in creating accessible emergency plans, ensure workplace technology conforms to accessibility standards, and provide targeted safety training.

This is part of a collection of resources created by the Department of Labor and other federal agencies, relating to job quality and implementing good jobs priorities through federal investments and beyond. Many of these resources are no longer publicly available on government websites, though they were all at one point public and shared with the intent of preserving these resources for public use.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s “Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-being: Principles and Best Practices for Developers and Employers” provides a roadmap for workplace AI use that centers job quality and worker voice in the rollout and use of new technologies. This resource is highly relevant for employers and AI developers seeking a framework to ethically design and deploy AI. It outlines eight core principles: centering worker empowerment; ethically developing AI, establishing AI governance and human oversight, ensuring transparency in AI use, protecting labor and employment rights, using AI to enable workers, supporting workers impacted by AI, and ensuring responsible use of worker data.The principles aim to help organizations counteract risks like algorithmic discrimination and job displacement, while using AI for purposes such as augmentation of work tasks and improving worker safety.

For all readers, this document offers a shared set of guidelines for promoting an inclusive, worker-centered approach to AI adoption. The best practices emphasize transparency about AI use, human oversight for significant employment decisions (like hiring, promotion, and discipline), and the responsible use of worker data.

The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy guide, “Advancing Disabled Workers,” provides strategies for employers to support the professional growth, development, and career advancement of employees with disabilities. Key recommendations include equitably offering learning opportunities and professional development to all employees, as well as ensuring that training is accessible and supplemented with mentorship. In order to be able to measure inclusion goals, employers must create an environment where workers feel comfortable with disclosing their disabilities. This also allows for the creation of clear and appropriate performance expectations and enable managers to provide usable, relevant feedback during performance reviews. Finally, employers should continuously track and report progress toward disability inclusion goals, hold specific individuals or teams accountable, and ensure that the voices of disabled workers are included in these efforts.

In this event, panelists discuss the state of workplace benefits, innovative approaches to improve access and effectiveness, and ideas for how to build on these in the future. Presenters also share findings from research conducted by the Aspen Institute’s Future of Work Initiative, which highlights the benefits-related challenges that many workers face today.

The Work Design for Health toolkit, developed by researchers at MIT and Harvard, is a practical but in-depth guide on improving job quality by centering worker health. Through topic overviews and recommended practices, which include ratings indicating the strength of research evidence on these practices, the guide walks employers through potential worker needs and action steps.

The toolkit consists of a number of modules. The first, the Overview, provides an introduction to the Work Design for Health approach to worker well-being. The next three modules explore the three principles that are at the heart of the Work Design for Health approach: giving employees more control on the job; taming excessive job demands; and improving social relationships in the workplace. The final module, “Get Started,” offers key steps and resources for implementing a Work Design for Health approach.

This resource was created as part of the CHIPS for America program and is intended to help employers with the implementation of child care for workers. The first half of the presentation gives an overview of the CHIPS program and the current US childcare crisis. The second half of the presentation outlines the importance of and best practices for developing child care plans to support workers and, as an extension, improve employers’ ability to hire and retain qualified staff. The resource covers evaluating worker needs, working with community partners, and designing and implementing child care offerings for employees.

In this event, Marjorie Kelly, author of “Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s Crises,” outlines the myths that perpetuate wealth inequality and discusses how the democratization of ownership — including public ownership of vital services, worker-owned businesses, and more — can help us build a non-extractive capitalism and economy based on the public interest.