AFOP Member PathStone Wins DOL “Training to Work” Grant

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PathStone Wins DOL Grant to Improve Employment Opportunities for Formerly Incarcerated Adults and Youth

DOL announced June 25 that it has awarded AFOP member PathStone-Pennsylvania a $1.3 million grant through its “Training to Work” program which assists men and women enrolled in state or local work release programs in gaining the job skills necessary for in-demand occupations as they reintegrate back into society. Training to Work incorporates the comprehensive career pathways model that align education and training services to enable workers to attain industry-recognized credentials and find jobs.

According to DOL, with access to good jobs and stable employment, adults and youth involved in criminal justice system are less likely to become repeat offenders, which strengthens local economies and boosts public safety. However, rehabilitation becomes more difficult when a criminal record impedes the search for employment. To overcome this dilemma, DOL is awarding a total of $59 million to non-profit organizations to develop or expand programs to improve the employment opportunities for adults and youth involved in the criminal justice system. The funds will support programs that offer a range of services that include case management, mentoring, education and training that leads to industry-recognized credentials.

Meet the United States Department of Labor

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Administrator, Wage and Hour Division
Dr. David Weil

David Weil (2)Prior to this appointment, Dr. Weil served as professor of economics and the Peter and Deborah Wexler Professor of Management at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. He also served as co-director of the Transparency Policy Project at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has written five books, three regarding labor market policy including the recently published The Fissured Workplace. He has authored numerous articles and publications in a variety of economics, public policy, management, and industrial relations journals and books, as well as numerous publications in non-academic outlets.David Weil was sworn in as the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division on May 5, 2014. Dr. Weil is an internationally recognized expert in public and labor market policy; regulatory performance; industrial and labor relations; transparency policy; and supply-chain restructuring and its effects.

“Working together, through a combination of education and enforcement, we can affect change to benefit everyone in this industry — from the workers in the fields to the growers and contractors who employ them.”

No stranger to the Department’s mission or its work, Dr. Weil has served as an adviser to the Wage and Hour Division, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Department of Labor, as well as to a number of other government agencies. He also has served as mediator and adviser in a range of labor union and labor/management settings across the globe. In addition to his work for the Department, his research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, among others.

Agricultural Outreach

In fiscal year 2014, the Wage and Hour Division investigations in the agriculture industry yielded violations 80 percent of the time and collected more than $4.5 million in back wages for workers. Enforcement alone, though, is not enough to improve labor law compliance and conditions for workers — direct outreach to industry employers is needed. Wage and Hour Division Administrator David Weil did just that when he met with the National Council of Agricultural Employers at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C., earlier this year. Weil told the gathering of growers, contractors, attorneys and others that, by collaborating to address common labor violations, a fair and level playing field is possible. “Working together, through a combination of education and enforcement, we can affect change to benefit everyone in this industry — from the workers in the fields to the growers and contractors who employ them,” he said.

Source: United States Department of Labor

Obama Administration Announces Aid for Drought-Stricken West

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The Administration announced June 12 new actions and investments of more than $110 million to support workers, farmers and rural communities suffering from drought and to combat wildfires. The new funding announced builds on the more than $190 million that agencies across the federal government have invested to support drought-stricken communities so far this year. View White House Fact Sheet

According to federal officials, 35 percent of the West is facing severe to exceptional drought. In California, the mountain snowpack that supplies most of the water during the summer months is only a trace above zero. All over the West, continued drought is leading to job losses, particularly in the agricultural sector. In California alone, a recent University of California Davis study estimates 18,000 lost jobs because of drought. Officials say that these losses leave working families struggling to make ends meet.

To help assist them in this time of need, DOL announced that it will award as much as $18 million to the State of California to provide jobs for workers dislocated by the drought. Starting in July, this National Dislocated Worker Grant will employ up to 1,000 workers for up to 6 months with public and nonprofit agencies working to build drought resilience, reduce wildfire risk, and improve water efficiency. The grant, made possible by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, will focus on the areas facing the most severe impacts in California. Other states that have received a drought emergency declaration and can document drought-impacted job losses will have the option to apply for similar Dislocated Worker Grants. The program in California will also support youth in drought-impacted households as well as the long-term unemployed.