"In Focus" items are up-to-the-minute news about the Secretary of
Labor's efforts to strengthen the workforce and the business community.
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August 24, 2004
The Fraternal
Order of Police (F.O.P.) in Warren, Mich., welcomed Secretary Chao’s remarks about the new
overtime reforms which took effect on Monday, Aug. 23. Secretary Chao told the
group that the new Overtime Security Rule will guarantee that more police,
other first responders and millions of hard-working Americans receive overtime
pay for their work.
“For the first time in history, the overtime rights
of law enforcement officers on the front lines — and firefighters,
paramedics, emergency medical technicians and public safety employees —
are strengthened,” said Secretary Chao. “With these new rules,
workers will clearly know their rights, employers will know their
responsibilities and the department can more vigorously enforce the law. This
Administration — which has set new records for aggressive Wage and Hour
enforcement — will have strong new standards in place to better protect
workers’ pay.”
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August 20, 2004
Secretary Chao announced a National Emergency
Grant of up to $50 million — with an initial release of $16,500,000 —
to hire approximately 3,630 workers to help Florida recover from Hurricane
Charley and Tropical Storm Bonnie. While in Florida, Secretary Chao also
surveyed the impacted areas.
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August 18, 2004
Secretary Chao announced a $10 million grant to
Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) to help ex-offenders ages 18 to 34 make a
successful transition to community life and long-term employment. The grant was
announced at Abyssinia Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., and
benefit former offenders in Jacksonville and 13 other cities nationwide. The
grant is part of a $54.6 million effort to assist returning inmates and their
families.
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August 11, 2004
Secretary Chao announced a $3.1 million grant to
the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate (SWO) Tribe to provide employment and training
services to Native Americans who are at risk of becoming involved with the
criminal justice system or are ex-offenders.
"This $3.1 million grant to
the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe will help these young Native Americans get
the training they need for good-paying jobs," said Secretary Chao. "This grant
will provide tools and mentoring so these young people can transition into
stable employment and develop valuable career skills. Some of the programs they
can access through the grant include adult basic education and GED training,
occupational skills training in the construction trades, alternative
sentencing, community service, tutoring, intensive case management and
after-care services."
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August 2, 2004
Secretary Chao announced a $2.76 million grant to
help at-risk Hispanic youth in Orlando and four other cities across the
country. "Today I am pleased to announce a $2.76 million grant to Esperanza USA
to help at-risk Hispanic youths get training to find good-paying jobs,”
said Secretary Chao. “Esperanza USA will partner with faith-based and
community groups here in Orlando and other cities across the country and
provide access to training and employment services to help these young people
build job skills.”
While in Orlando,
Secretary Chao also addressed the first-ever Hispanic Safety and Health Summit,
discussing the Bush Administration's committment to further improve health and
safety in the workplace.
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July 28, 2004
Secretary Chao announced a $9.2 million grant to
the National Urban League to assist inner-city African American youth.
“This $9.2
million grant to the National Urban League will help at-risk, out-of-school
youth access training so they can find good-paying jobs,” Secretary Chao
said. “The programs funded by this grant will provide tutoring, literacy
training, work experience, adult mentoring, employment opportunities and
career-planning services that can help prepare these young people for a bright
future.”
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July 21, 2004
Secretary Chao and the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs of Mexico, Luis Ernesto Derbez, signed a Joint Declaration that
reaffirms the shared commitment of the United States and Mexico to improve
compliance with and awareness of workplace laws and regulations protecting
Hispanic workers in the United States.
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July 20, 2004
Secretary Chao released the following statement on
the June state and regional employment data released today: “Our nation
has experienced 10 straight months of job growth, with 1.5 million Americans
finding good new jobs. Today’s news shows that the unemployment rate has
declined in 4 regions and in 47 states and nonfarm payroll employment rose in
41 states just in the past month. This continuing positive economic news
demonstrates that the President’s sound policies are strengthening the
economy for America’s workers.”
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July 19, 2004
The annual
national Workforce Innovations 2004 Conference, the nation's premier workforce
investment conference, began today in San Antonio, Texas. More than 2,200
business and education leaders, workforce investment professionals, and
federal, state and local officials from across America plan to attend the
three-day conference.
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July 16, 2004
Secretary Chao and
Secretary
of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta presented a special tribute to Dr. John
B. Tsu, immediate past chairman emeritus of the International Leadership
Foundation (ILF), during today’s ILF annual Awards Dinner in
Washington.
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June 30, 2004
Secretary Chao announced a $5 million grant to
Forsyth Technical Community College, partnering with four other community
colleges around the nation, to develop curricula and training models for
biotechnology workers. The grant, announced at Piedmont Triad Research Park in
Winston-Salem, is part of a $17.2 million national effort developed under the
President's High Growth Job Training Initiative to address workforce challenges
facing the biotech industry.
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June 17, 2004
Secretary Chao met with the Advisory Council of
Employee Welfare and Pension Plans to welcome the Council’s new members
and discuss ways to improve the retirement security and health coverage of
America’s workers. “The year’s Advisory Council’s members
will be a source of unique insights into a variety of issues facing pension,
health and other benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act,” Secretary Chao said.
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June 3, 2004
Secretary Chao announced the launch of a $17.2
million national Biotechnology Worker Training Initiative as part of the
President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative. “This $17.2 million
in training funds will recruit and train workers for jobs in the biotechnology
field, which is expected to be one of the fastest growing sectors by
2012,” said Secretary Chao. This announcement was made at an event
highlighting a $2.4 million award to Pennsylvania-based Pittsburgh Life
Sciences Greenhouse.
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June 2, 2004
Secretary Chao delivered the commencement address
to the graduates at Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.
Secretary Chao also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the
university presented by Professor William F. Fox, Dean of the Columbus School
of Law, and by the Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, C.M., President of the
Catholic University of America.
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May 26, 2004
Secretary Chao traveled to Minneapolis to join
with the Fraternal Order of Police (F.O.P.) National Trustee for Minnesota,
Chuck Schauss, and Minnesota F.O.P. State President, Gary Cayo, to highlight
how the Department of Labor’s new overtime security rules strengthen and
expand overtime rights for police and other first responders.
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May 18, 2004
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao launched
“Getting It Right — Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities” —
a nationwide campaign to improve workers’ health and retirement security
by educating employers and service providers about their fiduciary
responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Under the leadership of Secretary Chao, the Department of Labor has established
compliance assistance efforts and this is the latest in a series of these
initiatives by the Department’s Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA).
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May 11, 2004
Secretary Chao was joined by the Office of
Personnel Management and five new departmental partners in hosting the third
annual Asian Pacific American (APA) Federal Career Advancement Summit on May
10. "This Summit with its many interactive workshops, mentoring sessions, and
panel discussions is meant to reach out and help Asian Pacific Americans gain
additional skills to advance to leadership positions within the federal
government," said Secretary Chao.
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April 30, 2004
Secretary Chao named a new Overtime Security Task
Force within the Wage and Hour division of the Department of Labor to maximize
protection of workers’ pay rights under new Overtime Security rules.
Secretary Chao charged them to help workers and employers know the facts about
these rules and not be misled by misinformation. Secretary Chao also met with
Fraternal Order of Police officials, explaining the new overtime protections
for police, fire & rescue, and nurses.
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April 20, 2004
Secretary Chao announced the final rules governing
overtime eligibility for “white-collar” workers under the Fair Labor
Standards Act on April 20. The regulations had not been substantially updated
for over 50 years, creating confusion for workers and employers, generating
wasteful class action litigation, and failing to effectively protect
workers’ pay rights.
“Today, workers win. The department’s
new rules guarantee and strengthen overtime rights for more American workers
than ever before,” said Secretary Chao.
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April 8, 2004
With a shortage
of workers expected over the next ten years in many of the skilled trades,
Secretary Chao was joined by a diverse group of
partners from organized labor and industry on April 6 to announce the
“Skills to Build America’s Future” initiative. This initiative
is a nationwide outreach and education effort designed to attract young people
and transitioning workers to careers in the skilled trades and to address the
growing need for workers in America’s construction industry.
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April 5, 2004
Secretary Chao announced a National Hispanic
Worker Initiative and awarded the first grant of almost $1.9 million to the
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (H.E.R.E) International Union on March
16. H.E.R.E will use the grant to train Hispanic and other immigrant workers
for hospitality industry jobs in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J.
Read the news
releases:
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March 25, 2004
Secretary Chao was honored by the National
Fraternal Order of Police (F.O.P.) with the President’s Award at the
National FOP Spring Board Meeting in Philadelphia, Penn., on March 19. F.O.P
National President Chuck Canterbury presented the award to Secretary Chao.
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March 19, 2004
As part of
the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative,
Secretary Chao announced a
new national Health Care Initiative worth $24.4 million to address critical
worker shortages in the industry on March 12 in Baltimore. The kick-off event
was held at The Johns Hopkins Hospital to announce the Department's first two
grants — $3 million to The Johns Hopkins Health System and $1.5 million to
the state of Maryland.
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March 12, 2004
President
George W. Bush joined by Secretary Chao addressed more
than 1,000 businesswomen at the Women’s Entrepreneurship in the 21st
Century Summit in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday. The event offered participants
insights from entrepreneurs and executives on the challenges that female
business owners face, including access to affordable healthcare and strategies
for starting and growing a successful business.
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March 5, 2004
Secretary Chao announced more
than $18.1 million in aid to help up to 1,630 trade-certified workers in
Pennsylvania find new jobs. "The President and I are committed to getting help
to these workers as quickly as possible,” Chao said. “This $18.1
million in aid will help provide unemployment benefits, training and employment
services, childcare expenses, transportation and relocation expenses and
subsidize health care insurance costs so they can transition to new jobs and
opportunities.”
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March 1, 2004
Secretary Chao addressed the American Enterprise Institute's
conference, "Advantages of High Productivity Growth," on February 25 in
Washington, D.C. In her speech, "The Benefits of Increased Productivity Growth
for Workers," Secretary Chao told the conference participants that
"productivity growth, even with its challenges, pays dividends for workers."
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February 23, 2004
Secretary Chao, Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, Commerce
Secretary Don Evans, and SBA Administrator Hector Barreto visited workers and
employers in Oregon and Washington state on their second “Jobs &
Growth Tour” February 17 and 18. They promoted the President's Jobs &
Growth Plan, as well as other efforts by President Bush to create jobs,
strengthen the economic recovery, increase workers’ standards of living
and highlight training as part of the 21st Century Job Initiative.
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February 13, 2004
Secretary Chao hosted Bob Nardelli, Chairman, President, and
CEO of Home Depot; and Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP, on February 6 as Home Depot
and AARP announced a national partnership to attract, motivate and retain
eligible older workers. AARP is a recipient of DOL grants under the Older
Americans Act. DOL and Home Depot began a national hiring partnership in June
2002. More than 12,000 people have been hired through this agreement so
far.
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February 4, 2004
Secretary Chao traveled to Iraq on behalf of the Bush
Administration on January 28th and 29th. The Secretary's two-day official trip
highlighted the democratization efforts underway in Iraq. As she began her
trip, Secretary Chao said, “The Iraqi people have displayed great courage
and determination in their efforts to build a peaceful and democratic nation
after years of brutal oppression under Saddam Hussein. We look forward to
visiting Iraq to see first hand the progress they have made and to work with
them to strengthen the country’s economic security."
Read the news
releases:
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January 26, 2004
In
congressional testimony January 20, Secretary Chao
debunked a number of myths, distortions and inaccuracies about the
department’s proposal to update the nation’s overtime regulations for
white-collar workers. Secretary Chao said the proposal will “strengthen
overtime protections for millions of low-wage and middle-class workers and
empower workers to understand and insist on their overtime rights.”
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January 20, 2004
Secretary Chao met with workers, employers, and educators at
Husson College on January 14 to discuss the strengthening economy and how
DOL’s new High Growth Job Training Initiative can help workers find and
prepare for good jobs in growing industries.
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January 16, 2004
On Monday we
remember the life and work of an extraordinary American visionary and leader,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King dedicated his life to ensuring that all
Americans would have an equal chance to succeed and reach their full potential.
His vivid words and ringing oratory continue to inspire generations of
Americans to recommit themselves to the ideals of justice, equality, and
opportunity. As we celebrate this holiday, the ideals that Dr. King championed
hold special meaning for all of us who work to secure a brighter future for
America’s workers.
—Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao |
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January 9, 2004
Secretary Chao met with children who have been the victims
of child trafficking at the Kokrobite primary school outside of Accra, Ghana,
on December 20. The Secretary heard first-hand the stories of abuse and
suffering that students at the school endured.
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January 5, 2004
Secretary Chao met with former child soldiers and toured a
home for demobilized child soldiers run by the Belgian Red Cross in Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, on December 18. The tour was part of
Secretary Chao’s four-day visit to Africa to highlight the continuing
efforts to end the worst forms of child labor — including using children
as soldiers and trafficking in children — and to promote programs in the
workplace to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
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