By Godson Umejiego, Correspondent USA

The US Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Disability Employment Policy, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programmes and the Women’s Bureau is organising a national online dialogue on “Advancing Worker Equity at the US Department of Labour.”

Pursuant of President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, DOL is hosting this dialogue to -help inform its efforts to foster greater employment and economic opportunities for people from historically underserved communities. The feedback and ideas gathered will help inform potential policies and programs to advance worker equity, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities and other underrepresented communities.

All ideas are welcome, but DOL says it is specifically looking for input to help ensure that:

• Everyone has equal access to unemployment insurance (UI);
• Federal contractors and subcontractors doing business with the federal government do not discriminate against protected workers;
• DOL’s Wage and Hour Division enforcement sufficiently captures wage-related issues for underrepresented groups; and

• DOL’s outreach is reaching workers from underrepresented groups.