Labor and Employment: The American Worker

Committee Prints and Congressional Hearings

The deliberations of Congress provide insight both into issues requiring federal attention and their proposed solutions.

Committee prints provide "background" information on the topics handled by different congressional committees.

• An excellent resource for statistical and historical information, and for legislative analysis.
• Can present legislative or research activities, as well as memorial tributes.

A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress. Hearings are held:

• to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation.
• to conduct an investigation.
• to evaluate/oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a federal law.

In addition, hearings may also be purely exploratory in nature, providing testimony and data about topics of current interest. Most hearings are published two months to two years after they are held. This material provides a transcript of the proceedings for the general public.

Some Committee Prints of Note:

• Abolishing mandatory retirement (implications for America and social security of eliminating age discrimination in employment) : an interim report (1981)
• Factors in successful collective bargaining (1951)
• Jurisdictional Standards of the National Labor Relations Board: A Report (1957)

Some Congressional Hearings of Note:

• Balancing Work, Health, and Family: The Case for Expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act (2020)
• Immigration : economic impact on American workers and their wages (2006)
• Occupational alcoholism programs (1974)

CRS and GAO Reports

Find thousands of reports on a diverse range of topics, including affirmative action, youth employment, technology in the workplace, self-employment, and more, authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and Government Accountability Office (GAO).

What are these agencies?

• The Congressional Research Service is a public policy research institute of the U.S. Congress
  • Its job is to help Congress form sound policies based on analysis and research
  • Access CRS Reports on topics other than labor and employment by navigating to HeinOnline’s U.S. Congressional Documents database and selecting the CRS Reports subcollection
• The General Accountability Office is a legislative branch agency
  • It provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for the U.S. Congress
  • Staff produce reports and written correspondence, testimonies and statements for the record, briefings for congressional staff members, and more
  • Access GAO Reports on topics other than labor and employment through HeinOnline's dedicated GAO Reports and Comptroller General Decisions database

Some reports of note:

• Child Labor in America: History, Policy, & Legislative Issues (2013)
• Mine Safety: Labor's Progress In Doing Required Inspections (1986)
• Real Wage Trends, 1979 to 2019 (2020)

CFR and U.S. Code

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the U.S. Code represent the current statutory positions of the federal government.

Published annually, the CFR is divided into 50 titles (aka subjects) that are the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government.

The U.S. Code, divided into 53 titles, is the official compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal statutes of the United States. Main editions of the U.S. Code are published every six years, with supplements published annually. Unlike the CFR, the U.S. Code does not include regulations issued by executive branch agencies.

Extracted within this database are the following relevant titles:

CFR Title 20: Employees' Benefits

CFR Title 29: Labor

US Code Title 29: Labor

Legislative Histories

Legislative histories present the journey of a bill as it becomes a law, with all its changes, additions, deletions and various legislative hurdles.

Some legislative histories of note included in this database are:

• Fair Labor Standards Act 1938
• Legislative History of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, P.L. 92-261
• Railway Labor Act of 1926: A Legislative History

Supreme Court Briefs

The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation. Its decisions affect all federal law and U.S. Constitutional law. It can also strike down statutes or presidential directives if it finds they violate Constitutional law.

Presented here are briefs filed in cases appearing before the Supreme Court. These cases can be on labor or employment law, or be filed by labor organizations encouraging the Court to rule a certain way.

Some briefs of note are:

• Alfred J. Gobeille, in His Official Capacity as Chair of the Vermont Green Mountain Care Board, Petitioner, v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Respondent. Petition for a Writ of Certiorari (2014)
• Cedar Point Nursery and Fowler Packing Co., v. Victoria Hassid. Brief Amicus Curiae of American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (2021)
• Gerald Lynn Bostock, v. Clayton Country, Georgia. Brief for Business Organizations as Amici Curiae in Support of the Employees (2019)

Periodicals & Serials

Browse serials and periodicals dedicated to labor and employment matters, including:

• Annual Report of the National Labor Relations Board
• Decisions of the Federal Labor Relations Authority
• Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal
• Occupational Outlook Handbook

Scholarly Articles

Access hundreds of articles* selected by HeinOnline editors on employment discrimination, wrongful termination, collective bargaining, how the New Deal shaped labor law, right-to-work laws, labor disputes in major league sports, and more. Sort articles by Title, Author, Most-Cited, or Year, or search the list by Title or Author. 

New articles are added monthly!

*In order to access the scholarly article links, you must be subscribed to the appropriate HeinOnline collection(s).

Additional Bibliography

Take your research beyond HeinOnline with this bibliography of books selected by HeinOnline editors. Each title is linked to its WorldCat entry to help users locate the book in a nearby library. New books will be added regularly.