• According to the AFL-CIO’s analysis of February 1997 Current Population Survey data, 55% of workers in temporary help agencies are female, and 70% of all part-time workers are female.

Whereas permanent, full-time jobs have been the norm for the last fifty years, today one-third of all Americans work in non-standard arrangements as part-time, independent, self-employed, or temporary workers. Employers’ search for highly skilled, specialized labor has contributed to a rise in the popularity of subcontracting arrangements with independent employees. At the same time, many job-seekers’ priorities have shifted: women with families, a fast-growing sector of the labor pool, have increasingly prioritized flexibility over permanence when looking for work. Part-time and independent arrangements enable employees to fulfil both work and family responsibilities while providing a relatively inexpensive skilled workforce for employers.

• In Colorado, 21.5% of all working women work part-time [IWPR Status of Women in Colorado Report, 2000]

Although these new arrangements satisfy some of the immediate needs of employers and employees, many people are struggling. Independent and part-time workers, ranging from poor, part-time housekeepers to high-priced independent consultants, are inadequately recognized by labor laws, disproportionately taxed, unprotected from workplace discrimination, and denied access to unemployment and disability insurance and health and pension plans. Often, women working reduced hours say that their workloads are heavier now than when they worked full-time, although they now receive less pay and fewer benefits. Adding insult to injury, part-timers and independent workers are frequently taken less seriously in the workplace and consequently lose out on opportunities to advance their careers, hurting them in the long run even if they eventually return to full-time, permanent positions.

As many businesses increase their use of predominantly female part-time and contingent workers, the issue of pro-rated benefits and pay for such employees becomes increasingly relevant to women’s general economic security. Flexible job strategies such as part-time, contingent, job-sharing, and temporary work are often the best options available to women who must balance work with family, but women should not be forced to forfeit fair labor conditions for flexible schedules.

Balancing Work and Family

• In a 1997 survey, 90% of women working part-time cited child care needs as their primary motivation for scaling back their hours, and another significant group said elder care needs forced them to work reduced schedules. Most men reported working reduced hours only as they phased into retirement.
• The EPI reports that in Colorado 70.2% of women with children under age 6 and 75.3% pf women with children under age 18 are in the labor force. Both of these numbers are at least 5% higher than the national average. Overall, in 1998 68.1% of all women in Colorado were in the workforce at least part-time. This rate was nearly 10% higher than the national average.
• Many women are currently part of the "sandwich generation," providing care for young children and elderly parents simultaneously. [link to Elder Care site]

Pay and Benefits

• Workers with good benefit coverage, job security, and supportive employers feel more invested in their work, resulting in higher morale and better productivity.
• The National Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey for February 1999 reported that median weekly earnings of female workers with contingent jobs (defined as jobs that are not expected to last more than a year) are about 64.5 percent of the earnings of traditional female workers, and only about 54 percent of the earnings of traditional workers overall.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that only thirty percent of women working reduced hours in 1999, either as permanent or contingent employees, had access to benefits such as health care and pension plans, compared with 78% of full-time employees.
• According to the Current Population Survey for February 1999, women working part-time in contingent work earned an average of $108 per week, or $58 less than women in permanent part-time jobs. Women in contingent full-time positions earned about $306 per week, or $170 less than their female permanent counterparts.

Among the 1.2 million temporary help agency workers surveyed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in February 1999, fewer than one in ten received employer-sponsored health insurance and fewer than one in twenty were eligible for pension plans from their employer. Nearly three-fifths of workers in traditional arrangements had access to these benefits.

Policy Recommendations

1. Allow worker associations, nonprofits, community and church groups, and unions to use these benefits packages to attract members by setting up group benefit plans, including reasonably-priced health care and 401(k)-style pension plans, that provide "portable" and pro-rated benefits that contingent workers can keep as they move from job to job. Permit these groups to also help independent workers prepare for periods of unemployment between assignments by administering in individual unemployment accounts.
2. Require employers to provide part-time and contingent workers with equal pay. Give employers tax benefits for contributing to their workers’ pro-rated benefits (health insurance, pension plans, vacation and sick leave, etc.), regardless of how those workers are classified.
3. Establish a statewide "report card" for temporary and contingent hiring agencies, with rankings on training programs offered, quality of service, and availability of access to group-rate benefits packages.
4. Reform tax laws to better address the needs of a growing population of independent workers. Permit independent and part-time workers to set up pre-tax retirement, health insurance, and other benefit plans to give them the same advantages that permanent employees enjoy.
5. Reform anti-discrimination and labor laws to address independent workers.

Resources

Temporary Worker Home Base – a Silicon Valley-based organization that provides forums, information, and resources for temporary workers.

9to5, the National Association of Working Women – Addresses workplace issues including wages, benefits, sexual harassment, discrimination, and job flexibility. Contact the Colorado offices at (303) 628-0925.