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AS" Z9//-+ Worth Carolina State Library Raleigh N. C Doc. Lost Years ? ARMED FORCES VETERANS FIND HARD TIMES IN CIVILIAN JOB MARKET. WITH UNEMPLOYMENT HIGH AMONG EX-SERVICEMEN, STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS ACT TO GIVE VETERANS NATION'S HIGHEST JOB PLACEMENT PRIORITY. ESC QUARTERLY VOLUME 29 NO. 1-4 CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS Henry E. Kendall Chairman N. C. Employment Security Commission KENDALL During Governor Bob Scott's administration, the North Carolina General Assembly legislated the reorganization of State government, ostensibly to reduce the number of department heads reporting directly to the Governor, and with an eye to increased efficiency and lower cost of State Government operations. When the changes were made the Employment Security Commission became aligned with nine other State agencies in a department called Commerce under a Secretary appointed by the Governor. Scott's appointment was Irvin Aldridge. Governor Jim Holshouser has appointed a 36-year-old Charlotte insurance executive, Tenney I. Deane, Jr., as the first Republican Commerce Secretary. Deane's Deputy Secretary is Laney Funderburk, Jr., a tall personable young man who was Alumni Secretary at Duke University at the time of his appointment, and we asked the Duke graduate to let us have an article on the Commerce Department so we could publish it in the ESC Quarterly. He did and we did, and we hope you enjoy reading the article which is the opening story. In this issue we have departed from our usual practice of featuring a specific Tarheel industry or specific Employment Security Commission department. Instead we have published a scattering of articles illustrating the activities of several programs within the Commission-technical services, testing, occupational analysis, employer relations and others. We have a story on Job Bank, prepared by the supervisor of this program, Rhett Chamberlain. A system to provide quick, timely job referral service to applicants by computerizing employers' job orders, Job Bank is innovative, envisionary, experimental, national, and according to Chamberlain, sometimes exasperating. It's the public employment program's newest employment service device and great things are expected from it. Computers are also being used now by the Employment Security Commission in employment service and unemployment insurance data processing, and our acclimatized basement has some rather sophisticated and impressive hardware. Our mustachioed systems analysis supervisor, Joe Elliott, gives us a sharp piece on page 31 about the ESC computer operation. National and state governments continue to give special emphasis to employment of veterans. Unemployment among Vietnam era veterans has been as high as double the national adult average rate and joblessness among 20-25 year old veterans has reached a rate four times higher than national averages. Concerned, of course, with this high level, the federal government has enacted laws pertaining to compulsory job listings by employers for veterans and here in North Carolina our Veterans Employment Service is working hard to place veterans in civilian employment. You're informed about this in an article on page 11 and you will also learn about the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs participation with veterans employment in an article on page 9. THE ESC QUARTERLY Volume 29, No. 1-4, 1973 Issued at Raleigh, N. C, by the EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION OF NORTH CAROLINA Commissioners P. R. Latta, Raleigh; Charles L. Hunley, Monroe; Henry E. Kendall, Raleigh; Samuel F. Teague, Raleigh; R. Archie Parker, Murfreesboro; Walter A. Orrell, Lir.wood; Harvey D. Heartley, Raleigh. State Advisory Council Public representatives: Hoyle T. Efird, Chairman, Gastonia; Way S. Abel, Canton; Sherwood Rober-son, Robersonville; Mrs. W. Arthur Tripp, Green-ville; Mrs. M. Edmund Aycock, Raleigh. Employer representatives: Joseph D. Ross, Jr., Asheboro; G. Maurice Hill, Drexel. Employee representa-tives: Melvin Ward, Spencer, AFL. HENRY E. KENDALL Chairman R. FULLER MARTIN Director Unemployment Insurance Division JOHN B. FLEMING Director State Employment Service Division JOHN L ALLEN Director Administrative Services Division H. E. (Ted) DAVIS Editor Public Information Officer Sent free upon request to respons; ble individuals, agencies, organizations and libraries Address: E.S.C. Information Service, P. O. Box 25903, Raleigh, N. C. The Employment Security Commis-sion administers two major State programs — Un-employment In-surance and the State Employ-ment Service. The Employment Ser-vice provides ex-pense free job placement to ap-plicants through 60 local offices of the Commission. Unemployment insurance covers approximately 1,738, 000workers in North Carolina, providing them with benefit payments in case of involuntary unem-ployment. The Unemployment Insurance program is supported by payroll taxes contributed by approxi-mately 91,000 Tarheel employing companies, firms and corporations. The Commission has operated since the mid '30's when it was established by the General Assembly as the Unemployment Compensation Com-mission. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT COMBINES ASSORTED STATE AGENCIES By LANEY FUNDERBURK, JR. Deputy Director, Department of Commerce The North Carolina Department of Commerce is one of the most interesting and probably the most diverse of the 17 executive departments of State Government. Virtually all citizens of the State are influenced by the actions of most if not all of the ten agencies which make up the Department. Broadly stated, the mission of the Department of Commerce is to protect the interests of the public and of businesses serving the public through fair regulations, to promote a high level of employment, and to administer payment of unemployment insurance and workmen's compensation pay-ments. The Department of Commerce, along with 16 other new umbrella departments, was formed when the General Assembly passed the Execu-tive Organization Act of 1971. Some 300 existing agencies, commissions, and boards were transferred into these new departments. Eight of the ten new Department of Commerce agencies had previously been independent and two, The Savings and Loan Division and The Credit Union Division, had been divisions of other State departments. Each of the agencies has at its head a commission or board appointed by the Governor, and all exercise broad policy-making authority and make judicial or quasi-judicial determina-tions. The Department of Commerce began to function in March, 1972. Following the election of Governor Jim Holshouser in November, 1972, he appointed Tenney I. Deane, Jr., a Charlotte businessman, to serve as Secretary. Many of the readers of the ESC Quarterly are aware of the mission and goals of the Employment Security Commission. It is important, however, that all become more familiar with the other nine sister agencies, even though their duties and responsibilities are quite diverse and seemingly unrelated. The Employment Security Commis-sion served more than 200,000 citizens through its Employment Services Division during the past year, and supervised payments of Unemploy-ment Insurance to 83,000 of 1,500,000 covered workers. The network of sixty local offices throughout the State is a vital link with citizens who need assistance. Employees of the Commis-sion are engaged in a variety of activities, which include recruitment, counseling, testing, placement, pay-ment of benefits, and analyzing labor market information. Special programs such as CEP (Concentrated Employ-ment Program) and WIN (Work Incentive Program) and working with veterans have been quite successful this year in reaching particular groups of people with particular employment problems. Federal funds support entirely the operation of the Employment Security Commission. Following are sections about the nine other Department of Commerce agencies: The State Board of Alcoholic Control is responsible for controlling all aspects of the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in North Carolina. The State's ABC system is unique among the 50 states, although it is officially one of eighteen "control" states in which all phases of the alcoholic beverage industry are regulated by the State. North Carolina's uniqueness is centered in the fact that there are 118 separate county and municipal ABC Boards which are responsible for the sale of alcoholic beverages in their county, city, or town. In each case a vote of the people was required to establish the system. The State Board, however, controls the shipment of liquor into the State and has a state-run warehouse from which shipments go to the stores. The State Board controls the issuing of more than 23,000 permits annually. Taxes from the sale of alcoholic beverages represents the fourth largest source of revenue to the State. In fiscal 1971-72 the net collection from alcoholic beverage taxes resulted in $60.5 million for the state and $8.3 million for local governmental units. In addition, local governments received $7.5 million from beer and unfortified wine excise taxes. In 1970-71 (the last year for which figures are available) local governments received $19.5 million in net profits from sales of $178.2 million in 325 local ABC stores. The North Carolina Banking Commission and the Commissioner of Banks are responsible for the safe conduct of business; the maintenance of public confidence; and the protection of the interests of depositors, creditors, shareholders of more than 1500 finan-cial institutions and licensees. The Commission oversees, through joint field examinations with the FDIC and the Federal Reserve Bank of Rich-mond, the conduct of business of 69 state chartered banks and their 623 branches and 24 trust departments. North Carolina has both state chartered and federally chartered banks. The Commission has super-visory authority over state chartered institutions only. First Citizens Bank and Trust Company is the largest state chartered bank while Wachovia and NCNB vie for the title among the federally chartered banks. The Commission is also responsible for licensing 690 consumer finance companies, 119 funeral homes which offer pre-need burial contracts, and seven Sale of Checks Act Companies. During the past year more than 150 applications for new banks and banking offices were heard by the Banking Commission. Assessments and fees from the regulated institutions defray all costs of operating the agency. Perhaps one of the lesser known agencies of State Government and the Department of Commerce is the Office of the Burial Commissioner, which is responsible for auditing records and accounts of more than 375 Mutual Burial Associations with 1.5 million members and 146 publicly-owned perpetual care cemeteries. This is a special fund agency which received no appropriation from the State, but is financed entirely by contributions from the associations and businesses it regulates. Just as there are State chartered and federally chartered banks in North Carolina, there are also state and federally chartered credit unions. The Credit Union Division administers the laws and regulations governing the operations of 219 state chartered credit unions, which serve more than 225,000 citizens. Credit Unions are cooperative nonprofit corporations organized to promote thrift and to create a source of ESC QUARTERLY credit for loans to members. Assets of these credit unions grew to more than $200 million in 1972. The Credit Union Division was transferred to the Department of Commerce from the Agriculture Department in 1971. This is a special fund agency which operates on assessments from the credit unions it regulates. The North Carolina Industrial Com-mission administers the Workmen's Compensation Act and also serves as the court which hears and processes tort claims (negligency actions) filed against State departments and agencies, and has jurisdiction over death claims filed by such workers as firemen, rescue squads, and law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty. In 1972 the Industrial Commission processed approximately 180,000 workmen's compensation claims, of which some 2,500 individual cases were heard by members of the Commission and Deputy Commis-sioners. The Industrial Commission also administers a safety program and received funding by the 1973 General Assembly to begin a medical rehabilitation section. The 1973 General Assembly also raised the workmen's compensation maximum weekly benefit from $56 to $80 and the total maximum benefit from $20,000 to $32,500. The North Carolina Milk Commission was formed in 1953 to assure a uniform and adequate supply of wholesome milk for the citizens of the State. The Commission has the authority to regulate the production, marketing, and distribution of milk and to suppress unfair, unjust, or destructive trade practices. The Commission has adopted marketing regulations which affect processors in their dealings with dairy farmers, including the establish-ment of minimum prices which dairy farmers receive for different classes of milk. The actions of the Milk Commis-sion directly affect about 2,000 grade A dairy farmers, 42 processors, 93 branch plants, and 113 sub-distributors. The Milk Commission is a special-fund agency which is funded entirely from assessments paid by both producers and processors. The Rural Electrification Authority's objective is to secure electric and telephone service for rural citizens of the State. The Authority investigates requests for service and where necessary assists in the formation and operation of membership corporations, including securing loan funds from federal sources. In 1973 the Authority reported that 290,000 electric members and 52,000 telephone members received service from organizations TENNEY I. DEANE, JR., Secre-tary of Commerce, is a graduate of Davidson College where he met Governor Holshouser. He is the son of a Presbyterian minister and grew up in northern Florida. Deane is a businessman with a background in industrial insurance and is a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter. He spent the last 9 years in Charlotte. Hobbies include photography, camping, and flying. He is a Rotarian. M. LANEY FUNDERBURK, JR., Deputy Secretary of Commerce, is a native of Mt. Holly, North Carolina, who has lived in Durham since entering Duke University in 1957. Upon graduation from Duke, he joined the Duke University Depart-ment of Alumni Affairs where he served in a variety of capacities before being named Alumni Secre-tary in 1968. He is a Methodist and a Kiwanian. He is married to the former Lois Copeland of Charlotte, and they have two children. WILLIAM L. COLE, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, spent 20 years in the U.S. Army and retired as a Lt. Col. He entered State Government in March, 1972, when he moved to Raleigh, his wife's hometown. The Coles have two teenage sons. Hobbies are "gentle-man farming" and telling war stories. Administrators of the new Department of Commerce are [L to R] M. Laney Funderburk, Jr., Deputy Secretary, Tenney I. Deane, Jr., Secretary, and William L. Cole, Assistant Secretary. The Department combines 10 State agencies. under their jurisdiction. There are 28 electric membership corporations and 9 telephone membership corporations in the State. The Savings and Loan Division of the Department of Commerce was transferred from the Insurance Department in 1971. It administers, through field examinations, the affairs of 140 state chartered savings and loan associations which serve 700,000 savings customers and 220,000 borrow-ing customers. Assets of these associa-tions total $3,034 billion and are growing at the rate of about $500 million annually. The Utilities Commission is the second largest Commerce agency. The Commission acts as a court and administers such functions as auditing, reviewing, and regulating activities and services of the various public utility firms in the State. During 1971 the Commission and its staff conducted 244 separate hearings, including 41 general rate cases. During this same (See COMMERCE, Page 29) ESC QUARTERLY VARIED TECHNICAL SERVICES AVAILARLE TO EMPLOYERS By TOM J. BUMGARNER ESC Occupational Analyst What does an employer do when his operations are threatened by high rates of absenteeism or quitting? When he can't find the workers needed for expansion? When training costs are excessive? When new workers can't learn their jobs quickly? When morale drops? When complaints mount? When he needs to redesign jobs—to simplify them, or perhaps combine or "enrich" jobs to make them more interesting? How does an employer, particularly if he does not have a large personnel department, cope with such acute manpower problems? For most, it is still "do-it-yourself." Some may try to locate an outside consultant claiming expertise in solving particular problems. Others obtain assistance from a department in the Employment Security Commission in Raleigh, known as the Employer Technical Services Section. Through this department the employer may obtain the services of a team of skilled personnel technicians, all trained as occupational analysts. Formerly known as "Industrial Services," this department has exper-tise in a variety of manpower fields. It can send an analyst to the employer's place of business to assist him in analyzing the causes of his difficulties and in applying proven techniques in solving them. Often the problem is not what the employer believes it to be. To make an accurate diagnosis, the Occupational Analyst studies the causes of absen-teeism, turnover, recruitment or reten-tion difficulties, low morale, or exces-sive training costs. In some instances an employee attitude survey is conducted. Better personnel records may be designed. Aptitude test valida-tion may be arranged. Job content may be analyzed—or someone on the employer's staff may be given training in job analysis. All of the techniques applied are those either developed or approved by the U.S. Employment Service. Technical assistance is confidential; only the employer has access to study findings and reports. And there is no charge for technical services provided by E.S.C. The technical services program has been in existence almost as long as the public employment service which was established in 1933. In the early days a small staff worked out of the ESC central office to provide occupational analysis services to employers. Many times there was a backlog of several months' work waiting to be done. It was not until 1966 that technical services was given renewed emphasis with the addition of staff to be stationed around the State, readily •available to local offices and employers. The highly industrialized Piedmont and the western part of the State were divided into areas with three occupa-tional analysts stationed at strategic locations. The mainly rural eastern part of the State continued to be served by State office staff. What does the Technical Services Department do? It helps employers, educational and training institutions, labor organizations, other government agencies, and community groups to resolve manpower problems connected with the selection, recruitment, development, utilization, and stabiliza-tion of their work forces. We provide maximum assistance to employers who are experiencing multiple manpower problems that are likely to affect the work force. Where possible we train a representative of the company rather than perform the service, except in cases of firms with multiple manpower problems or in connection with problems related to new, hard-to-fill or "entry" jobs. Here's a more detailed explanation of the tools and techniques most fre-quently used in assisting employers: Job Information This can range from a simple one-sentence job description to a detailed job analysis schedule, depending on need. By actually observing and inter-viewing the worker, we determine what the worker does, how he does it, and why he does it, and the skills involved. Properly written job descrip-tions are prerequisites for most personnel functions such as recruit-ments, screening, placement, training, and up-grading of workers. A job study can yield a vast amount of information useful in resolving man-power problems, as illustrated in the following case histories: —In a printing firm, assistance was provided by using job analysis informa-tion and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles [DOT] to classify jobs and assign standard titles and codes, enabling the employer to establish more realistic hiring requirements, identify entry level jobs, and be more objective in establishing wage rates. Job specifi-cations were prepared for use by the local ESC office in referring job appli-cants. BUMGARNER —In a machine shop, we studied jobs at the request of the employer to provide a basis for a job evaluation study to be conducted by the employer. Job analysis information also provided information on other areas of concern to the employer, e.g., review of the physical demands and environmental conditions revealed possible health hazards and serious housekeeping deficiencies. Assistance is available to employers in the form of training or actual prepa-ration of selected job descriptions where multiple manpower problems exist. Training is also offered in the use of a position classification format. If a personnel manager prefers training in job analysis, it can be arranged through ESC's Occupational Analysis Field Center. ESC QUARTERLY Opinion Or Attitude Survey This popular technique is used by the Technical Services Department to assist employers in resolving man-power problems related to recruit-ment, morale, absenteeism, and reten-tion of workers. The surveys also help employers plan policies and programs to prevent these problems from developing. Since the current labor shortage in North Carolina has made it hard to recruit additional or replacement employees, opinion surveys are proving to be one of the most effective tools available to management for determining workers' dissatisfactions and implementing policies and programs to retain present employees. Prior to conducting an opinion survey we visit company officials to discuss procedures for conducting the survey and to determine their sincerity in regard to implementing changes and programs that would reduce or eliminate employee dissatisfaction. If the employer is unwilling to change, the attitude survey is pointless. The next step is to assist company officials to select approximately 40 questions appropriate to their particular situation. The questions are selected from 10 basic questions covering such categories as: super-vision; training and instruction; em-ployee relations; wage-hours-shifts; working conditions, safety and house-keeping; production; and job and equipment. Open-ended questions are also used to permit employees to write comments. A cover sheet explains the purpose and gives instructions for com-pleting the questionnaire. Employees are assured their responses will be confidential. A brief talk is given to each group prior to answering the questionnaire. No signa-ture appears on the questionnaire, and upon completion the employee places it in a sealed box which is in the custody of the ESC. We tally responses to each question by shift and department and prepare a chart showing the trend of responses and pointing out areas of dissatis-factions by departments, shifts, and categories. Write-in comments are analyzed, summaries and recorded. Based on analysis of the chart, comments, and oral responses heard while conducting the survey, we prepare our recommendations. These are discussed in a conference with company officials. During the past two years, we have conducted opinion surveys in plants varying in size from 45 to 1300 employees. Each survey has produced information useful to management in resolving morale problems and planning goals in the future. Turnover And Absenteeism Surveys Unexplained employee resignations at a high rate over a long period can be an industry's most costly problem. We help employers develop a system for pinpointing the areas of greatest turn-over and the causes of this turnover. For such a study, existing interview records are the best documents. Absenteeism, like turnover, is costly and often results in eventual loss of workers. During recent years we have helped employers reduce absenteeism in some plants by as much as 80 percent. Several plants in the Pied-mont area, with absentee rates of 15 percent or higher, have reduced absen-teeism to a low of three percent—and this was accomplished without a significant loss of workers. Our Technical Services Representa-tives have instituted effective absentee programs by establishing consistent company policies that offer a rational approach to dealing with work absences. These policies govern management and supervisory responsi-bilities, keeping accurate and detailed work records, and a system for con-trolling actions to be taken by the company. Rules must be simple and reasonable, and must be known to employees. They must be enforced uniformly and fairly; violations must be documented. Before absentee policies are installed we explain them to all company super-visors. Each supervisor must be given authority and responsibility for con-trolling the attendance of his subordi-nates, using the methods we suggest. This approach has cut absenteeism among employees with chronic absentee records, and has improved the morale of the majority of workers who are always on the job. To be sure, not all companies can expect to achieve a two or three percent absentee rate. Plant managers are pleased if absenteeism is reduced by one or two percentage points. If the average rate is five percent, most employers are satisfied. Test Selection of Trainees To aid employers in assessing an inexperienced applicant's potential, nothing is more useful than a validated aptitude test. ESC has validated its General Aptitude Test Battery for more than 500 occupations. We measure acquired skills and know-ledges through our clerical skills testing program. All ESC tests have been standardized and validated to predict success on the job, and are highly regarded by employers and authorities on vocational testing. The Technical Services Represen-tative may recommend occupational testing to solve the following problems: 1. To improve the selection process by measuring an inexperienced applicant's potential ability to perform a particular job; 2. To assist in evaluating the skills of workers who have had experience of training; 3. To assist in reducing turnover and in resolving other manpower problems that are being created or aggravated by poor selection; 4. To assist in selecting trainees for on-the-job training programs or apprenticeable occupations. When the need for testing is estab-lished, an Occupational Analyst Repre-sentative observes the job and prepares a job specification. The job specification is compared with the appropriate technical report for the Specific Aptitude Test Battery (SATB) under consideration to determine whether the duties are similar. If the SATB is found to be appropriate, the employer and local ESC office are noti-fied. All ESC offices are equipped to use tests in screening applicants. Design Of Personnel Forms Well-designed forms are essential to the effective functioning of any personnel system. Sample forms are available to employers. Assistance is also provided in adapting the forms to the employer's individual needs. Identifying Physical Demands Of Jobs An example of this service is provided by a project recently undertaken at the request of the Social Security Administration. In 1969 the Social Security Adminis-tration asked the Employment Security Commission to conduct a pilot study to identify light and sedentary jobs in selected metropolitan areas in North Carolina. Social Security's Board of Appeals needed to know the types and numbers of relatively unskilled jobs in order to estimate the changes for reemployment of handicapped workers filing claims for "total disa-bility." Occupational Analysts are now engaged in locating jobs meeting U.S. Labor Department definitions of "light and sedentary" and with low levels of (See TECHNICAL, Page 29) ESC QUARTERLY ERRORS COSTING EMPLOYERS MORE MONEY THAN DUE "Many employers in North Carolina are overpaying their unemployment insurance taxes," according to R. Fuller Martin, Director of the Unem-ployment Insurance Division of the Employment Security Commission. "Our agency refunded nearly $500,000 to companies and firms last year because they simply sent more money to the State than was required under the unemployment insurance law," he explained. The Employment Security Law requires liable employers to pay taxes on the first $4,200 earned by each covered employee on their payrolls. During the first three years of liability, new employers are required to pay 2.7 percent of their taxable payrolls. The rate may subsequently drop if the company has a history of low unemployment. Last year, according to the Employment Security Commission, the average UI tax rate in the State was less than one percent. These tax collections are deposited in the employer's unemployment insurance account. In August employers are notified by the Employment Security Commission in Raleigh of their tax rates and the balance in their accounts for the forth-coming year. "Some employers are getting these notices confused and send a check to the Commission in Raleigh for the amount that is in their unemployment insurance account," said Martin. Currently about 87,000 employers are paying unemployment insurance taxes on almost 2.3 million workers. Errors and overpayments will be made by 3,000 employers each year, reports the U.I. Director. "Employers are happy to get refunds," he said, "but time and money to audit these payments are costly for the State. Of course, the employer also loses the use of his money about three months, too, so watch those decimals." TAX CREDIT ENCOURAGES ESC QUERIES 5.000 EMPLOYERS SEEKING WORKER SKILL INFORMATION The Employment Security Commis-sion begins surveying worker skills and job locations in almost 5,000 North Carolina non-manufacturing business firms, Chairman Henry E. Kendall has announced. One of a series of federal-state job surveys, it will reach an estimated 100,000 employers across the nation and North Carolina is one of 21 states participating in the U.S. Labor Department project. Information gained will: —provide accurate profiles on worker-skill resources by industry and trends in the numbers of workers employed by occupation; —identify geographic areas in which worker skills are located; —permit local, state, and ultimately national projections of future worker-skill requirements by industry, and —identify emerging occupations and occupations in which employment opportunities are declining. "This information will help govern-ment officials at all levels plan occupational and training programs," reports Don Brande, chief of Employment Security Commission research. "It will also help public and private educators evaluate their vocational guidance programs and make certain these programs are relevant." The job' study is also expected to help businesses and employee groups keep abreast of occupational changes within their industries, helping them compare company patterns with those of industry in general. Geographic location of jobs will also be helpful to management and labor. Kendall urged all employers receiving the. job study questionnaires to cooperate with the State by furnishing the requested information. Reports from individual companies will be kept confidential and data will be published only in summary form. Similar studies of jobs in wholesale and retail trade, state and local government and other sectors of the economy are planned. Employers hiring welfare recipients under the federal-state Work Incentive Program (WIN) can now claim 20 percent tax credit on wages paid these workers during their first year of employment, the Employment Security commission has announced. The tax credit encourages employers to hire or place in on-the-job training persons receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) grants after they have been registered for participation in WIN. Called the "Job development" tax credit, the new regulations are related to the Talmadge Amendments of the Social Security Act which requires all adults over 16 receiving AFDC payments to register for WIN to be eligible to continue to receive benefits. The Employment Security Commis-sion explained that there are exemptions. If the welfare recipient is not in an exempt category, however, the individual must accept work or training when offered or lose part of his welfare grant. In North Carolina, the Department of Social Services determines which AFDC recipients are exempt from the program, then registers all non-exempt persons and any volunteers with local offices of the Employment Security Commission. We'll try to find jobs for them or on-the-job training opportunities to equip them with the necessary skills to retain permanent employment. Nearly all registrants will be women, reports the ESC. County Social Services officers are completing WIN registrations. After interviewing individuals, and providing day-care, and other services if needed, the county office certifies that the Welfare recipient is available for referral to work or training. Businessmen interested in hiring WIN participants should contact their local State Employment Office. The office will refer available WIN participants and will provide the employer with a Labor Department certification that the individuals were enrolled in the Work Incentive Program. This statement is required by the Internal Revenue Service to substantiate employers' claims for tax credit on their IRS returns. ESC QUARTERLY N.C. PARTICIPATING IN NATIONWIDE STUDY TO EXAMINE U.I. COSTS The nation's unemployment insur-ance program is undergoing a cost examination by the federal govern-ment. Started last year, a state-by-state analysis of UI costs is being conducted by the Management Services Com-pany, a Sacramento, California, based consulting firm under contract to the U.S. Labor Department. In North Carolina the study began June 11 and will be completed Nov. 8, 1973. Purpose of the cost analysis project is "to strengthen the planning, budget-ing, and financial management capa-bilities of the Unemployment Insur-ance system." According to the Management Services' team guide manual, the "Division of Budget Development and Review" has begun a major project to improve the ability of the Federal Unemployment Insurance Service to budget and allocate resources. The effort requires analysis of costs to accomplish Unemployment Insurance activities in each state. "The entire Unemployment Insur-ance program is undergoing a series of critical tests," the manual continues. "Burdens on the system continue to grow. New legislation has greatly increased the number of persons served. Court decisions have increased the pressures for more timely service. State UI Division Director R. Fuller Martin says, "We hope that when the project is completed it will act as an instrument we can use to justify the funds necessary for a more proper and efficient administration of unemploy-ment insurance than we're unable to get now." "In addition, competition throughout government for an adequate share of financial resources continues to put greater demands upon financial managers to accurately determine and effectively display dollar require-ments." Currently, employment security agencies gather large amounts of data on cost and achievements. Data is collected to provide a basis for manage-ment decisions to direct and control the internal operations of each agency. However, says the Management Services Company, several difficulties impair the effectiveness of the financial management and budget processes: —The accuracy of time expenditures reported against various functional codes by state agencies is unknown; —Many budgeted workload values are believed to be incorrect because of system changes, varying workload volume, and variations among state laws; —Agency administrators, regional administrators, and national office per-sonnel frequently have different con-ceptions of what true costs really are for different UI activities; and —Relationships between budgeted and actual expenditures and programs objectives frequently are unclear. Perhaps processes established by the study will relieve these obscurities. Requiring 5V2 months to complete, results of the UI study will be used as a basis of fiscal 75 budget requests, officials hope. The study will be divided into three phases: —Flow chart all unemployment insurance activities, document the quality standards of the agency and design the study; —Train monitors, test the design and record actual time expenditures and production counts; and, —Analyze and summarize the time expenditures and production counts and construct a cost model (budget pro-cedures). Hoping to determine the actual time for each UI activity in greater detail and to design a cost model that can be used to budget time and staff, the study also will determine the amount of time to accomplish UI activities under the North Carolina law in relationship to the time required for activities under other states' laws. All Employment Security Commis-sion unemployment insurance activi-ties in the central office in Raleigh will be studied as well as those in seven selected local offices: Raleigh, Reids-ville, Winston-Salem, Mount Airy, Sanford, Lumberton, and Jacksonville. In selecting the offices, Commission officials sought diversity of size, services, and location. The 22-week project will provide two study teams—a "nucleus team" and a "monitor team." Monitors will use eight weeks to measure time expendi-tures and summarize findings immedi-ately. The nucleus team, which will work with the project for the entire 22 weeks, includes a representative of the Management Services Company, sev-eral systems analysts, and Systems and Procedures Supervisor William Foster as team leader. Monitors will be analysts and other persons from the ESC knowledgeable in day-to-day UI operations. Joining the study team about three weeks before the measurement period, they will remain about eight weeks and will be primarily involved in collecting time expenditure and production data. Subsequent to the project, a compre-hensive report will be prepared docu-menting the study. Members of the team assigned to study unemployment insurance costs are [L to R] Bill Foster, Judy Wilson, Clement Mathews, John Ellis, Alvis Jordan, Sue Stanko and Reuben Edwards. Foster is in charge of the team and Mrs. Stanko is a consultant with the Management Services Company. ESC QUARTERLY Military And Veterans Affairs Dept. Active In Efforts To Find Jobs For Returning Vietnam Era Veterans By COL. C. S. MANOOCH, JR. Public Affair/Special Projects Officer More for the Veteran—a new role for the National Guard and a new name and image for Civil Defense—all received immediate attention when John J. Tolson, III took the reins as Secretary of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs in March 1973. Tolson, a retired three star Army General, brings a "get the job done" attitude to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, where he was sworn in as Secretary on March 5, 1973. The choice of Secretary Tolson to head the new Department was a popular one from statewide military and civilian circles alike, and friends of Tolson were quick to respond with favorable comments. A long-time friend at Fort Bragg said Tolson is unlikely to accept things "just like they are." "He is a hard worker, an innovator, a man who likes to try new things, even in the Army, and North Carolina is likely to get the benefit of a lot of his new ideas," he said. A long-time associate at the Pentagon said that Tolson is "one of those rare individuals of the old Army who helped the new Army bridge the generation gap with young people." Both opinions were correct, as Secretary Tolson has already intro-duced many new ideas, and his respect and devotion to the young Vietnam War era veteran has been apparent during the first three months of his tenure. A North Carolina native, he attended the University of North Carolina and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in three wars during his 35 years of distinguished military service, of which more than nine years were spent over-seas. During World War II he served with the 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment in the Pacific Theater, where he participated in all jumps, to include the recapture of Corregidor Island in February 1945. He served as a Regi-mental Commander and Division G-3 with the 82nd Airborn Division at Fort Bragg, and later served as Command-ing General, XVIII Airborne Corps and Post Commander there. He also com-manded the First Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam for 15 x li months. Other principal assignments included Chief, U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group to Ethiopia; Commanding General, U.S. Army Aviation Center, and Commandant, U.S. Army Aviation School, Fort Rucker, Alabama. While serving as Commanding General, Fort Bragg, in 1969, he started the development of "Opera-tion Awareness," the first drug rehabilitation program in the Army. When the Department of the Army inaugurated its first authorized and directed Drug and Alcohol Abuse Control Program in 1971, "Operation Awareness" served as the model. Also during this same period General Tolson initiated a community service program which was called "National Building," whereby troops at Fort Bragg helped to improve the welfare of the less fortunate in civilian communities nearby. The Department of Defense now endorses a similar nationwide program called "Domestic Actions." The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, springing from government reorganization, was acti-vated in March 1972, and is the arm of State Government most directly involved in military affairs and veterans affairs in North Carolina. Divisions within the Department include the National Guard, Veterans Affairs, Civil Preparedness, and the Civil Air Patrol. In the area of veterans affairs the Department is deeply conscious of the need to recognize the veteran, particu-larly those from the Vietnam War era, and to assist these veterans in finding jobs. At the same time the role of DMVA in obtaining jobs for veterans has been a supporting one rather than GEN. JOHN J. TOLSON a directing one as jobs per se are the responsibility of the Employment Security Commission, assisted to a large degree by the Veterans Employ-ment Representatives. From the beginning when the first Job Fair was held last year at Camp Lejeune, DMVA has supported efforts to bring national, regional and local employers and jobless veterans, or soon-to-be veterans, to a common meeting ground. The objective, of course, is to provide employment to our Vietnam War era veterans who have found job hunting unlike and a little more difficult than experienced by veterans of previous wars. The larger Job Fairs for veterans were held last year at Camp Lejeune, Seymour Johnson, and Fort Bragg. Job Fairs are planned again this year at the same military sites, and in addition at Greensboro, Lumberton, Winston- Salem, Asheville, Charlotte, High Point, Rocky Mount, Salisbury and Wilmington. Close coordination be-tween the DMVA and the Employ-ment Security Commission is being maintained to affect mutual input into the Job Fair effort. It is anticipated that National Guard facilities and some personnel will be used to assist the local community effort. ESC QUARTERLY The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, through the National Guard, is making a concentrated effort to encourage employer support to the National Guard. Governor Holshouser took the initial step by signing a State-ment of Support for the Guard and Reserve and affirmed his State policy to encourage Guard membership for employees in State Government. Of primary importance is the need to keep the employer well informed of any special awards or accomplishments that his employee/Guardsman receives from the National Guard. The employer must be assured that his employee/Guardsman will become a better employee by virtue of his Guard training, where he receives, among other things, extensive leadership and management experience which can be applied profitably in his civilian job. A major effort is being made to change the image of Civil Defense from one that deals primarily with atom bombs, fallout shelters and response to enemy attacks to one that coordinates preparedness to and relief from all hazards, natural and man-made. Secretary Tolson recently announced that emphasis should be placed on civil preparedness rather than civil defense, as it reflects the agency's functions more accurately. He said, "I feel that too many people associate the title Civil Defense only with bomb shelters and war. While shelters are still an important part of our overall program, there are other equally important features of the organization. COL. MANOOCH The current restructuring of the armed forces in the U.S. calls for a small regular military establishment and has placed the heaviest reliance in history upon the National Guard as an immediate ready force in the event of future national emergencies. More reliance on the Guard means that a high state of training must be main-tained. A higher state of training means that Guardsmen will probably have to spend more time away from their civilian jobs, a situation already "touchy" among Guard employers. "The thrust of the activities from the Office of Civil Defense today is preparedness for assistance and recovery in times of natural disasters such as storms and floods. The title Civil Preparedness more accurately describes the functions of the agency." The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is exercising close coordination with the various counties in North Carolina in affecting its Civil Preparedness Program through an on-site assistance effort. This provides a real "grass roots" situation and a chance for close work, research and harmony between the members of the State staff, local Civil Preparedness personnel, as well as leaders of the local communities. This commonality of effort will assure a higher percentage of community preparedness. TO AID VETS, FEDERAL CONTRACTS REQUIRE EMPLOYERS TO LIST JOR 0PENIN6S WITH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES By MALCOLM ANSPACH State Veterans Employment Representative Public Law 92-540, known as the "Vietnam-Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1972," was signed on October 24, 1972. The intent of Congress in Title V of the act is to add the authority of public law to the President's Veterans' Program. Because the basic apparatus already existed in large parts in other laws and mandates, this act made certain that the veterans' services would receive highest priority as ordered by the President and the Congress of the United States. The benefits of the act are not restrictive to veterans alone as the program expands to include private industry in even a larger role than it has had in developing closer working relationships with the Employment Security Commission. The mandatory listing of job openings with the Employment Service in cases where the employer has contracts with the federal government affects all public employment systems by placing in their hands orders for individual job openings up to $18,000 per year. The Secretary of Labor's new regula-tion requires all contractors and sub-contractors, subject to Public Law 92-540 with contracts of $2,500 or more, to list all suitable job openings with the state employment system. Although the Employment Service is not an enforcing agency, it is responsible to coordinate and develop productive efforts in contacts. referrals, and in an information exchange. The Secretary stated that "it cannot be over-emphasized that the manda-tory listing program under the new law must be implemented by state agencies in order to insure that the program receives maximum emphasis and renders the essential priorities afforded by law to our veterans." In light of the new laws and the President's renewed mandate for action, the Secretary of Labor has instructed the Employment Service to assist in the program expansion and implementation. The responsibility delegated by the Secretary of Labor plans to: 1. Further reduce the number of unemployed veterans. 2. Substantially reduce the unem-ployment rate for the age 20 to 29 veteran to a level at or, if possible, below that of non-veterans in the same age group. 3. Focus special attention on serving the disabled veterans, the Vietnam-Era veterans, and minority veterans. The Veterans Employment Service of North Carolina has fully accepted the challenge of fulfilling these goals and will continue to implement its mandate to make certain that greater and more meaningful employment opportunities are made available to every veteran. As in the past, the local Veterans Employment Representative in North Carolina has made the program in our State a notable success, and the 10 ESC QUARTERLY two-year trend of growing unemploy-ment among Vietnam-era veterans was reversed. The number of unemployed veterans was substantially reduced until the rate for veterans now exceeds non-veterans by less than one percent. Finally, an accomplishment of signifi-cant long-term value was the creation of a new image for the Employment Security Commission which affects veterans and non-veterans alike. The public communications, the involve-ment in the community, and the employer relations emphasis combined with the higher degree of local office awareness provided the formula for success. The effectiveness of the program operations, with a multifaced promo-tional effort and a high degree of cooperation and coordination between private and public sectors, highlight the program during its developmental phase and provided a stimulant in serving the veterans of North Carolina. However, this is not the time to slacken our efforts and rest on our laurels during a phase of high employ-ment and low unemployment. Our fluctuating economy will surely display a time of desperate need to the public for our services and we should be ready with all efforts and resources to provide the specific activities of the Employment Services when this need occurs. Balance Of Efforts Through an outreach program to bring the applicant to our door and the continued flow of the employers' orders, we serve in placing the "right man in the right job." It is our duty to maintain a balance of efforts to provide continuity of operations and service to the public. Programs such as the Mandatory Listing of Jobs, Revenue Sharing, and Employer Relations are but a few of the tools with which we strengthen and expand our efforts in serving the people of North Carolina in their man-power needs. The other face of our work involves the professional attitude that shows the public, including the worker, that we are a service organiza-tion devoted to their needs in obtaining career information and assistance. The 643,000 veterans of North Carolina (including the new law defini-tions of eligible veterans) are in essence our responsibility in providing services and special emphasis as mandated by the President of the United States and the law. EMPLOYMENT REPRESENTATIVES SERVE VETERANS IN ALL N.C. AREAS The North Carolina Employment Service and its Veterans Employment Service celebrate a 40th birthday in 1973. In 1933, the Wagner-Peyser Act provided for a Federal-State system of public employment service, including a mandate "to maintain a veterans service to be devoted to securing employment for veterans." It provided for a distinct Veterans Employment Service as an integral part of the public employment service network. In its history, the public employment service at state and local levels in North Carolina reflects a proud level of accomplishment in service to all veterans. In November, 1971, the State was given specific responsibility for imple-mentation of the President's veterans program to close the gap between veteran and non-veteran unemploy-ment. North Carolina Employment Service responded to the task with enthusiasm and vigor in providing urgently needed employment assist-ance to veterans. As a result, the level of unemployment for veterans dropped from 3.1 percent above non-veterans to .5 percent above non-veterans in January, 1973. The United States Congress on October 24, 1972, enacted Public Law 92-540 which amended Title 38, United States Code, and reinforced the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights) and the Veterans Readjustment Act of 1952 and 1956. It continued to charge the State Employment Service with insuring that all veterans receive the maximum of priority and job oppor-tunity through employment, job training, and supportive service. The Employment Service has been instrumental in North Carolina's becoming one of the most effective and well known strongholds for veterans services. We remain in the top 10 states for overall services to veterans and for excellence in services to disabled veterans. Working closely with the Veterans Administration Regional Office, the N.C. Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, and the N.C. Veterans' Council, which includes the major veterans organizations, the Veterans Employment Service has taken the lead at "grass root" level in promoting veteran services. In each of the 60 local offices, there is at least one Veterans Employment Representative. These employment specialists work closely with other service organiza-tions and with the local communities in their area of responsibility. In today's wide range of educational and employ-ment specialties, the task of matching the individual's needs with the occupa-tional opportunities dictates that the field staff of VER's become highly skilled in outreach and occupational counseling, and they must be totally aware of the employment and training impetus of the communities they serve. With involvement in the developing community action groups and veteran task forces, and by virtue of his active participation with local governments in labor and training management, the VER greatly increases his effective-ness as an ambassador of the Employ-ment Security Commission. During the past months of the economic whirlwind where thousands of jobs go unfilled and industry grows with leaps and bounds, the veteran may find "stop gap" employment on every corner. However, the program of fitting the right job with the right applicant is not an easy task. The computer operator working in construction or the school teacher in the mill is not at all uncommon. Tradi-tional placement service is fading to emerge as career development and individual job development service. Weary of regimentation and with high expectations, the young man returning to civilian life finds his dreams smashed with realities that the cold world's interest is the weekly paycheck and not his accomplishments or his contribu-tion to the society he so desperately wishes to join. No matter how much emphasis the federal government, state government and local communities place on helping the veteran, the veteran must become fully aware of where and how he may gain the information and help available to him in pursuing his ambition and career. Offering information and guidance through communication with the public and job promotion for the (See VER, Page 38) ESC QUARTERLY 11 June 6, 1973, marked the 40th anni-versary of the establishment of the Employment Service by the Wagner- Peyser Act. As this milestone is reached, it is appropriate to consider the key to a successful placement program—EMPLOYER RELATIONS. Employer Relations is emphasized as a top priority in all Employment Security Commission office activities. To understand the emphasis currently afforded to employer relations, a brief review of Employment Service history is needed. Since its establishment in 1933, the Employment Service has been characterized by continuing adap-tation to changing economic and social needs. Prior to the last decade, the Employment Service was largely employer oriented, maintaining a basic labor exchange function in the job market. It was a major source of recruitment and placement of workers during World War II. During the Sixties, much legislation based largely on social conscience was enacted. A large proportion of these laws were given to the Employment Service for translation into actual services. The emphasis shifted to training and supportive services, largely for those persons who were socially, educa-tionally, and economically disadvan-taged. The Employment Service found many of these socially-oriented programs a challenge and channeled its resources toward providing employa-bility development for the disadvan-taged. As the frequent advocate of the unemployed and underemployed job seeker, the Employment Service became less acceptable as a labor exchange for many employers and fully qualified job seekers, and placements had declined dramatically by the end of the decade. The diversion of the Sixties helped the Employment Service mature. It grew in its capacity to serve the special employment needs of the disadvan-taged. Although the disadvantaged comprise only one of many groups of applicants served, probably no group presents a greater challenge because of inherent characteristics. By learning to better serve this group, the Employ-ment Service simultaneously improved its ability to help those who offer less challenge. An equally important learning from the experience of the sixties was the realization that as a labor exchange, the Employment Service must be equally responsive to the needs of applicants and employers. It must reach out to the employer and seek to EMPLOYER RELATIONS ESC SEEKS CLOSER ALLIANCE TO N. C. EMPLOYERS THROUGH ACCURATE APPRAISAL OF IN-COMPANY NEEDS AND QUICK PLACEMENT OF APPLICANTS IN ALL OCCUPATIONS AND JOB CATEGORIES By JOHN BRIDGES Super., Employer Relations understand his needs. In response to the identified needs, the Employment Service must seek to meet those needs with comprehensive manpower ser-vices. It must provide qualified appli-cants to fill the employer's job vacancies in all occupational and skill categories. Through its Industrial Services program, the Employment Service must share its technical exper-tise with employers large and small to aid them in resolving personnel problems, such as absenteeism and turnover. In short, if the Employment Service is to operate a labor exchange, it must have ample job orders. Employers provide the job orders. Employers will use the Employment Service only if it provides a service the employers need and want. The current emphasis on employer relations is soundly based. The operation of a viable placement service requires that each Employment Security Commis-sion office develop and maintain effec-tive relationships with the employer community—the fountainhead of job opportunity. The seventies ushered in an Employ-ment Service redirected to its funda-mental purpose—job finding assistance for all who request assistance. In North Carolina, an intensive effort to revita-lize services to employers and reverse the downward trend of job openings listed with the Employment Service was launched in 1971, reinforced by a U.S. Department of Labor sponsored conference in Kansas City, Missouri, May 16-21, 1971. The employment Service in collaboration with North Carolina Manpower Development Corporation, a non-profit research organization partly funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, analyzed employer services activities and needs. Employers, applicants, and local office personnel were consulted for recom-commendations and ideas. The result was a multi-phased employer services development model which was adopted by the Agency in late 1971. This model included a training curriculum for employer relations representatives and plans for an aggressive outreach program to secure wider acceptance by employers and applicants. On an administrative area basis, area supervisors and local ofice managers attended one-day orientation meetings designed to increase their awareness of the employer relations process and their responsibilities for its develop-ment. Orientation stressed the need for adequate placement back-up to deliver job applicants promptly on job orders received during the planned aggressive outreach to employers. Employers were invited and attended each session for direct input into this development stage. Following manager orientation in each area, local employer relations representatives attended three days of training. These sessions utilized awareness training techniques to help the participants develop an increased awareness of themselves and others, and ultimately to build improved skills in interpersonal relationships. This experiential approach to training enhanced the effectiveness of employer contacts subsequently made by those who attended. Training in eight administrative areas was completed between January 21 and September 8, 1972. The enhancement of the employer relations process through awareness training was a significant advancement for the Agency. Not only did it provide relief from the traditional classroom atmosphere, but it penetrated to the very core of employer relations, indeed, any area of human relations-human needs and motivation in inter-personal relationships. Successful employer relations requires an aware- 12 ESC QUARTERLY BRIDGES ness of why people act as they do—what motivates them. In the face-to- face interview or even a telephone discussion with an employer, the Employer Relations Representative first must be aware of himself, under-standing and controlling his own behavior; likewise, he must try to understand the employer with his unique needs and motivational sources—what makes him think, feel, and act as he does. Not the least consideration is the sometimes subtle non-verbal communi-cation in the employer's gesture or glance. An increased awareness of the dynamics of interpersonal relationships equips the Employer Relations Repre-sentative to practice the art of per-suasion, required to convince the employer community that the Employ-ment Service can serve his best interest. The employer relations program is sales oriented, but selling is not manipulative. Part of the purpose of the awareness training is to increase ability to sense real needs. It is then the responsibility of the Employer Relations Representative to select appropriate solutions from the numer-ous resources of the Employment Service to help fill the employer's identified need. Of course, the primary resource is the labor exchange, job seekers to fill job openings. Simply, the Employer Relations Representative pursues the salesman's motto: "Find A Need and Fill It." The image of the Employment Security Commission as a public agency greatly affects its effectiveness. If the traditional low profile is main-tained, public acceptance is left to chance, and chances are that accep-tance will be equally low keyed, if not negative. Too long the Agency has allowed the public to think of its offices as the "Unemployment Office." To visualize only long lines of unemployed and unemployable persons is a misconcep-tion of the Employment Security Commission. To allow this and negative feelings about the Agency's association with the disadvantaged is a disservice to job seekers and employers who would use the Employment Service if they knew the full story. It is true that the Agency administers the Unemploy-ment Insurance program; but addi-tionally, the Employment Service operates the largest labor exchange in the State and Nation. It is true that the Agency provides special assistance to the disadvantaged, including Welfare recipients; but it is also true that the Employment Service helps find jobs for engineers, computer programmers, electricians, and secretaries. A low profile with scanty publicity and under-statement allows half-truth and myth to flourish and can virtually destroy the effectiveness of the Agency as a labor exchange. On the other hand, if the Agency aggressively seeks high visibility, much can be done to influence public opinion positively. The Employment Service Division of the Employment Security Commission has the necessary technology, equipment and competent staff to translate the public laws that entitle all citizens to free job-finding assistance into realized services-people placed in jobs that need them. As a labor exchange, the Employment Service can operate effectively only if employers and job seekers both know about and use the system. In fact, the more widely the Employment Service system is accepted and used, the more effectively it works. The Employment Security Commis-sion of North Carolina seeks high visi-bility. Far from hat-in-hand and apolo-getic, the Employment Service is proud of the services offered and intends to let the people know. The recently installed statewide network of Job Banks for computerized place-ment assistance attests to the commit-ment of the Agency to placement objectives. Over 90,000 letters were mailed to employers across North Carolina to announce the installation of this system and solicit use of the Job Bank. Local Office personnel made 35,667 visits to employers during 1972, an increase of 17.6 percent over 1971. Job openings listed with the Employ-ment Service totaled 189,349 in 1972, a substantial gain of 28 percent over 1971. These results are gratifying, but the real accomplishment was 90,877 placements, an increase of almost 14 percent over 1971. (See RELATIONS, Page 38) LAW CHANCED ON U.I. ENTITLEMENT DURING PREGNANCY By HARRY HARRISON ESC Chief Counsel On April 11, the 1973 session of the N.C. General Assembly ratified House Bill 640, amending the Employment Security Law of North Carolina so that women may now qualify for unemploy-ment insurance benefits during periods of pregnancy. Previously, pregnant women were not entitled to benefits three months prior to or three months subsequent to the birth of the child. Under the old law they were auto-matically ineligible for six months. The amended law, however, rules that pregnant women will be treated in the same manner as any other claimant, and that their rights to benefits will be determined upon the basis of their physical ability and availability to employment. Officials believed the prior law was discriminatory solely on the basis of the individual's sex, i.e., that it was in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment of the Constitu-tion and a similar provision in North Carolina statutes. Objections to the prior pregnancy provisions were based on the principle that non-discrimination requires that a woman be considered on her individual capacity and not on the basis of any characteristic generally attributed to females. The trend to abolish the 6-month ineligibility period for pregnant women actually began with passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 which prohibited discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion and national origin. With-in the next few years courts began recognizing federal policy by system-atically eliminating sex discrimina-tion as contrary to law and public policy. It was believed that the prior law denied the pregnant woman equal pro-tection under the laws, failing to consider her willingness to work, her ability to perform on the job, or her personal medical safety. The amended law provides that women claimants should be determined eligible or ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits on their being "able" and "available" for work the same as now applied to male claimants. ESC QUARTERLY 13 NORTH CAROLINA INITIATES COMPUTERIZED JOB LISTINGS JOB BANK By RHETT CHAMBERLAIN Systems and Procedures Supervisor North Carolina has a statewide job bank network fully compatible with the national network which allows com-plete interchange with job banks of other states. It started a number of years ago when the United States Employment Service recognized the limitations inherent in the system of a small group of interviewers working with the appli-cant group they interviewed and the employer's job orders they took. Except when either applicants or orders were superabundant, both applicant and employer were indeed lucky when either the best man for the job or the best job for the man got to the same group of interviewers at the same time. By the 'sixties the man-job matching techniques of the 'thirties had been substantially improved. However, the concept of the system itself remained unchanged. Change in basic procedural concepts was essential because the world had changed. It had grown smaller as transportation sped up. The labor market had changed and mobility of labor had become a common phrase. To meet the new and rapidly changing needs of both employers and applicants, the Employment Service had to find a way to broaden the effec-tive range of interviewers beyond the five mile radius which their order box and applicant file would cover. Pro-cedures for referral of applicants of one group of employment interviewers to the employer orders of another group were cumbersome even for referrals to employers ten to 25 miles away and, therefore, were used sparingly. The concept of matching the local order with the local applicant was strongly entrenched. It had become clear that the way to broaden the range of inter-viewers was not to modify specific procedures of the time honored system, but to alter the fundamental concept of the system itself. The President of the United States personally ordered such an alteration in concept when he called for a nation-wide job bank. As a national concept, job bank is a system in which each job order taken is made available to each interviewer for screening against every applicant. In theory this would always provide for a match between the best man for the job and the best job for the man. Our basic reason for existence would no longer be limited by chance meeting within narrow geographic boundaries. Whether the theory of the new system could be realized practically was still to be determined. Implementation of the job bank system in North Carolina has not been free from trial and tribulation. We have frustrated local employment office personnel whose only crime was a sincere effort to cope with the job bank system efficiently. We have bewildered and irritated employers such as the lady who called our first computer-assisted, centralized order-taking unit and blurted, "Am I talking to a person or a machine?" We have provided an incessant supply of problems to the central office Employment Service staff and recently transferred responsibility for all computer problems to the Unemployment Insurance Staff. We hav, indeed, had a busy three years, but we do not have a final verdict on the overall effectiveness of the system as a placement tool. The statistical evidence available can be interpreted to suit the whim of the interpreter because of the wide variety of factors which affect our placement results. For example, placements in one office dropped about 20 per cent the first month. Is this bad? Should we consider the fact that the two nearest offices both dropped over 50 per cent during the same month with no assistance from job bank? When 14 ESC QUARTERLY another large office went on job bank, the manager reported an increase of 40 per cent over placements the same month of the previous year. Should we celebrate? Or would it be prudent to wonder about the shortcomings of the previous year? Small offices frequently benefited substantially, we are sure, but may this not simply represent a shift of placements from large offices to smaller ones rather than a real increase in placements? Even horseback opinions, sometimes quite valid, are clouded in this case by factors which so strongly influence first impressions that fair subjective evalua-tion may be impossible for some time to come. For example, it is fair to assume that during the first several months of implementation any system will be more difficult for operating personnel than the system to which they were accustomed. It should surprise no one that placements suffer during this period and, indeed, figures seem to show that the more abruptly an office converts to job bank, the greater the initial loss. The abrupt transition, however, seems to result in a more rapid recovery than that of offices which ease in and spread the initial shock. To make a bad situation worse, human error of the central office and computer operations staff are heavier during early transition periods for each local office. Losses in these cases are temporary, but they do nothing to mitigate the bad first impression. We have tried a variety of procedures within prescribed job bank framework and made some educated guesses, but we cannot claim certainty of success at this point. Despite frustrations of implementing an unfamiliar system, we have established a firm basis on which to build a viable placement system. Employers' orders are taken by local office interviewers trained to describe fully the sort of applicant needed. With the exception of domestic service openings and others usable only in a limited locality, over two-thirds of our orders are keyed onto a magnetic tape in the local office on the day they are received from the employer. These orders, along with all transactions and activity, are transmitted at high speed via direct distance dial telephone from magnetic tape of one local office to another at the computer site. One key-tape operator, working at the speed of a good typist, will use less than ten minutes of telephone transmission time near the end of the day to submit his work to the computer site. During the night the computer will integrate the new work with that already on file. Completed work will be removed to Employment Interviewer Jerry White scans a computer print-out listing job information and applicant requirements [above] and typist Nancy Batten displays microfische cards containing thousands of job availabilities. The print-outs and microfische cards are made available to local State Employment offices twice a week from the Job Bank operation in the ESC Central Office. ; ,0 **'"\!k «(«!""" 81 • nU mn0iimit m *''»" gumma tuBumnmi timnmmu . liianaiiama tumiimitmimn \umimtimiimm '„mimumnmn i-mumimumua z.imumimim umnmimnmim: iimnmiimiimiim imimtimtmim tnmiimtimim msimitmumimi mumimumm ESC QUARTERLY 15 Employment Aide Emma Dickerson [left] and Interviewer Mary Frances Paylor of the Raleigh State Employment Office take job orders from local employers for placement in the Job Bank. Most of the applicant referrals to employers are varified by telephone contact, so the telephone is a vital link if Job Bank is to operate quickly and efficiently. record keeping files and the new orders added. Fresh, up-to-date lists of available jobs are produced on micro-fiche and other information, including error reports, are printed on paper. Each morning the newly organized, current information is available for the use of the local office interviewers. The interviewer will have an average of ten times the number of "local" orders he had before job bank. He also has access to openings from all over the State as well as selected jobs from other states for applicants who wish to relocate. In some cases he may have the complete listings of out-of-state job banks and in all cases he can determine the existence of openings from job banks all over the country by calling our Central Office. Considerable organization, self-discipline, and under-standing of the new system is required of the interviewer to avoid being buried under a surplus of information. "Local" orders now consist, ideally, of every order in commuting range of applicants the interviewer serves. The available method of grouping, unfortu-nately, puts some offices in fringes of several areas so that most of the orders on microfiche grouped for them are not really within commuting distance and other sets of microfiche must be examined to ensure coverage of all jobs which are in commuting distance. Even for those interviewers who find that most of the orders grouped on microfiche are truly within commuting distance, substantial differences in interviewing techniques are required to cope efficiently with ten times the number of orders they previously had. Some time will be saved when appli-cants understand that they can obtain referrals to any location instead of visiting several of our local offices. Use of long distance telephone for bringing together applicant and employer, for us a major innovation of job bank, is an essential key to providing adequate service outside of our traditional five mile radius. Verification of our referrals has always been an Employment Service problem and job bank provides no full solution. We must determine accur-ately whom we placed and why others referred were not hired. As in the past, most of our referrals will be verified by telephone contacts with employers. As in the past appli-cants may be given postage-paid intro-duction cards which have our return address. These help, but applicants frequently neglect to give them to employers or even mention our involvement in the referral. Job bank provides a computer generated message to be mailed to the employer. The contents identify the applicant and offer a means for the employer to indicate on a postage-paid Interviewer Julia Clark of Raleigh explains the viewer to an applicant. The microfische cards are inserted into the device of magnification on the screen. Key tape operator Margaret Henry keys onto magnetic tape job orders taken during the day. This information is transmitted on high speed telephone lines to the Job Bank computer in Raleigh. 16 ESC QUARTERLY card his reaction to the applicant. Unlike the introduction card, these can be depended upon to reach the employer. The return addresses are preprinted and therefore limited to a few large offices who take their own and forward others to smaller nearby offices. The employer may feel that he is being asked to respond to one or two of our interviewers by telephone and send two cards to one or two offices. No one could justify such a procedure. It will indeed be unfortunate if lack of under-standing is allowed to nullify the value of the computer-generated mailer or to restrict our need to know the employer's reaction to our referrals and also that the applicant hired did not report for work. We cannot claim credit for the applicant who never shows up. The speed of telephone verification is needed to determine what may be wrong with the applicants we are referring. Fast feedback of this information may allow us to change order requirements and make better referrals. Speed is also essential in learning that additional referrals are not needed, but these two pieces of information alone are inadequate. The introduction card, if the employer gets it, and the mailer are intended for this purpose rather than for dun notices. A non-returnable intro-duction card has been prepared for use with the mailer to avoid the appearance of double billing. There are even advantages in providing one card for immediate response and another, which arrives about two days later, for applicants who were held for consider-ation or told to report to work at a future time. Results of referrals and the number of openings the employer filled by other means are reported to the computer to complete the transaction and generate the reports by which we are judged. The entire job, from recording characteristics of the appli-cants we serve and orders we receive to the final disposition of both, is fed into the computer which returns to us operational aids and keeps the score. Someday it may also participate in the matching process, but today human judgment is required to go beyond rudimentary matching of very basic factors. Our potential is a literal fulfillment of our longstanding policy to match the best man for the job with the best job for the man. New tools are not unmixed blessings, but we can and shall become proficient with this one. We have (See BANK, Page 29) ESC NAMES NEW PERSONNEL TO DIRECT TWO DEPARTMENTS Since the last issue of the ESC Quarterly, the Employment Security Commission has made changes in two of its top level administrative posts and has established a new department within the agency. The new department is the Division of Administrative Services and it com-bines departments which previously were joint services reporting directly to the Chairman of the Commission. Personnel, Evaluation and Training, the Bureau of Employment Security Research and the Business Office have combined into Administrative Services under the direction of John L. Allen, Jr., of Raleigh. Allen, who resigned as ESC Business Manager in 1961 to take another State job, returned to the Commission in September, 1972, and oddly enough he replaced the man who replaced him 11 years earlier as Business Manager. When C. L. Wilson retired Septem-ber 30 after 34 years State employ-ment, Allen was appointed Wilson's replacement, then subsequently to director of Administrative Services. Allen was ESC Business Manager from 1952 through '61. He resigned to take an appointment as Assistant Director of the Department of Conser-vation and Development. After two years in that assignment he became State Budget Officer, then State Personnel Director. In 1965, Allen was appointed Controller of the Highway Commission and three years later joined the N.C. Manpower Development Corporation. Subse-quently, after several years in private business, Allen again joined the State with his return to the Employment Security Commission. The Department of Administrative Services is new within the agency, essentially established to reduce the number of departments reporting directly to the chief administrator of the Commission, and it is one of three major ESC divisions. The ESC Legal Department got a new director in April, 1973, when Henry D. Harrison was named Chief Counsel. He replaced David Ball who had 23 years with the Legal Depart-ment. He had been senior attorney and Chief Counsel for four years before he retired the first of April after 36 years with the State. A Wake Forest Law School graduate, Harrison joined the Employ-ment Security Commission as an attorney in 1968. He was previously engaged in private practice in Raeford. ALLEN HARRISON ESC QUARTERLY 17 ADMINISTRATIVE CHANCES MADE IN EMPLOYMENT OFFICES Retirements, promotions, and the death of an area supervisor have all affected personnel changes among Employment Security Commission local office managers in recent months. James E. Knight, former manager of the Wilmington local office, was promoted to area supervisor August 1st, replacing Howard Winstead, who died July 3. Winstead had worked for the Commission for over 30 years. A native of Wilmington, Knight had been manager of the Wilmington office since 1967. He joined the ESC in Wilmington as an employment interviewer in 1961 and now, in his new job, he will have administrative responsibility of employment offices in Lumberton, Sanford, Kenansville, Jacksonville, Goldsboro, Wilmington and Fayetteville. Albert E. Payne has become manager of the Morehead City ESC office following the retirement of its former manager. Retired after 20 years Army service, Payne was the veterans employment representative in Monroe before moving to Morehead City. He attended school at Central Piedmont Community College, University of Maryland, Southeastern University and the Armed Forces Institute. Another retired military man, Marion F. Barnhill, has moved to New Bern to take over managership of the ESC officer there. A veteran of 26 years in the Air Force, Barnhill was a bomber pilot during WWII and he was promoted to the New Bern post after eight years with the Wilmington office. His most recent assignment there was Job Bank manager. Barnhill is a native of Tarboro and he and his wife have seven children. He has long been active in church work and has held many church offices. Out west a native of Mitchell County has become manager of the Hendersonville local office. He is John E. Murdock, Jr., a former interviewer and veterans employment represen-tative in the Spruce Pine ESC office. Murdock, who holds a BA degree in history from Western Carolina University, spent five years in the Marine Corps. Subsequently, he worked in textiles before joining the State. His promotion was effective January 1. Another graduate of Western Carolina University, Ed Guy, was promoted manager of the Bryson City office April 1, succeeding Fred Riddle who moved to the Salisbury office. A business administration graduate, Guy joined the ESC in 1967 as an interviewer in Sylva and then became an employment counselor stationed in Cherokee. In 1971 he was promoted to field representative serving five western counties. James C. Crooks is now manager of the Washington local office. A native of South Carolina, Crooks retired from the Air Force in 1948 after 20 years active military service. While in service he had tours in England, Korea and France. He had three years as an AFROTC instructor at the University of West Virginia and a tour in the Pentagon. After retirement he worked in Minnesota for a short while, then returned to N.C. for an interviewer job at the Charlotte local office in 1970. Jim says, "I have attended night school at the University of Maryland, Central Piedmont Community College and UNC. Now I have approximately three years college. I intend to continue schooling until a BS degree is obtained." When long time Mt. Airy manager John Taylor retired, David B. Johnson moved over from managership of the Lenoir office to take over Taylor's job. A former Army Medical Service Corps officer, Johnson is a 1964 graduate of Wake Forest College with a degree in history. He joined the ESC in 1966 and worked as a veterans employment representative for three years in Lenoir. Out east again the Williamston local office has a new manager. He is William R. Ayers, a native . of Robersonville. He graduated from Wake Forest in 1967 and two years later joined the State as an interviewer in Williamston. Then he was promoted to the Wilmington office and afterwards to the Raleigh central office. Ayers returned to Williamston as a claims supervisor in 1972 and then was promoted to manager of the Ahoskie office. He became Williamston manager in April. Current manager of the Ahoskie office is Guerry Goode, a native of Jacksonville, Florida and a 13-year Air Force veteran. Goode joined the ESC in 1964 as an interviewer in Raleigh. He later became an interviewer in Durham and Winston-Salem and was promoted to Ahoskie manager May 1. MURDOCK GUY CROOKS JOHNSON GOODE 18 ESC QUARTERLY MORE WORKERS, EMPLOYERS ARE UNDER U.I. LAW Effective January 1, 1972, the Employment Security coverage was expanded by about 150,000 workers and as a result wage payments have now grown by over half a billion dollars annually. The coverage expansion has been as follows: (1) the previous indus-trial coverage has been lowered from employers of four or more workers to those of one or more; (2) nonprofit organizations, such as religious, charitable, civic, social, and fraternal associations, employing four or more workers have become liable for the first time; (3) State hospitals are newly liable; as are (4) institutions of higher learning such as colleges and univer-sities. The number of additional reporting units attributed to the expanded coverage had an even greater impact as over 30,000 units were added or a gain of 65 percent over the former coverage. The accompanying table portrays the gains in reporting units, employment and wage payments by major industry groups resulting from the expanded coverage. Although the table is concerned only with measuring the gains contributed by the expanded coverage over the former coverage in the first quarter, 1972, it is also illus-trative of the significance of the expanded coverage. With the extended coverage, first quarter, 1972, employ-ment registered a significant 10.6 percent gain over first quarter 1971 employment. But if the expansion had not taken place, the rise would have been held to an insignificant 0.1 percent. Of the seven major industry groups, Service was the primary beneficiary from the extended coverage. Not only were over 11,000 small service establishments with almost 70,000 workers added to the Service group, but it was expanded to include approxi-mately 30 State hospitals employing 8,000 workers and almost 90 institu-tions of higher learning with over 30,000 workers. Thus, the gains of the Service group over its former coverage were quite large: 11,165 reporting units of 140 percent; 106,657 IMPACT OF EXTENDED COVERAGE BY BROAD INDUSTRY GROUP employment or 101 percent; and $675 million in wages annually or 115 percent (based on first quarter 1972 data). As to be expected, the Trade group followed Service in the numerical size of the gains in reporting units, employ-ment, and wages because of its large number of traditionally small estab-lishments. This group added almost 11,000 reporting units with about 22,000 workers and annual payrolls approaching $100 million. On a percentage basis, reporting units were expanded by 54 percent; employment, seven percent; and wages, about four percent. With respect to percentage gains over the former coverage, Construc-tion varied little from the experience in the Trade group because of the great number of small construction estab-lishments. The numerical gains, however, were much smaller because of the smaller size of the industry: reporting units gained about 3,500; employment about 8,000; and wages of about $42 million annually. The Finance, Insurance and Real Estate group is also one that employs a large number of small establishments such as small insurance and real estate offices. As a result, the expanded (See EXTENDED, Page 29) by the Expanded Cover Industry Group Gair Total Construction Manufacturing Transportation, Communi-cation and Utilities Trade Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Service* State Hospitals Institutions of Higher Learning Other® 674 10,895 2,585 11,165 34. 54 rst Quarter 1972 Employment Total Wages Amount umber Percent Added Percer dded Gainedf (,000) Gaine. 17,213 10.4 $208,773 7,920 7.9 8,739 3,865 0.5 4,248 1,574 1.8 1,673 21,770 7.0 20,812 0.4 0.9 4.4 f Percent added to old coverage contributed by the ex 1972. * Includes State Hospitals, Institutions of Higher Lear @ Agricultural Services, Forestry, Fishing and Mining. TEST RESEARCH CENTER By HERBW. CAMPBELL Test Research Supervisor The present labor market offers a challenge to all engaged in personnel work for the best utilization of avail-able manpower. Tests are, of course, far from being perfect, predictive instruments; but unfortunately this is even more true of other methods of appraising individuals' fitness for jobs. This does not mean that tests should replace other methods used in hiring, however; tests do add further informa-tion about the applicant. When tests are used in the hiring process, employers find that benefits accrue in terms of lower training costs, higher production, and lower turnover. "But the Equal Employment Oppor-tunity Commission and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance are against testing." Not so! The following quote from the purpose of the EEOC's "Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures" not only endorses but encourages the use of properly vali-dated tests. "The guidelines in this part are based on the belief that properly vali-dated and standardized employee selection procedures can significantly contribute to the implementation of non-discriminatory personnel policies, as required by title VII. It is also recog-nized that professionally developed tests, when used in conjunction with other tools of personnel assessment and complemented by sound programs of job design, may significantly aid in the development and maintenance of an efficient work force, and indeed, aid in the utilization of human resources generally." Sound like something new? For years the Test Research Unit has been involved in a continuing program of research to ensure that our tests remain the most "properly validated" assessment tools available to the many employers throughout the country using our services. From 1947 until the early 1960's, test development and research was a function of the Industrial Services Section and was conducted by IS Occu-pational Analysts whenever need arose out of other industrial services involve-ment. By the mid 60's the demand for these studies had grown so much that three analysts were doing test develop-ment projects as a major part of their jobs. The North Carolina Employment Security Commission continued to prove its capability and willingness to accept and carry out projects for the national office and North Carolina employers, and in 1966 a separate test development unit was authorized by the U.S. Department of Labor for the North Carolina agency. This unit was authorized five positions for the sole purpose of test development and research. The unit continued to grow through the years that followed and in 1971, with a staff of nine, was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor for its out-standing contributions to the national test research program for 1970. In 1972 the unit became the Southern Test Development Field Center, one of three field centers in the nation, with added responsibilities for coordinating test research efforts and data collection for 17 southern states. Additional duties included training test research analysts from approximately 25 states or the eastern half of the United States. To carry out these duties as well as regular test research activities within the State, the Field Center was allocated five new posi-tions, bringing its total number to 14, the largest test research staff in the nation. The unit's primary responsibility since its inception has been the valida-tion of Specific Aptitude Test Batteries, using the General Aptitude Test Battery as a research instrument. This is done in accordance with a research process established by the American Pyschological Association, which are the guidelines later adopted by the EEOC and OFCC. A job analysis is conducted to identify aptitudes that may be important for successful performance of the job and to ascertain that all workers to be included in the research sample are performing the same job. All employees in the sample are tested with the complete GATB and a measure of job performance obtained from the immediate supervisor. A preliminary statistical analysis is then conducted again to identify relevant aptitudes. The information obtained from the qualitative and quantitative analyses is then combined and a final analysis conducted to obtain the final set of norms. The final set of norms is the most efficient set of norms for a particular occupation. It is the set of norms that, when used in combination, will screen in the largest number of good workers and screen out the largest number of poor workers. The types of research conducted by the Test Research Unit have varied through the years with the goals of the Employment Service. In 1966 priority was placed on the development of the Non-reading Aptitude Test Battery (NATB), a non-reading edition of the GATB, designed to measure the apti-tudes of the educationally disadvan-taged. This project remained top priority until its completion in 1971. The NATB is now being used in our local employment offices across the nation. Another special project was initiated in 1967, the development of the Basic Occupational Literacy Test (BOLT), an achievement test designed to measure the basic reading and arithmetic skills of adults. The test will be used by Employment Service personnel to measure the extent of literacy training needed by educationally deficient individuals going into various training programs. Eventually the BOLT will be used to establish realistic educa-tional requirements for success in specific occupations based on functional educational levels as opposed to formal educational levels. The BOLT is currently scheduled to go into operational use within the next year. The unit continued to work on various special projects through these years. Studies were conducted on pre-testing orientation programs, a new interest inventory, proficiency tests for typing and dictation, studies on the new manual dexterity boards to ensure equivalency, and research on testing the deaf, including revised GATB instructions to be used by local office personnel to administer the GATB to deaf applicants. In 1970 emphasis was again placed on SATB development. With the issuance of the EEOC "Guidelines on 20 ESC QUARTERLY NATB The NATB is a non-reading version of the GATB and is designed to measure the same nine aptitudes of the educationally disadvantaged. Eight new tests were developed especially for the non-reading battery to measure aptitudes G, V, N, S, and P, while six of the twelve GATB tests, with revised instruc-tions and format, were retained to measure aptitudes Q, K, F, and M. It was possible to retain these six tests because the individual's performance does not depend on his ability to read. Total administra-tion time is approximately 3 1h hours. GATB The basic tool used for USES test research is the General Aptitude Test Battery [GATB], which was first published by the United States Employment Service in 1947. Since that time the GATB has been the object of a continuing program of research to validate specific tests against success in many different occupations. Because of its exten-sive research base the GATB has come to be recognized as the best validated multiple aptitude test battery in existence. The GATB consists of 12 tests which measure 9 aptitudes: General Learning Ability [G], Verbal Apti-tude [V], Numerical Aptitude [N], Spatial Aptitude [S], Form Percep-tion [P], Clerical Perception [Q], Motor Coordination [K], Finger Dexterity [F], and Manual Dex-terity [M]. CAMPBELL Employee Selection Procedures" many tests used in industry began to face challenges on validity. During this time the GATB's and SATB's held their own as validated tests. The Duke Power Case in March 1971 was the turning point in the history of personnel testing in general. In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court placed the burden of proof on the employer to prove that his selection methods were non-discriminatory and job-related. The GATB continued to meet the new standards, even to the extent that various employers across the nation were ordered by the courts to use USES tests in lieu of tests they were using when charged in discrimination cases. The same burden of proof, i.e., that our tests are not discriminatory, rests with the Employment Service; and early in 1972, the U.S. Department of Labor's Testing Branch decided that revalidation was needed on many of our SATB's in order to assure employers using our testing service that no discrimination, even inad-vertent, was taking place. This revalidation was needed because, at the time the majority of the SATB's were developed, there was no documentation of minority and non-minority group representation in the sampling. Since it is essential to have a sample that is representative of the working population, this information has become increasingly vital in imple-menting equal employment oppor-tunity in industry. Moreover, many of the batteries were developed a number of years ago and need to be updated to determine whether the aptitude tests are still valid after job changes brought about by advanced technology. In early 1972, the Manpower Administration appropriated funds for a nationwide revalidation effort. Many states which had never been involved in test research were staffed with analysts. All other projects were phased out or dropped, and in June 1972 our top priority became revalida-tion of SATB's with minority group representation in the samples. Many operational changes began to take place in our testing program. One change affected our program im-mensely. The number of Specific Aptitude Test Batteries that we could report results of applicants to employers was reduced from 466 to 177. This change resulted in some loss of employer confidence and a noticeable loss of confidence by some of our local office managers. For years the GATB had held its own, and now we were in effect saying that we were unsure of the validity of over half of our SATB's since minority groups were not adequately represented in the original samples. These SATB's will become operational again as soon as revalida-tion permits. There seems to be an attitude among some employers as well as our own personnel that "testing is on the way out." Again, not so! Why should we do away with the most scientific selec-tion tool in existence? Why should the Employment Service want to discon-tinue testing when it is one of its best selling points for ES services? To prove this point, we conducted a survey of employers when our number of SATB's was trimmed to 177. Over half of the employers who discontinued testing also discontinued using the Employ-ment Service as a source of applicants. Nothing Replaces Testing Testing is here to stay. There is nothing that can replace it. If alterna-tives existed, we would have already explored them. The speed with which we return to normal testing procedures depends to a very great extent on the ability of our local office personnel to sell the program to employers and, to an even greater extent, on employer cooperation. It is the employers who are interested in testing who will save our testing program. Since our revalidation efforts began, many local office personnel have given their time in assisting our unit in the search for samples of workers in these occupations; many employers have scheduled workers to be tested for research purposes, paying them for the time involved or even overtime in many cases so these studies could be carried out. Due to the efforts of these people, our revalidation program is underway. But, we are still a long way from home! Test development analysts are traveling daily, searching for samples, contacting employers, explaining our program, and testing samples of workers for these studies. However, we need many additional samples. Employers who have used our tests for years and know the value of testing have an optimistic attitude. Their main question is how long will it be before they can use our tests again. The only answer we can give ,at this time is that it is totally dependent on our joint efforts. We need local office personnel to talk testing to employers and employers to assist us by furnishing samples, regardless of size. Most of all, a more optimistic attitude of the testing program is needed in our own camps. After all, it is one of the best tools that we have. ESC QUARTERLY 21 CONGRESS CHANGES SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM WORK INCENTIVE By CARL NEWTON WIN Supervisor The Work Incentive (WIN-I) Program, which was authorized by Title IV of the Social Security Act, became operational in five counties in North Carolina during the latter part of 1969. Its objective was to help persons who were receiving financial support and social supportive services under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to secure gainful employment. The program provided training, basic education, and job placement services. Under this program, the Department of Social Services determined those AFDC recipients who were appropriate for WIN and referred them to one of four WIN projects which were administered for the Department of Labor by the Employment Security Commission. In December of 1971, Title IV of the Social Security Act was revised again by certain amendments which became effective on July 1, 1972, and which are known as the "Talmadge Amend-ments," for Senator Herman Talmadge of Georgia, who introduced the bill. These amendments resulted in the emergence of a new Work Incentive Program, "WIN-II." (See Insert, Page 23) The Talmadge Amendments pro-vided an opportunity to standardize the WIN adjudication system. Pro-cedures have been established in North Carolina for processing hearings and appeals in cases which arise because of failure or refusal to accept employment or to participate in the WIN program without good cause, or because of a claim of exemption on the grounds of a change of status. The adjudication process will be divided between the Employment Service Division and the Unemployment Insurance Division. The first level of adjudication will be handled by the Employment Security Commission local office WIN staff, the second level by the UI Claims Deputies, the third level by the UI Appeals Deputies, and the fourth level by a National Review Panel. Although the Talmadge Amend-ments became effective on July 1, 1972, it was not until May 1, 1973, that the WIN-II program was expanded on a statewide basis to offer services to the remaining 95 counties in North Carolina which were not included under the WINJ program. The delay in implementing WIN-II was due primarily to the time required for the joint development of a statewide operating plan for approval by both State agencies, to the time involved in hiring and training new staff, and to the time involved in implementing a statistical system for the reporting of WIN activities. The WIN-II program in North Carolina is administered jointly by the Department of Labor and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Program operations for the Department of Labor are the responsi-bility of the Employment Security Commission; those of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare are the responsibility of the Department of Social Services. The implementation of WIN-II requires close cooperation and the exchange of information between the two agencies. The function of registering indi-viduals for WIN is performed by eligibility specialists in the Income Maintenance Units of the Department of Social Services at the county level. Completed registration forms are forwarded to the appropriate WIN office, where WIN staff review them and select registrants for appraisal. Those registrants who are selected for appraisal are notified to appear for an appraisal interview which is conducted jointly by WIN staff and the Department of Social Services staff whenever possible. If, as a result of an appraisal interview, an individual is judged to be appropriate for WIN, the individual then becomes a WIN participant. When the individual can be referred to a job or training, certifica-tion is requested from the Department of Social Services Separate Adminis-trative Unit (SAU) to the effect that needed supportive social services can be provided. The supportive services requested are those required for the participant to accept work or training. If no services are required, the SAU certifies to that effect. The major thrust of WIN-II is toward job placement, on-the-job training, and public service employ-ment. The 1971 Amendments require that at least one-third of all WIN funds be spent to provide on-the-job training and public service employment to WIN participants. However, some institu-tional training is possible where it can be established that the training will lead directly to employment and where it has been established by the local Labor Market Advisory Council that jobs are likely to be available in the area at the end of the training period. Since the success of the WIN program depends upon the developing of jobs for participants, a new incentive has been provided to employers in the form of a WIN federal tax credit provi-sion in the Revenue Act of 1971. The amount of the WIN federal tax credit is 20 percent of cash wages or salaries paid to a WIN employee for the first 12 months of employment. The first 12 months of employment do not have to be consecutive, but no WIN tax credit will be allowed for wages paid after 24 months from the first day of employ-ment. The amount of credit that can be claimed is limited to the income tax liability, generally. However, if the tax liability exceeds $25,000, the maximum credit is $25,000 plus one-half the amount of tax credit over that amount. Amounts not allowed because of the limitation may be carried back three years and then forward seven years. However, no unused credit may be carried back to a tax year beginning before January 1, 1972. The credit may be claimed for tax years beginning after December 31, 1971. If a WIN employee voluntarily leaves employ-ment, or leaves because of illness or disability, the employer may claim the 22 ESC QUARTERLY Win II To require that non-exempt individuals register with the manpower agency for man-power services, training, and employment as a condition of eligibility for AFDC. Those individuals who are determined by the Depart-ment of Social Services Income Maintenance Unit staff to be exempt from registration remain a part of the AFDC population in exempt status. Exempt recipients may volun-teer for registration and enter the WIN registrant pool. These individuals will be treated as other registrants, except that no sanctions will apply if they refuse to accept employment or to participate in WIN. Mothers who volunteer must be registered upon their request. To decrease from 20 percent to 10 percent the cost of non-federal contributions to WIN operations. To mandate that state welfare agencies establish separate administrative units (SAU's) at the state and local levels to perform services solely in connection with the administration of the WIN program, and to participate with the WIN manpower agency in the development of employability plans which describe the education, training, work experience, and orientation needed by individuals to become employed. To require that a Statewide Operational Plan be developed jointly by the State WIN manpower agency and the State welfare Special Administrative Unit. This plan prescribes how the WIN program will be operated at the local level and will indicate the number and types of positions which will be provided for training, for on-the-job training, and for public service employment. To require that a Public Service Employ-; ment program be established to provide federally-subsidized employment for WIN participants with public or private non-profit agencies, leading to permanent unsubsidized employment. To require that a program of on-the-job training be established to provide federally-subsidized training for WIN participants hired by public or private employers, leading to permanent unsubsidized jobs. To authorize an incentive payment of not more than $30 per month, and payments for transportation and other costs to the extent that such costs are necessary and directly related to participation in the WIN program. To provide for the establishment of a National Coordination Committee to establish a uniform reporting system and similar administration policies; and for the establish-ment of Regional Coordination Committees for each region which will review and approve Statewide Operational Plans. To require that, beginningjuly 1 , 1973, and for every fiscal year thereafter, the Depart-ment of Social Services must certify to local employement offices as being job -ready at least 15 percent of the average number of individuals required to be registered during the year. The federal share of AFDC assistance payments will be reduced by one percentage point for each percentage point by which the number of certifications fails to meet the 15 percent requirement. To require that Labor Market Advisory Councils be established or designated by the Department of Labor in areas with a significant number of persons registered for WIN, in order to identify and advise on the types of jobs available or likely to become available in the area served by the Council. The North Carolina Manpower Council performs this function in North Carolina, working through local Ancillary Manpower Planning Boards. tax credit for the period of time the individual was employed. To meet eligibility for the tax credit, employers must receive certification from the Employment Security Commission to the effect that the WIN employee was registered for WIN at the time he was hired and that the WIN hire is not causing unemployment elsewhere. Employers may also receive a fast tax writeoff for providing facilities for on-the-job training for WIN workers and for day-care facilities for the children of WIN workers. From a total of 46,564 AFDC families in North Carolina, it was estimated that 23,446 individuals would be regis-tered in the WIN program in fiscal year 1972-73. Of these it was estimated that 12,894 would be appraised and that 5,250 would be selected for active parti-cipation in the program and certified. However, it has been necessary to reconsider these estimates because program activities did not begin state-wide until May 1. Full WIN activity began on that day, however, and it is anticipated that the program will easily meet its goals in fiscal 73. MRS. W, X, Y, AND Z Mrs. "W" is black, 31 years old, has completed the 12th grade, is separated from her husband and has four children, ages 7, 8, 9, and 10. She had been on welfare approxi-mately seven years, and was receiving a welfare grant of $188 a month when she entered the WIN program. Her previous employment of about nine months was primarily as a food service worker and as a domestic maid with wages ranging up to $1.00 an hour. Mrs. "W," unemployed, entered the WIN program in February, 1972. She was provided the stan-dard WIN manpower services: three weeks of orientation, including counseling, testing, deter-mination of job interests; the how, when, and where to seek employ-ment, and how to cope with problems such as transportation as it relates to employment. An attempt was made to instill self-confidence in Mrs. "W." Day care for the children was arranged by the county Department of Social Services. Testing indicated that she needed refresher courses in certain high school subjects. She was scheduled for six to eight months of refresher high school subjects to be attended daily at a local technical institute to help her qualify for a higher level job in the health occupational area or in a manufacturing plant posi-tion. She was counseled and provided encouragement by the WIN counselor to strive for her objective during this period of schooling. In December, 1972, she was hired as an electronic assembler at $1.80 an hour with the opportunity for substantial advancement. Her employer later called the Employ-ment Security Commission local office, on his own initiative, and stated that Mrs. "W" was perform-ing her work well. The employer asked that additional WIN partici-pants be referred to him for employ-ment interviews. The county Department of Social Services is in the process of reducing her welfare grant to $8 a month. * * * * Mrs. "X" is black, has completed the 8th grade, is divorced, 30 years old, has six children, aged 3-12, and has been on welfare approximately IOV2 years. She was receiving $211 a month welfare payments when she entered the WIN program. Her previous work experience consisted of about one year. This employment included waitress work at $1.15 an hour and as a laundry attendant at $72 a week. She was unemployed when she entered the WIN program in August, 1970. She was given the standard WIN services. A review of her interests and abilities indicated a need for her high school graduate equivalency. She attended an adult basic educa-tion course for about seven months. She obtained her high school graduate equivalency certificate in March, 1971. She then attended a six-month clerical course. Mrs. "X" began employment as a tax clerk at $378 a month with the county tax office in October, 1971. In November, 1972, she was still ESC QUARTERLY 23 employed. Her supervisor states that she was performing her work very well. Her welfare grant has been reduced. * * * * Mrs. "Y" was a 30-year old widow with seven children. She had com-pleted the 8th grade and entered WIN in January, 1970. Between March and May of that year, her two oldest daughters, ages 15 and 12, each had an illegitimate child, increasing the size of the family to ten. Her husband had been killed in 1968, leaving her deeply in debt. During the time Mrs. "Y" was taking general educational develop-ment classes in her community, her oldest two daughters were contin-ually in trouble, being suspended every few weeks for conduct problems, and she was in extreme financial distress. During WIN counseling, Mrs. "Y" had always expressed a desire to have a job helping people and counseling them. In December of 1971, the local housing authority had a job opening for a social work aid who, living in one of its housing projects, would know the problems of its tenants. Mrs. "Y" applied for the job and was told that she could have the job if she could get an auto-mobile. She consequently obtained a driver's license and with the help o driver's license and with the help of her mother made a down payment on a vehicle. She was hired by the authority and has been working full time for a year. She has attended several workshops to increase her know-ledge and is in line for a raise. She provides transportation for people in the projects who have appoint-ments at hospitals, doctors' offices, the Department of Social Services and other places. She takes children to day care centers and in general is a liaison person and troubleshooter between project tenants and the housing authority. Her oldest daughter completed nurse's aid training in the Job Corps and is presently trying to enter a technical institute for LPN training. * * * * Mrs. "Z" is black, has completed the 10th grade, is divorced, 31 years old, has three children, ages 3, 5, and 8, and had been on welfare approximately two years. She was receiving $26 a month welfare (See SUCCESS, Page 29) In 40-Year History, Public Employment Program Manages Conglomeration Of Federal-State Manpower Projects The Federal-State employment service system celebrated its 40th anniversary June 6 with more than 400 million candles on its birthday cake—one for each time it has placed a person in a job. How many more the total should be is not exactly known, because statistics for the first two years of the infant agency have grown hazy. It is known that 409 million placements have been made since 1935. It is conservative to say that for each working day, over its 40 years of existence, the Employment Service has placed 42,500 persons in jobs—an average of 88 per minute. By far the world's largest employ-ment service, the system covers the 50 states, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands with a network of more than 2,400 bustling full-time offices and nearly 2,000 more itinerant points where man-power services are provided to small or isolated communities on a scheduled part-time basis. Backbone of the Nation's vital complex of manpower programs, this far-flung network of public "employ-ment" offices since 1946—as far back as certain records go—has taken 293 million new job applications and given 48 million counseling interviews and 38 million aptitude and proficiency tests. In the last 25 years, for which statistics are readily available, it has filled 200 million non-agricultural job openings alone. This vast and highly developed man-power complex has been taking an average of 8.7 million new job applica-tions a year. It has made 10.6 million job placements a year, including those placed more than one time in a year; it has listed 7.5 million non-farm job openings annually, and filled 5.6 million of them. Yet it is sufficiently attuned to the needs of each individual that it can help a person decide whether his employ-ment prospects are better if he chooses to become a tailor or a nurse or an electronics assembler. The Employment Service has developed the world's most reliable and widely used batteries of general and specific aptitude tests, which were put into use first in 1947 and have been constantly improved and expanded since then. The ES can test a deaf mute or a quadruple amputee or a retarded youth; it has devised tests for persons who cannot read. It can help applicants assess interests as well as aptitudes, and manual dexterity as well as skill in handling numbers. The U.S. Employment Service test batteries are also used officially by the Government of Canada and by some 84 other foreign countries. ES reaches out to contact every returning serviceman to offer a helping hand in returning him to the main-stream of the Nation's economic life. When the draft was going strong, the Selective Service System referred every draft rejectee to the local employment office for job help. Of the two and a quarter million Vietnam-era veterans placed in jobs, job training, or in school during the first 20 months of the Government-wide President's Veterans Program (through Feb. 1973), more than one-fourth— 567,000—were veterans placed directly in jobs by the Employment Service. Like the veterans, members of minority groups too have been given special attention by the Employment Service. In recent years minority group members have accounted for about 25 percent of all ES applicants and made up 27 percent of those placed in nonagricultural jobs. Last fiscal year, blacks made up 39 percent of the enrollees in manpower job training programs who were referred by the ES; those of 'Spanish heritage accounted for 11 percent, and Indians 2.3 percent. For these—and for military retirees, professionals, the disadvantaged and the poor, the handicapped, the school dropout, youths and older workers — 24 ESC QUARTERLY the ES has developed special techniques to help people overcome any disadvantages and get back on the career development track. To all, its services are free—to employer and worker alike. It is largely financed by a small tax on employer payrolls. The ES certifies and refers nearly a half million men, women and youth a year for training in some job skill for which they have a desire and an aptitude and an ability—ranging from landscape gardener to dairy farmer to furniture upholsterer to automobile mechanic, auto body repairman, stenographer, computer programmer, bank teller, and a wide range of other occupations— in all, nearly 600 different vocational fields. It operates a professional place-ment network nationwide; an engineer or other professional can walk into an ES office and make himself available to employers across the country via an interstate placement plan which matches his skills and knowledge with job openings listed by any of the 2,400 ES offices. A computer Job Bank system which now serves nearly three-fourths of the Nation's work force brings a speed to the man-and-job matching that was only dreamed about ten years ago. ES has experimented with the move-ment of workers and their families, in demonstration projects, from areas in which their skills aren't needed and in which they can't find a job, to new loca-tions where their skills are in demand. To employers, it furnishes qualified workers, vital labor market informa-tion, and helps them cut their turnover and training costs. In changing plant processes, it helps employers identify those individuals who have the potential to be trained for new jobs. It is used by such companies as Continental Can, RCA, American Tobacco, National Biscuit, General Electric, Campbell Soup, Armour, and Ford Motor Company, as well as by thousands of smaller plants and firms. On the farm front, ES brings together groups of migrant farm workers, in an orderly fashion, to areas needing seasonal help to harvest crops that otherwise would be lost. For farm and agri-business employers, it performs mu
Object Description
Description
Title | E.S.C. quarterly |
Date | 1973 |
Publisher | Raleigh, N.C.: Employment Security Commission of North Carolina,1947-1975. |
Rights | State Document see http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,63754 |
Language | English |
Digital Characteristics-A | 40 p.; 4.66 MB |
Digital Collection | North Carolina Digital State Documents Collection |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Title Replaces | U.C.C. quarterly** |
Audience | All |
Pres File Name-M | pubs_serial_escquarterly19711974.pdf |
Pres Local File Path-M | Preservation_content\StatePubs\pubs_serial_escquarterly |
Full Text | AS" Z9//-+ Worth Carolina State Library Raleigh N. C Doc. Lost Years ? ARMED FORCES VETERANS FIND HARD TIMES IN CIVILIAN JOB MARKET. WITH UNEMPLOYMENT HIGH AMONG EX-SERVICEMEN, STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS ACT TO GIVE VETERANS NATION'S HIGHEST JOB PLACEMENT PRIORITY. ESC QUARTERLY VOLUME 29 NO. 1-4 CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS Henry E. Kendall Chairman N. C. Employment Security Commission KENDALL During Governor Bob Scott's administration, the North Carolina General Assembly legislated the reorganization of State government, ostensibly to reduce the number of department heads reporting directly to the Governor, and with an eye to increased efficiency and lower cost of State Government operations. When the changes were made the Employment Security Commission became aligned with nine other State agencies in a department called Commerce under a Secretary appointed by the Governor. Scott's appointment was Irvin Aldridge. Governor Jim Holshouser has appointed a 36-year-old Charlotte insurance executive, Tenney I. Deane, Jr., as the first Republican Commerce Secretary. Deane's Deputy Secretary is Laney Funderburk, Jr., a tall personable young man who was Alumni Secretary at Duke University at the time of his appointment, and we asked the Duke graduate to let us have an article on the Commerce Department so we could publish it in the ESC Quarterly. He did and we did, and we hope you enjoy reading the article which is the opening story. In this issue we have departed from our usual practice of featuring a specific Tarheel industry or specific Employment Security Commission department. Instead we have published a scattering of articles illustrating the activities of several programs within the Commission-technical services, testing, occupational analysis, employer relations and others. We have a story on Job Bank, prepared by the supervisor of this program, Rhett Chamberlain. A system to provide quick, timely job referral service to applicants by computerizing employers' job orders, Job Bank is innovative, envisionary, experimental, national, and according to Chamberlain, sometimes exasperating. It's the public employment program's newest employment service device and great things are expected from it. Computers are also being used now by the Employment Security Commission in employment service and unemployment insurance data processing, and our acclimatized basement has some rather sophisticated and impressive hardware. Our mustachioed systems analysis supervisor, Joe Elliott, gives us a sharp piece on page 31 about the ESC computer operation. National and state governments continue to give special emphasis to employment of veterans. Unemployment among Vietnam era veterans has been as high as double the national adult average rate and joblessness among 20-25 year old veterans has reached a rate four times higher than national averages. Concerned, of course, with this high level, the federal government has enacted laws pertaining to compulsory job listings by employers for veterans and here in North Carolina our Veterans Employment Service is working hard to place veterans in civilian employment. You're informed about this in an article on page 11 and you will also learn about the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs participation with veterans employment in an article on page 9. THE ESC QUARTERLY Volume 29, No. 1-4, 1973 Issued at Raleigh, N. C, by the EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION OF NORTH CAROLINA Commissioners P. R. Latta, Raleigh; Charles L. Hunley, Monroe; Henry E. Kendall, Raleigh; Samuel F. Teague, Raleigh; R. Archie Parker, Murfreesboro; Walter A. Orrell, Lir.wood; Harvey D. Heartley, Raleigh. State Advisory Council Public representatives: Hoyle T. Efird, Chairman, Gastonia; Way S. Abel, Canton; Sherwood Rober-son, Robersonville; Mrs. W. Arthur Tripp, Green-ville; Mrs. M. Edmund Aycock, Raleigh. Employer representatives: Joseph D. Ross, Jr., Asheboro; G. Maurice Hill, Drexel. Employee representa-tives: Melvin Ward, Spencer, AFL. HENRY E. KENDALL Chairman R. FULLER MARTIN Director Unemployment Insurance Division JOHN B. FLEMING Director State Employment Service Division JOHN L ALLEN Director Administrative Services Division H. E. (Ted) DAVIS Editor Public Information Officer Sent free upon request to respons; ble individuals, agencies, organizations and libraries Address: E.S.C. Information Service, P. O. Box 25903, Raleigh, N. C. The Employment Security Commis-sion administers two major State programs — Un-employment In-surance and the State Employ-ment Service. The Employment Ser-vice provides ex-pense free job placement to ap-plicants through 60 local offices of the Commission. Unemployment insurance covers approximately 1,738, 000workers in North Carolina, providing them with benefit payments in case of involuntary unem-ployment. The Unemployment Insurance program is supported by payroll taxes contributed by approxi-mately 91,000 Tarheel employing companies, firms and corporations. The Commission has operated since the mid '30's when it was established by the General Assembly as the Unemployment Compensation Com-mission. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT COMBINES ASSORTED STATE AGENCIES By LANEY FUNDERBURK, JR. Deputy Director, Department of Commerce The North Carolina Department of Commerce is one of the most interesting and probably the most diverse of the 17 executive departments of State Government. Virtually all citizens of the State are influenced by the actions of most if not all of the ten agencies which make up the Department. Broadly stated, the mission of the Department of Commerce is to protect the interests of the public and of businesses serving the public through fair regulations, to promote a high level of employment, and to administer payment of unemployment insurance and workmen's compensation pay-ments. The Department of Commerce, along with 16 other new umbrella departments, was formed when the General Assembly passed the Execu-tive Organization Act of 1971. Some 300 existing agencies, commissions, and boards were transferred into these new departments. Eight of the ten new Department of Commerce agencies had previously been independent and two, The Savings and Loan Division and The Credit Union Division, had been divisions of other State departments. Each of the agencies has at its head a commission or board appointed by the Governor, and all exercise broad policy-making authority and make judicial or quasi-judicial determina-tions. The Department of Commerce began to function in March, 1972. Following the election of Governor Jim Holshouser in November, 1972, he appointed Tenney I. Deane, Jr., a Charlotte businessman, to serve as Secretary. Many of the readers of the ESC Quarterly are aware of the mission and goals of the Employment Security Commission. It is important, however, that all become more familiar with the other nine sister agencies, even though their duties and responsibilities are quite diverse and seemingly unrelated. The Employment Security Commis-sion served more than 200,000 citizens through its Employment Services Division during the past year, and supervised payments of Unemploy-ment Insurance to 83,000 of 1,500,000 covered workers. The network of sixty local offices throughout the State is a vital link with citizens who need assistance. Employees of the Commis-sion are engaged in a variety of activities, which include recruitment, counseling, testing, placement, pay-ment of benefits, and analyzing labor market information. Special programs such as CEP (Concentrated Employ-ment Program) and WIN (Work Incentive Program) and working with veterans have been quite successful this year in reaching particular groups of people with particular employment problems. Federal funds support entirely the operation of the Employment Security Commission. Following are sections about the nine other Department of Commerce agencies: The State Board of Alcoholic Control is responsible for controlling all aspects of the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in North Carolina. The State's ABC system is unique among the 50 states, although it is officially one of eighteen "control" states in which all phases of the alcoholic beverage industry are regulated by the State. North Carolina's uniqueness is centered in the fact that there are 118 separate county and municipal ABC Boards which are responsible for the sale of alcoholic beverages in their county, city, or town. In each case a vote of the people was required to establish the system. The State Board, however, controls the shipment of liquor into the State and has a state-run warehouse from which shipments go to the stores. The State Board controls the issuing of more than 23,000 permits annually. Taxes from the sale of alcoholic beverages represents the fourth largest source of revenue to the State. In fiscal 1971-72 the net collection from alcoholic beverage taxes resulted in $60.5 million for the state and $8.3 million for local governmental units. In addition, local governments received $7.5 million from beer and unfortified wine excise taxes. In 1970-71 (the last year for which figures are available) local governments received $19.5 million in net profits from sales of $178.2 million in 325 local ABC stores. The North Carolina Banking Commission and the Commissioner of Banks are responsible for the safe conduct of business; the maintenance of public confidence; and the protection of the interests of depositors, creditors, shareholders of more than 1500 finan-cial institutions and licensees. The Commission oversees, through joint field examinations with the FDIC and the Federal Reserve Bank of Rich-mond, the conduct of business of 69 state chartered banks and their 623 branches and 24 trust departments. North Carolina has both state chartered and federally chartered banks. The Commission has super-visory authority over state chartered institutions only. First Citizens Bank and Trust Company is the largest state chartered bank while Wachovia and NCNB vie for the title among the federally chartered banks. The Commission is also responsible for licensing 690 consumer finance companies, 119 funeral homes which offer pre-need burial contracts, and seven Sale of Checks Act Companies. During the past year more than 150 applications for new banks and banking offices were heard by the Banking Commission. Assessments and fees from the regulated institutions defray all costs of operating the agency. Perhaps one of the lesser known agencies of State Government and the Department of Commerce is the Office of the Burial Commissioner, which is responsible for auditing records and accounts of more than 375 Mutual Burial Associations with 1.5 million members and 146 publicly-owned perpetual care cemeteries. This is a special fund agency which received no appropriation from the State, but is financed entirely by contributions from the associations and businesses it regulates. Just as there are State chartered and federally chartered banks in North Carolina, there are also state and federally chartered credit unions. The Credit Union Division administers the laws and regulations governing the operations of 219 state chartered credit unions, which serve more than 225,000 citizens. Credit Unions are cooperative nonprofit corporations organized to promote thrift and to create a source of ESC QUARTERLY credit for loans to members. Assets of these credit unions grew to more than $200 million in 1972. The Credit Union Division was transferred to the Department of Commerce from the Agriculture Department in 1971. This is a special fund agency which operates on assessments from the credit unions it regulates. The North Carolina Industrial Com-mission administers the Workmen's Compensation Act and also serves as the court which hears and processes tort claims (negligency actions) filed against State departments and agencies, and has jurisdiction over death claims filed by such workers as firemen, rescue squads, and law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty. In 1972 the Industrial Commission processed approximately 180,000 workmen's compensation claims, of which some 2,500 individual cases were heard by members of the Commission and Deputy Commis-sioners. The Industrial Commission also administers a safety program and received funding by the 1973 General Assembly to begin a medical rehabilitation section. The 1973 General Assembly also raised the workmen's compensation maximum weekly benefit from $56 to $80 and the total maximum benefit from $20,000 to $32,500. The North Carolina Milk Commission was formed in 1953 to assure a uniform and adequate supply of wholesome milk for the citizens of the State. The Commission has the authority to regulate the production, marketing, and distribution of milk and to suppress unfair, unjust, or destructive trade practices. The Commission has adopted marketing regulations which affect processors in their dealings with dairy farmers, including the establish-ment of minimum prices which dairy farmers receive for different classes of milk. The actions of the Milk Commis-sion directly affect about 2,000 grade A dairy farmers, 42 processors, 93 branch plants, and 113 sub-distributors. The Milk Commission is a special-fund agency which is funded entirely from assessments paid by both producers and processors. The Rural Electrification Authority's objective is to secure electric and telephone service for rural citizens of the State. The Authority investigates requests for service and where necessary assists in the formation and operation of membership corporations, including securing loan funds from federal sources. In 1973 the Authority reported that 290,000 electric members and 52,000 telephone members received service from organizations TENNEY I. DEANE, JR., Secre-tary of Commerce, is a graduate of Davidson College where he met Governor Holshouser. He is the son of a Presbyterian minister and grew up in northern Florida. Deane is a businessman with a background in industrial insurance and is a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter. He spent the last 9 years in Charlotte. Hobbies include photography, camping, and flying. He is a Rotarian. M. LANEY FUNDERBURK, JR., Deputy Secretary of Commerce, is a native of Mt. Holly, North Carolina, who has lived in Durham since entering Duke University in 1957. Upon graduation from Duke, he joined the Duke University Depart-ment of Alumni Affairs where he served in a variety of capacities before being named Alumni Secre-tary in 1968. He is a Methodist and a Kiwanian. He is married to the former Lois Copeland of Charlotte, and they have two children. WILLIAM L. COLE, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, spent 20 years in the U.S. Army and retired as a Lt. Col. He entered State Government in March, 1972, when he moved to Raleigh, his wife's hometown. The Coles have two teenage sons. Hobbies are "gentle-man farming" and telling war stories. Administrators of the new Department of Commerce are [L to R] M. Laney Funderburk, Jr., Deputy Secretary, Tenney I. Deane, Jr., Secretary, and William L. Cole, Assistant Secretary. The Department combines 10 State agencies. under their jurisdiction. There are 28 electric membership corporations and 9 telephone membership corporations in the State. The Savings and Loan Division of the Department of Commerce was transferred from the Insurance Department in 1971. It administers, through field examinations, the affairs of 140 state chartered savings and loan associations which serve 700,000 savings customers and 220,000 borrow-ing customers. Assets of these associa-tions total $3,034 billion and are growing at the rate of about $500 million annually. The Utilities Commission is the second largest Commerce agency. The Commission acts as a court and administers such functions as auditing, reviewing, and regulating activities and services of the various public utility firms in the State. During 1971 the Commission and its staff conducted 244 separate hearings, including 41 general rate cases. During this same (See COMMERCE, Page 29) ESC QUARTERLY VARIED TECHNICAL SERVICES AVAILARLE TO EMPLOYERS By TOM J. BUMGARNER ESC Occupational Analyst What does an employer do when his operations are threatened by high rates of absenteeism or quitting? When he can't find the workers needed for expansion? When training costs are excessive? When new workers can't learn their jobs quickly? When morale drops? When complaints mount? When he needs to redesign jobs—to simplify them, or perhaps combine or "enrich" jobs to make them more interesting? How does an employer, particularly if he does not have a large personnel department, cope with such acute manpower problems? For most, it is still "do-it-yourself." Some may try to locate an outside consultant claiming expertise in solving particular problems. Others obtain assistance from a department in the Employment Security Commission in Raleigh, known as the Employer Technical Services Section. Through this department the employer may obtain the services of a team of skilled personnel technicians, all trained as occupational analysts. Formerly known as "Industrial Services," this department has exper-tise in a variety of manpower fields. It can send an analyst to the employer's place of business to assist him in analyzing the causes of his difficulties and in applying proven techniques in solving them. Often the problem is not what the employer believes it to be. To make an accurate diagnosis, the Occupational Analyst studies the causes of absen-teeism, turnover, recruitment or reten-tion difficulties, low morale, or exces-sive training costs. In some instances an employee attitude survey is conducted. Better personnel records may be designed. Aptitude test valida-tion may be arranged. Job content may be analyzed—or someone on the employer's staff may be given training in job analysis. All of the techniques applied are those either developed or approved by the U.S. Employment Service. Technical assistance is confidential; only the employer has access to study findings and reports. And there is no charge for technical services provided by E.S.C. The technical services program has been in existence almost as long as the public employment service which was established in 1933. In the early days a small staff worked out of the ESC central office to provide occupational analysis services to employers. Many times there was a backlog of several months' work waiting to be done. It was not until 1966 that technical services was given renewed emphasis with the addition of staff to be stationed around the State, readily •available to local offices and employers. The highly industrialized Piedmont and the western part of the State were divided into areas with three occupa-tional analysts stationed at strategic locations. The mainly rural eastern part of the State continued to be served by State office staff. What does the Technical Services Department do? It helps employers, educational and training institutions, labor organizations, other government agencies, and community groups to resolve manpower problems connected with the selection, recruitment, development, utilization, and stabiliza-tion of their work forces. We provide maximum assistance to employers who are experiencing multiple manpower problems that are likely to affect the work force. Where possible we train a representative of the company rather than perform the service, except in cases of firms with multiple manpower problems or in connection with problems related to new, hard-to-fill or "entry" jobs. Here's a more detailed explanation of the tools and techniques most fre-quently used in assisting employers: Job Information This can range from a simple one-sentence job description to a detailed job analysis schedule, depending on need. By actually observing and inter-viewing the worker, we determine what the worker does, how he does it, and why he does it, and the skills involved. Properly written job descrip-tions are prerequisites for most personnel functions such as recruit-ments, screening, placement, training, and up-grading of workers. A job study can yield a vast amount of information useful in resolving man-power problems, as illustrated in the following case histories: —In a printing firm, assistance was provided by using job analysis informa-tion and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles [DOT] to classify jobs and assign standard titles and codes, enabling the employer to establish more realistic hiring requirements, identify entry level jobs, and be more objective in establishing wage rates. Job specifi-cations were prepared for use by the local ESC office in referring job appli-cants. BUMGARNER —In a machine shop, we studied jobs at the request of the employer to provide a basis for a job evaluation study to be conducted by the employer. Job analysis information also provided information on other areas of concern to the employer, e.g., review of the physical demands and environmental conditions revealed possible health hazards and serious housekeeping deficiencies. Assistance is available to employers in the form of training or actual prepa-ration of selected job descriptions where multiple manpower problems exist. Training is also offered in the use of a position classification format. If a personnel manager prefers training in job analysis, it can be arranged through ESC's Occupational Analysis Field Center. ESC QUARTERLY Opinion Or Attitude Survey This popular technique is used by the Technical Services Department to assist employers in resolving man-power problems related to recruit-ment, morale, absenteeism, and reten-tion of workers. The surveys also help employers plan policies and programs to prevent these problems from developing. Since the current labor shortage in North Carolina has made it hard to recruit additional or replacement employees, opinion surveys are proving to be one of the most effective tools available to management for determining workers' dissatisfactions and implementing policies and programs to retain present employees. Prior to conducting an opinion survey we visit company officials to discuss procedures for conducting the survey and to determine their sincerity in regard to implementing changes and programs that would reduce or eliminate employee dissatisfaction. If the employer is unwilling to change, the attitude survey is pointless. The next step is to assist company officials to select approximately 40 questions appropriate to their particular situation. The questions are selected from 10 basic questions covering such categories as: super-vision; training and instruction; em-ployee relations; wage-hours-shifts; working conditions, safety and house-keeping; production; and job and equipment. Open-ended questions are also used to permit employees to write comments. A cover sheet explains the purpose and gives instructions for com-pleting the questionnaire. Employees are assured their responses will be confidential. A brief talk is given to each group prior to answering the questionnaire. No signa-ture appears on the questionnaire, and upon completion the employee places it in a sealed box which is in the custody of the ESC. We tally responses to each question by shift and department and prepare a chart showing the trend of responses and pointing out areas of dissatis-factions by departments, shifts, and categories. Write-in comments are analyzed, summaries and recorded. Based on analysis of the chart, comments, and oral responses heard while conducting the survey, we prepare our recommendations. These are discussed in a conference with company officials. During the past two years, we have conducted opinion surveys in plants varying in size from 45 to 1300 employees. Each survey has produced information useful to management in resolving morale problems and planning goals in the future. Turnover And Absenteeism Surveys Unexplained employee resignations at a high rate over a long period can be an industry's most costly problem. We help employers develop a system for pinpointing the areas of greatest turn-over and the causes of this turnover. For such a study, existing interview records are the best documents. Absenteeism, like turnover, is costly and often results in eventual loss of workers. During recent years we have helped employers reduce absenteeism in some plants by as much as 80 percent. Several plants in the Pied-mont area, with absentee rates of 15 percent or higher, have reduced absen-teeism to a low of three percent—and this was accomplished without a significant loss of workers. Our Technical Services Representa-tives have instituted effective absentee programs by establishing consistent company policies that offer a rational approach to dealing with work absences. These policies govern management and supervisory responsi-bilities, keeping accurate and detailed work records, and a system for con-trolling actions to be taken by the company. Rules must be simple and reasonable, and must be known to employees. They must be enforced uniformly and fairly; violations must be documented. Before absentee policies are installed we explain them to all company super-visors. Each supervisor must be given authority and responsibility for con-trolling the attendance of his subordi-nates, using the methods we suggest. This approach has cut absenteeism among employees with chronic absentee records, and has improved the morale of the majority of workers who are always on the job. To be sure, not all companies can expect to achieve a two or three percent absentee rate. Plant managers are pleased if absenteeism is reduced by one or two percentage points. If the average rate is five percent, most employers are satisfied. Test Selection of Trainees To aid employers in assessing an inexperienced applicant's potential, nothing is more useful than a validated aptitude test. ESC has validated its General Aptitude Test Battery for more than 500 occupations. We measure acquired skills and know-ledges through our clerical skills testing program. All ESC tests have been standardized and validated to predict success on the job, and are highly regarded by employers and authorities on vocational testing. The Technical Services Represen-tative may recommend occupational testing to solve the following problems: 1. To improve the selection process by measuring an inexperienced applicant's potential ability to perform a particular job; 2. To assist in evaluating the skills of workers who have had experience of training; 3. To assist in reducing turnover and in resolving other manpower problems that are being created or aggravated by poor selection; 4. To assist in selecting trainees for on-the-job training programs or apprenticeable occupations. When the need for testing is estab-lished, an Occupational Analyst Repre-sentative observes the job and prepares a job specification. The job specification is compared with the appropriate technical report for the Specific Aptitude Test Battery (SATB) under consideration to determine whether the duties are similar. If the SATB is found to be appropriate, the employer and local ESC office are noti-fied. All ESC offices are equipped to use tests in screening applicants. Design Of Personnel Forms Well-designed forms are essential to the effective functioning of any personnel system. Sample forms are available to employers. Assistance is also provided in adapting the forms to the employer's individual needs. Identifying Physical Demands Of Jobs An example of this service is provided by a project recently undertaken at the request of the Social Security Administration. In 1969 the Social Security Adminis-tration asked the Employment Security Commission to conduct a pilot study to identify light and sedentary jobs in selected metropolitan areas in North Carolina. Social Security's Board of Appeals needed to know the types and numbers of relatively unskilled jobs in order to estimate the changes for reemployment of handicapped workers filing claims for "total disa-bility." Occupational Analysts are now engaged in locating jobs meeting U.S. Labor Department definitions of "light and sedentary" and with low levels of (See TECHNICAL, Page 29) ESC QUARTERLY ERRORS COSTING EMPLOYERS MORE MONEY THAN DUE "Many employers in North Carolina are overpaying their unemployment insurance taxes," according to R. Fuller Martin, Director of the Unem-ployment Insurance Division of the Employment Security Commission. "Our agency refunded nearly $500,000 to companies and firms last year because they simply sent more money to the State than was required under the unemployment insurance law," he explained. The Employment Security Law requires liable employers to pay taxes on the first $4,200 earned by each covered employee on their payrolls. During the first three years of liability, new employers are required to pay 2.7 percent of their taxable payrolls. The rate may subsequently drop if the company has a history of low unemployment. Last year, according to the Employment Security Commission, the average UI tax rate in the State was less than one percent. These tax collections are deposited in the employer's unemployment insurance account. In August employers are notified by the Employment Security Commission in Raleigh of their tax rates and the balance in their accounts for the forth-coming year. "Some employers are getting these notices confused and send a check to the Commission in Raleigh for the amount that is in their unemployment insurance account," said Martin. Currently about 87,000 employers are paying unemployment insurance taxes on almost 2.3 million workers. Errors and overpayments will be made by 3,000 employers each year, reports the U.I. Director. "Employers are happy to get refunds," he said, "but time and money to audit these payments are costly for the State. Of course, the employer also loses the use of his money about three months, too, so watch those decimals." TAX CREDIT ENCOURAGES ESC QUERIES 5.000 EMPLOYERS SEEKING WORKER SKILL INFORMATION The Employment Security Commis-sion begins surveying worker skills and job locations in almost 5,000 North Carolina non-manufacturing business firms, Chairman Henry E. Kendall has announced. One of a series of federal-state job surveys, it will reach an estimated 100,000 employers across the nation and North Carolina is one of 21 states participating in the U.S. Labor Department project. Information gained will: —provide accurate profiles on worker-skill resources by industry and trends in the numbers of workers employed by occupation; —identify geographic areas in which worker skills are located; —permit local, state, and ultimately national projections of future worker-skill requirements by industry, and —identify emerging occupations and occupations in which employment opportunities are declining. "This information will help govern-ment officials at all levels plan occupational and training programs," reports Don Brande, chief of Employment Security Commission research. "It will also help public and private educators evaluate their vocational guidance programs and make certain these programs are relevant." The job' study is also expected to help businesses and employee groups keep abreast of occupational changes within their industries, helping them compare company patterns with those of industry in general. Geographic location of jobs will also be helpful to management and labor. Kendall urged all employers receiving the. job study questionnaires to cooperate with the State by furnishing the requested information. Reports from individual companies will be kept confidential and data will be published only in summary form. Similar studies of jobs in wholesale and retail trade, state and local government and other sectors of the economy are planned. Employers hiring welfare recipients under the federal-state Work Incentive Program (WIN) can now claim 20 percent tax credit on wages paid these workers during their first year of employment, the Employment Security commission has announced. The tax credit encourages employers to hire or place in on-the-job training persons receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) grants after they have been registered for participation in WIN. Called the "Job development" tax credit, the new regulations are related to the Talmadge Amendments of the Social Security Act which requires all adults over 16 receiving AFDC payments to register for WIN to be eligible to continue to receive benefits. The Employment Security Commis-sion explained that there are exemptions. If the welfare recipient is not in an exempt category, however, the individual must accept work or training when offered or lose part of his welfare grant. In North Carolina, the Department of Social Services determines which AFDC recipients are exempt from the program, then registers all non-exempt persons and any volunteers with local offices of the Employment Security Commission. We'll try to find jobs for them or on-the-job training opportunities to equip them with the necessary skills to retain permanent employment. Nearly all registrants will be women, reports the ESC. County Social Services officers are completing WIN registrations. After interviewing individuals, and providing day-care, and other services if needed, the county office certifies that the Welfare recipient is available for referral to work or training. Businessmen interested in hiring WIN participants should contact their local State Employment Office. The office will refer available WIN participants and will provide the employer with a Labor Department certification that the individuals were enrolled in the Work Incentive Program. This statement is required by the Internal Revenue Service to substantiate employers' claims for tax credit on their IRS returns. ESC QUARTERLY N.C. PARTICIPATING IN NATIONWIDE STUDY TO EXAMINE U.I. COSTS The nation's unemployment insur-ance program is undergoing a cost examination by the federal govern-ment. Started last year, a state-by-state analysis of UI costs is being conducted by the Management Services Com-pany, a Sacramento, California, based consulting firm under contract to the U.S. Labor Department. In North Carolina the study began June 11 and will be completed Nov. 8, 1973. Purpose of the cost analysis project is "to strengthen the planning, budget-ing, and financial management capa-bilities of the Unemployment Insur-ance system." According to the Management Services' team guide manual, the "Division of Budget Development and Review" has begun a major project to improve the ability of the Federal Unemployment Insurance Service to budget and allocate resources. The effort requires analysis of costs to accomplish Unemployment Insurance activities in each state. "The entire Unemployment Insur-ance program is undergoing a series of critical tests," the manual continues. "Burdens on the system continue to grow. New legislation has greatly increased the number of persons served. Court decisions have increased the pressures for more timely service. State UI Division Director R. Fuller Martin says, "We hope that when the project is completed it will act as an instrument we can use to justify the funds necessary for a more proper and efficient administration of unemploy-ment insurance than we're unable to get now." "In addition, competition throughout government for an adequate share of financial resources continues to put greater demands upon financial managers to accurately determine and effectively display dollar require-ments." Currently, employment security agencies gather large amounts of data on cost and achievements. Data is collected to provide a basis for manage-ment decisions to direct and control the internal operations of each agency. However, says the Management Services Company, several difficulties impair the effectiveness of the financial management and budget processes: —The accuracy of time expenditures reported against various functional codes by state agencies is unknown; —Many budgeted workload values are believed to be incorrect because of system changes, varying workload volume, and variations among state laws; —Agency administrators, regional administrators, and national office per-sonnel frequently have different con-ceptions of what true costs really are for different UI activities; and —Relationships between budgeted and actual expenditures and programs objectives frequently are unclear. Perhaps processes established by the study will relieve these obscurities. Requiring 5V2 months to complete, results of the UI study will be used as a basis of fiscal 75 budget requests, officials hope. The study will be divided into three phases: —Flow chart all unemployment insurance activities, document the quality standards of the agency and design the study; —Train monitors, test the design and record actual time expenditures and production counts; and, —Analyze and summarize the time expenditures and production counts and construct a cost model (budget pro-cedures). Hoping to determine the actual time for each UI activity in greater detail and to design a cost model that can be used to budget time and staff, the study also will determine the amount of time to accomplish UI activities under the North Carolina law in relationship to the time required for activities under other states' laws. All Employment Security Commis-sion unemployment insurance activi-ties in the central office in Raleigh will be studied as well as those in seven selected local offices: Raleigh, Reids-ville, Winston-Salem, Mount Airy, Sanford, Lumberton, and Jacksonville. In selecting the offices, Commission officials sought diversity of size, services, and location. The 22-week project will provide two study teams—a "nucleus team" and a "monitor team." Monitors will use eight weeks to measure time expendi-tures and summarize findings immedi-ately. The nucleus team, which will work with the project for the entire 22 weeks, includes a representative of the Management Services Company, sev-eral systems analysts, and Systems and Procedures Supervisor William Foster as team leader. Monitors will be analysts and other persons from the ESC knowledgeable in day-to-day UI operations. Joining the study team about three weeks before the measurement period, they will remain about eight weeks and will be primarily involved in collecting time expenditure and production data. Subsequent to the project, a compre-hensive report will be prepared docu-menting the study. Members of the team assigned to study unemployment insurance costs are [L to R] Bill Foster, Judy Wilson, Clement Mathews, John Ellis, Alvis Jordan, Sue Stanko and Reuben Edwards. Foster is in charge of the team and Mrs. Stanko is a consultant with the Management Services Company. ESC QUARTERLY Military And Veterans Affairs Dept. Active In Efforts To Find Jobs For Returning Vietnam Era Veterans By COL. C. S. MANOOCH, JR. Public Affair/Special Projects Officer More for the Veteran—a new role for the National Guard and a new name and image for Civil Defense—all received immediate attention when John J. Tolson, III took the reins as Secretary of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs in March 1973. Tolson, a retired three star Army General, brings a "get the job done" attitude to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, where he was sworn in as Secretary on March 5, 1973. The choice of Secretary Tolson to head the new Department was a popular one from statewide military and civilian circles alike, and friends of Tolson were quick to respond with favorable comments. A long-time friend at Fort Bragg said Tolson is unlikely to accept things "just like they are." "He is a hard worker, an innovator, a man who likes to try new things, even in the Army, and North Carolina is likely to get the benefit of a lot of his new ideas," he said. A long-time associate at the Pentagon said that Tolson is "one of those rare individuals of the old Army who helped the new Army bridge the generation gap with young people." Both opinions were correct, as Secretary Tolson has already intro-duced many new ideas, and his respect and devotion to the young Vietnam War era veteran has been apparent during the first three months of his tenure. A North Carolina native, he attended the University of North Carolina and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in three wars during his 35 years of distinguished military service, of which more than nine years were spent over-seas. During World War II he served with the 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment in the Pacific Theater, where he participated in all jumps, to include the recapture of Corregidor Island in February 1945. He served as a Regi-mental Commander and Division G-3 with the 82nd Airborn Division at Fort Bragg, and later served as Command-ing General, XVIII Airborne Corps and Post Commander there. He also com-manded the First Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam for 15 x li months. Other principal assignments included Chief, U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group to Ethiopia; Commanding General, U.S. Army Aviation Center, and Commandant, U.S. Army Aviation School, Fort Rucker, Alabama. While serving as Commanding General, Fort Bragg, in 1969, he started the development of "Opera-tion Awareness," the first drug rehabilitation program in the Army. When the Department of the Army inaugurated its first authorized and directed Drug and Alcohol Abuse Control Program in 1971, "Operation Awareness" served as the model. Also during this same period General Tolson initiated a community service program which was called "National Building," whereby troops at Fort Bragg helped to improve the welfare of the less fortunate in civilian communities nearby. The Department of Defense now endorses a similar nationwide program called "Domestic Actions." The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, springing from government reorganization, was acti-vated in March 1972, and is the arm of State Government most directly involved in military affairs and veterans affairs in North Carolina. Divisions within the Department include the National Guard, Veterans Affairs, Civil Preparedness, and the Civil Air Patrol. In the area of veterans affairs the Department is deeply conscious of the need to recognize the veteran, particu-larly those from the Vietnam War era, and to assist these veterans in finding jobs. At the same time the role of DMVA in obtaining jobs for veterans has been a supporting one rather than GEN. JOHN J. TOLSON a directing one as jobs per se are the responsibility of the Employment Security Commission, assisted to a large degree by the Veterans Employ-ment Representatives. From the beginning when the first Job Fair was held last year at Camp Lejeune, DMVA has supported efforts to bring national, regional and local employers and jobless veterans, or soon-to-be veterans, to a common meeting ground. The objective, of course, is to provide employment to our Vietnam War era veterans who have found job hunting unlike and a little more difficult than experienced by veterans of previous wars. The larger Job Fairs for veterans were held last year at Camp Lejeune, Seymour Johnson, and Fort Bragg. Job Fairs are planned again this year at the same military sites, and in addition at Greensboro, Lumberton, Winston- Salem, Asheville, Charlotte, High Point, Rocky Mount, Salisbury and Wilmington. Close coordination be-tween the DMVA and the Employ-ment Security Commission is being maintained to affect mutual input into the Job Fair effort. It is anticipated that National Guard facilities and some personnel will be used to assist the local community effort. ESC QUARTERLY The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, through the National Guard, is making a concentrated effort to encourage employer support to the National Guard. Governor Holshouser took the initial step by signing a State-ment of Support for the Guard and Reserve and affirmed his State policy to encourage Guard membership for employees in State Government. Of primary importance is the need to keep the employer well informed of any special awards or accomplishments that his employee/Guardsman receives from the National Guard. The employer must be assured that his employee/Guardsman will become a better employee by virtue of his Guard training, where he receives, among other things, extensive leadership and management experience which can be applied profitably in his civilian job. A major effort is being made to change the image of Civil Defense from one that deals primarily with atom bombs, fallout shelters and response to enemy attacks to one that coordinates preparedness to and relief from all hazards, natural and man-made. Secretary Tolson recently announced that emphasis should be placed on civil preparedness rather than civil defense, as it reflects the agency's functions more accurately. He said, "I feel that too many people associate the title Civil Defense only with bomb shelters and war. While shelters are still an important part of our overall program, there are other equally important features of the organization. COL. MANOOCH The current restructuring of the armed forces in the U.S. calls for a small regular military establishment and has placed the heaviest reliance in history upon the National Guard as an immediate ready force in the event of future national emergencies. More reliance on the Guard means that a high state of training must be main-tained. A higher state of training means that Guardsmen will probably have to spend more time away from their civilian jobs, a situation already "touchy" among Guard employers. "The thrust of the activities from the Office of Civil Defense today is preparedness for assistance and recovery in times of natural disasters such as storms and floods. The title Civil Preparedness more accurately describes the functions of the agency." The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is exercising close coordination with the various counties in North Carolina in affecting its Civil Preparedness Program through an on-site assistance effort. This provides a real "grass roots" situation and a chance for close work, research and harmony between the members of the State staff, local Civil Preparedness personnel, as well as leaders of the local communities. This commonality of effort will assure a higher percentage of community preparedness. TO AID VETS, FEDERAL CONTRACTS REQUIRE EMPLOYERS TO LIST JOR 0PENIN6S WITH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES By MALCOLM ANSPACH State Veterans Employment Representative Public Law 92-540, known as the "Vietnam-Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1972," was signed on October 24, 1972. The intent of Congress in Title V of the act is to add the authority of public law to the President's Veterans' Program. Because the basic apparatus already existed in large parts in other laws and mandates, this act made certain that the veterans' services would receive highest priority as ordered by the President and the Congress of the United States. The benefits of the act are not restrictive to veterans alone as the program expands to include private industry in even a larger role than it has had in developing closer working relationships with the Employment Security Commission. The mandatory listing of job openings with the Employment Service in cases where the employer has contracts with the federal government affects all public employment systems by placing in their hands orders for individual job openings up to $18,000 per year. The Secretary of Labor's new regula-tion requires all contractors and sub-contractors, subject to Public Law 92-540 with contracts of $2,500 or more, to list all suitable job openings with the state employment system. Although the Employment Service is not an enforcing agency, it is responsible to coordinate and develop productive efforts in contacts. referrals, and in an information exchange. The Secretary stated that "it cannot be over-emphasized that the manda-tory listing program under the new law must be implemented by state agencies in order to insure that the program receives maximum emphasis and renders the essential priorities afforded by law to our veterans." In light of the new laws and the President's renewed mandate for action, the Secretary of Labor has instructed the Employment Service to assist in the program expansion and implementation. The responsibility delegated by the Secretary of Labor plans to: 1. Further reduce the number of unemployed veterans. 2. Substantially reduce the unem-ployment rate for the age 20 to 29 veteran to a level at or, if possible, below that of non-veterans in the same age group. 3. Focus special attention on serving the disabled veterans, the Vietnam-Era veterans, and minority veterans. The Veterans Employment Service of North Carolina has fully accepted the challenge of fulfilling these goals and will continue to implement its mandate to make certain that greater and more meaningful employment opportunities are made available to every veteran. As in the past, the local Veterans Employment Representative in North Carolina has made the program in our State a notable success, and the 10 ESC QUARTERLY two-year trend of growing unemploy-ment among Vietnam-era veterans was reversed. The number of unemployed veterans was substantially reduced until the rate for veterans now exceeds non-veterans by less than one percent. Finally, an accomplishment of signifi-cant long-term value was the creation of a new image for the Employment Security Commission which affects veterans and non-veterans alike. The public communications, the involve-ment in the community, and the employer relations emphasis combined with the higher degree of local office awareness provided the formula for success. The effectiveness of the program operations, with a multifaced promo-tional effort and a high degree of cooperation and coordination between private and public sectors, highlight the program during its developmental phase and provided a stimulant in serving the veterans of North Carolina. However, this is not the time to slacken our efforts and rest on our laurels during a phase of high employ-ment and low unemployment. Our fluctuating economy will surely display a time of desperate need to the public for our services and we should be ready with all efforts and resources to provide the specific activities of the Employment Services when this need occurs. Balance Of Efforts Through an outreach program to bring the applicant to our door and the continued flow of the employers' orders, we serve in placing the "right man in the right job." It is our duty to maintain a balance of efforts to provide continuity of operations and service to the public. Programs such as the Mandatory Listing of Jobs, Revenue Sharing, and Employer Relations are but a few of the tools with which we strengthen and expand our efforts in serving the people of North Carolina in their man-power needs. The other face of our work involves the professional attitude that shows the public, including the worker, that we are a service organiza-tion devoted to their needs in obtaining career information and assistance. The 643,000 veterans of North Carolina (including the new law defini-tions of eligible veterans) are in essence our responsibility in providing services and special emphasis as mandated by the President of the United States and the law. EMPLOYMENT REPRESENTATIVES SERVE VETERANS IN ALL N.C. AREAS The North Carolina Employment Service and its Veterans Employment Service celebrate a 40th birthday in 1973. In 1933, the Wagner-Peyser Act provided for a Federal-State system of public employment service, including a mandate "to maintain a veterans service to be devoted to securing employment for veterans." It provided for a distinct Veterans Employment Service as an integral part of the public employment service network. In its history, the public employment service at state and local levels in North Carolina reflects a proud level of accomplishment in service to all veterans. In November, 1971, the State was given specific responsibility for imple-mentation of the President's veterans program to close the gap between veteran and non-veteran unemploy-ment. North Carolina Employment Service responded to the task with enthusiasm and vigor in providing urgently needed employment assist-ance to veterans. As a result, the level of unemployment for veterans dropped from 3.1 percent above non-veterans to .5 percent above non-veterans in January, 1973. The United States Congress on October 24, 1972, enacted Public Law 92-540 which amended Title 38, United States Code, and reinforced the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights) and the Veterans Readjustment Act of 1952 and 1956. It continued to charge the State Employment Service with insuring that all veterans receive the maximum of priority and job oppor-tunity through employment, job training, and supportive service. The Employment Service has been instrumental in North Carolina's becoming one of the most effective and well known strongholds for veterans services. We remain in the top 10 states for overall services to veterans and for excellence in services to disabled veterans. Working closely with the Veterans Administration Regional Office, the N.C. Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, and the N.C. Veterans' Council, which includes the major veterans organizations, the Veterans Employment Service has taken the lead at "grass root" level in promoting veteran services. In each of the 60 local offices, there is at least one Veterans Employment Representative. These employment specialists work closely with other service organiza-tions and with the local communities in their area of responsibility. In today's wide range of educational and employ-ment specialties, the task of matching the individual's needs with the occupa-tional opportunities dictates that the field staff of VER's become highly skilled in outreach and occupational counseling, and they must be totally aware of the employment and training impetus of the communities they serve. With involvement in the developing community action groups and veteran task forces, and by virtue of his active participation with local governments in labor and training management, the VER greatly increases his effective-ness as an ambassador of the Employ-ment Security Commission. During the past months of the economic whirlwind where thousands of jobs go unfilled and industry grows with leaps and bounds, the veteran may find "stop gap" employment on every corner. However, the program of fitting the right job with the right applicant is not an easy task. The computer operator working in construction or the school teacher in the mill is not at all uncommon. Tradi-tional placement service is fading to emerge as career development and individual job development service. Weary of regimentation and with high expectations, the young man returning to civilian life finds his dreams smashed with realities that the cold world's interest is the weekly paycheck and not his accomplishments or his contribu-tion to the society he so desperately wishes to join. No matter how much emphasis the federal government, state government and local communities place on helping the veteran, the veteran must become fully aware of where and how he may gain the information and help available to him in pursuing his ambition and career. Offering information and guidance through communication with the public and job promotion for the (See VER, Page 38) ESC QUARTERLY 11 June 6, 1973, marked the 40th anni-versary of the establishment of the Employment Service by the Wagner- Peyser Act. As this milestone is reached, it is appropriate to consider the key to a successful placement program—EMPLOYER RELATIONS. Employer Relations is emphasized as a top priority in all Employment Security Commission office activities. To understand the emphasis currently afforded to employer relations, a brief review of Employment Service history is needed. Since its establishment in 1933, the Employment Service has been characterized by continuing adap-tation to changing economic and social needs. Prior to the last decade, the Employment Service was largely employer oriented, maintaining a basic labor exchange function in the job market. It was a major source of recruitment and placement of workers during World War II. During the Sixties, much legislation based largely on social conscience was enacted. A large proportion of these laws were given to the Employment Service for translation into actual services. The emphasis shifted to training and supportive services, largely for those persons who were socially, educa-tionally, and economically disadvan-taged. The Employment Service found many of these socially-oriented programs a challenge and channeled its resources toward providing employa-bility development for the disadvan-taged. As the frequent advocate of the unemployed and underemployed job seeker, the Employment Service became less acceptable as a labor exchange for many employers and fully qualified job seekers, and placements had declined dramatically by the end of the decade. The diversion of the Sixties helped the Employment Service mature. It grew in its capacity to serve the special employment needs of the disadvan-taged. Although the disadvantaged comprise only one of many groups of applicants served, probably no group presents a greater challenge because of inherent characteristics. By learning to better serve this group, the Employ-ment Service simultaneously improved its ability to help those who offer less challenge. An equally important learning from the experience of the sixties was the realization that as a labor exchange, the Employment Service must be equally responsive to the needs of applicants and employers. It must reach out to the employer and seek to EMPLOYER RELATIONS ESC SEEKS CLOSER ALLIANCE TO N. C. EMPLOYERS THROUGH ACCURATE APPRAISAL OF IN-COMPANY NEEDS AND QUICK PLACEMENT OF APPLICANTS IN ALL OCCUPATIONS AND JOB CATEGORIES By JOHN BRIDGES Super., Employer Relations understand his needs. In response to the identified needs, the Employment Service must seek to meet those needs with comprehensive manpower ser-vices. It must provide qualified appli-cants to fill the employer's job vacancies in all occupational and skill categories. Through its Industrial Services program, the Employment Service must share its technical exper-tise with employers large and small to aid them in resolving personnel problems, such as absenteeism and turnover. In short, if the Employment Service is to operate a labor exchange, it must have ample job orders. Employers provide the job orders. Employers will use the Employment Service only if it provides a service the employers need and want. The current emphasis on employer relations is soundly based. The operation of a viable placement service requires that each Employment Security Commis-sion office develop and maintain effec-tive relationships with the employer community—the fountainhead of job opportunity. The seventies ushered in an Employ-ment Service redirected to its funda-mental purpose—job finding assistance for all who request assistance. In North Carolina, an intensive effort to revita-lize services to employers and reverse the downward trend of job openings listed with the Employment Service was launched in 1971, reinforced by a U.S. Department of Labor sponsored conference in Kansas City, Missouri, May 16-21, 1971. The employment Service in collaboration with North Carolina Manpower Development Corporation, a non-profit research organization partly funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, analyzed employer services activities and needs. Employers, applicants, and local office personnel were consulted for recom-commendations and ideas. The result was a multi-phased employer services development model which was adopted by the Agency in late 1971. This model included a training curriculum for employer relations representatives and plans for an aggressive outreach program to secure wider acceptance by employers and applicants. On an administrative area basis, area supervisors and local ofice managers attended one-day orientation meetings designed to increase their awareness of the employer relations process and their responsibilities for its develop-ment. Orientation stressed the need for adequate placement back-up to deliver job applicants promptly on job orders received during the planned aggressive outreach to employers. Employers were invited and attended each session for direct input into this development stage. Following manager orientation in each area, local employer relations representatives attended three days of training. These sessions utilized awareness training techniques to help the participants develop an increased awareness of themselves and others, and ultimately to build improved skills in interpersonal relationships. This experiential approach to training enhanced the effectiveness of employer contacts subsequently made by those who attended. Training in eight administrative areas was completed between January 21 and September 8, 1972. The enhancement of the employer relations process through awareness training was a significant advancement for the Agency. Not only did it provide relief from the traditional classroom atmosphere, but it penetrated to the very core of employer relations, indeed, any area of human relations-human needs and motivation in inter-personal relationships. Successful employer relations requires an aware- 12 ESC QUARTERLY BRIDGES ness of why people act as they do—what motivates them. In the face-to- face interview or even a telephone discussion with an employer, the Employer Relations Representative first must be aware of himself, under-standing and controlling his own behavior; likewise, he must try to understand the employer with his unique needs and motivational sources—what makes him think, feel, and act as he does. Not the least consideration is the sometimes subtle non-verbal communi-cation in the employer's gesture or glance. An increased awareness of the dynamics of interpersonal relationships equips the Employer Relations Repre-sentative to practice the art of per-suasion, required to convince the employer community that the Employ-ment Service can serve his best interest. The employer relations program is sales oriented, but selling is not manipulative. Part of the purpose of the awareness training is to increase ability to sense real needs. It is then the responsibility of the Employer Relations Representative to select appropriate solutions from the numer-ous resources of the Employment Service to help fill the employer's identified need. Of course, the primary resource is the labor exchange, job seekers to fill job openings. Simply, the Employer Relations Representative pursues the salesman's motto: "Find A Need and Fill It." The image of the Employment Security Commission as a public agency greatly affects its effectiveness. If the traditional low profile is main-tained, public acceptance is left to chance, and chances are that accep-tance will be equally low keyed, if not negative. Too long the Agency has allowed the public to think of its offices as the "Unemployment Office." To visualize only long lines of unemployed and unemployable persons is a misconcep-tion of the Employment Security Commission. To allow this and negative feelings about the Agency's association with the disadvantaged is a disservice to job seekers and employers who would use the Employment Service if they knew the full story. It is true that the Agency administers the Unemploy-ment Insurance program; but addi-tionally, the Employment Service operates the largest labor exchange in the State and Nation. It is true that the Agency provides special assistance to the disadvantaged, including Welfare recipients; but it is also true that the Employment Service helps find jobs for engineers, computer programmers, electricians, and secretaries. A low profile with scanty publicity and under-statement allows half-truth and myth to flourish and can virtually destroy the effectiveness of the Agency as a labor exchange. On the other hand, if the Agency aggressively seeks high visibility, much can be done to influence public opinion positively. The Employment Service Division of the Employment Security Commission has the necessary technology, equipment and competent staff to translate the public laws that entitle all citizens to free job-finding assistance into realized services-people placed in jobs that need them. As a labor exchange, the Employment Service can operate effectively only if employers and job seekers both know about and use the system. In fact, the more widely the Employment Service system is accepted and used, the more effectively it works. The Employment Security Commis-sion of North Carolina seeks high visi-bility. Far from hat-in-hand and apolo-getic, the Employment Service is proud of the services offered and intends to let the people know. The recently installed statewide network of Job Banks for computerized place-ment assistance attests to the commit-ment of the Agency to placement objectives. Over 90,000 letters were mailed to employers across North Carolina to announce the installation of this system and solicit use of the Job Bank. Local Office personnel made 35,667 visits to employers during 1972, an increase of 17.6 percent over 1971. Job openings listed with the Employ-ment Service totaled 189,349 in 1972, a substantial gain of 28 percent over 1971. These results are gratifying, but the real accomplishment was 90,877 placements, an increase of almost 14 percent over 1971. (See RELATIONS, Page 38) LAW CHANCED ON U.I. ENTITLEMENT DURING PREGNANCY By HARRY HARRISON ESC Chief Counsel On April 11, the 1973 session of the N.C. General Assembly ratified House Bill 640, amending the Employment Security Law of North Carolina so that women may now qualify for unemploy-ment insurance benefits during periods of pregnancy. Previously, pregnant women were not entitled to benefits three months prior to or three months subsequent to the birth of the child. Under the old law they were auto-matically ineligible for six months. The amended law, however, rules that pregnant women will be treated in the same manner as any other claimant, and that their rights to benefits will be determined upon the basis of their physical ability and availability to employment. Officials believed the prior law was discriminatory solely on the basis of the individual's sex, i.e., that it was in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment of the Constitu-tion and a similar provision in North Carolina statutes. Objections to the prior pregnancy provisions were based on the principle that non-discrimination requires that a woman be considered on her individual capacity and not on the basis of any characteristic generally attributed to females. The trend to abolish the 6-month ineligibility period for pregnant women actually began with passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 which prohibited discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion and national origin. With-in the next few years courts began recognizing federal policy by system-atically eliminating sex discrimina-tion as contrary to law and public policy. It was believed that the prior law denied the pregnant woman equal pro-tection under the laws, failing to consider her willingness to work, her ability to perform on the job, or her personal medical safety. The amended law provides that women claimants should be determined eligible or ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits on their being "able" and "available" for work the same as now applied to male claimants. ESC QUARTERLY 13 NORTH CAROLINA INITIATES COMPUTERIZED JOB LISTINGS JOB BANK By RHETT CHAMBERLAIN Systems and Procedures Supervisor North Carolina has a statewide job bank network fully compatible with the national network which allows com-plete interchange with job banks of other states. It started a number of years ago when the United States Employment Service recognized the limitations inherent in the system of a small group of interviewers working with the appli-cant group they interviewed and the employer's job orders they took. Except when either applicants or orders were superabundant, both applicant and employer were indeed lucky when either the best man for the job or the best job for the man got to the same group of interviewers at the same time. By the 'sixties the man-job matching techniques of the 'thirties had been substantially improved. However, the concept of the system itself remained unchanged. Change in basic procedural concepts was essential because the world had changed. It had grown smaller as transportation sped up. The labor market had changed and mobility of labor had become a common phrase. To meet the new and rapidly changing needs of both employers and applicants, the Employment Service had to find a way to broaden the effec-tive range of interviewers beyond the five mile radius which their order box and applicant file would cover. Pro-cedures for referral of applicants of one group of employment interviewers to the employer orders of another group were cumbersome even for referrals to employers ten to 25 miles away and, therefore, were used sparingly. The concept of matching the local order with the local applicant was strongly entrenched. It had become clear that the way to broaden the range of inter-viewers was not to modify specific procedures of the time honored system, but to alter the fundamental concept of the system itself. The President of the United States personally ordered such an alteration in concept when he called for a nation-wide job bank. As a national concept, job bank is a system in which each job order taken is made available to each interviewer for screening against every applicant. In theory this would always provide for a match between the best man for the job and the best job for the man. Our basic reason for existence would no longer be limited by chance meeting within narrow geographic boundaries. Whether the theory of the new system could be realized practically was still to be determined. Implementation of the job bank system in North Carolina has not been free from trial and tribulation. We have frustrated local employment office personnel whose only crime was a sincere effort to cope with the job bank system efficiently. We have bewildered and irritated employers such as the lady who called our first computer-assisted, centralized order-taking unit and blurted, "Am I talking to a person or a machine?" We have provided an incessant supply of problems to the central office Employment Service staff and recently transferred responsibility for all computer problems to the Unemployment Insurance Staff. We hav, indeed, had a busy three years, but we do not have a final verdict on the overall effectiveness of the system as a placement tool. The statistical evidence available can be interpreted to suit the whim of the interpreter because of the wide variety of factors which affect our placement results. For example, placements in one office dropped about 20 per cent the first month. Is this bad? Should we consider the fact that the two nearest offices both dropped over 50 per cent during the same month with no assistance from job bank? When 14 ESC QUARTERLY another large office went on job bank, the manager reported an increase of 40 per cent over placements the same month of the previous year. Should we celebrate? Or would it be prudent to wonder about the shortcomings of the previous year? Small offices frequently benefited substantially, we are sure, but may this not simply represent a shift of placements from large offices to smaller ones rather than a real increase in placements? Even horseback opinions, sometimes quite valid, are clouded in this case by factors which so strongly influence first impressions that fair subjective evalua-tion may be impossible for some time to come. For example, it is fair to assume that during the first several months of implementation any system will be more difficult for operating personnel than the system to which they were accustomed. It should surprise no one that placements suffer during this period and, indeed, figures seem to show that the more abruptly an office converts to job bank, the greater the initial loss. The abrupt transition, however, seems to result in a more rapid recovery than that of offices which ease in and spread the initial shock. To make a bad situation worse, human error of the central office and computer operations staff are heavier during early transition periods for each local office. Losses in these cases are temporary, but they do nothing to mitigate the bad first impression. We have tried a variety of procedures within prescribed job bank framework and made some educated guesses, but we cannot claim certainty of success at this point. Despite frustrations of implementing an unfamiliar system, we have established a firm basis on which to build a viable placement system. Employers' orders are taken by local office interviewers trained to describe fully the sort of applicant needed. With the exception of domestic service openings and others usable only in a limited locality, over two-thirds of our orders are keyed onto a magnetic tape in the local office on the day they are received from the employer. These orders, along with all transactions and activity, are transmitted at high speed via direct distance dial telephone from magnetic tape of one local office to another at the computer site. One key-tape operator, working at the speed of a good typist, will use less than ten minutes of telephone transmission time near the end of the day to submit his work to the computer site. During the night the computer will integrate the new work with that already on file. Completed work will be removed to Employment Interviewer Jerry White scans a computer print-out listing job information and applicant requirements [above] and typist Nancy Batten displays microfische cards containing thousands of job availabilities. The print-outs and microfische cards are made available to local State Employment offices twice a week from the Job Bank operation in the ESC Central Office. ; ,0 **'"\!k «(«!""" 81 • nU mn0iimit m *''»" gumma tuBumnmi timnmmu . liianaiiama tumiimitmimn \umimtimiimm '„mimumnmn i-mumimumua z.imumimim umnmimnmim: iimnmiimiimiim imimtimtmim tnmiimtimim msimitmumimi mumimumm ESC QUARTERLY 15 Employment Aide Emma Dickerson [left] and Interviewer Mary Frances Paylor of the Raleigh State Employment Office take job orders from local employers for placement in the Job Bank. Most of the applicant referrals to employers are varified by telephone contact, so the telephone is a vital link if Job Bank is to operate quickly and efficiently. record keeping files and the new orders added. Fresh, up-to-date lists of available jobs are produced on micro-fiche and other information, including error reports, are printed on paper. Each morning the newly organized, current information is available for the use of the local office interviewers. The interviewer will have an average of ten times the number of "local" orders he had before job bank. He also has access to openings from all over the State as well as selected jobs from other states for applicants who wish to relocate. In some cases he may have the complete listings of out-of-state job banks and in all cases he can determine the existence of openings from job banks all over the country by calling our Central Office. Considerable organization, self-discipline, and under-standing of the new system is required of the interviewer to avoid being buried under a surplus of information. "Local" orders now consist, ideally, of every order in commuting range of applicants the interviewer serves. The available method of grouping, unfortu-nately, puts some offices in fringes of several areas so that most of the orders on microfiche grouped for them are not really within commuting distance and other sets of microfiche must be examined to ensure coverage of all jobs which are in commuting distance. Even for those interviewers who find that most of the orders grouped on microfiche are truly within commuting distance, substantial differences in interviewing techniques are required to cope efficiently with ten times the number of orders they previously had. Some time will be saved when appli-cants understand that they can obtain referrals to any location instead of visiting several of our local offices. Use of long distance telephone for bringing together applicant and employer, for us a major innovation of job bank, is an essential key to providing adequate service outside of our traditional five mile radius. Verification of our referrals has always been an Employment Service problem and job bank provides no full solution. We must determine accur-ately whom we placed and why others referred were not hired. As in the past, most of our referrals will be verified by telephone contacts with employers. As in the past appli-cants may be given postage-paid intro-duction cards which have our return address. These help, but applicants frequently neglect to give them to employers or even mention our involvement in the referral. Job bank provides a computer generated message to be mailed to the employer. The contents identify the applicant and offer a means for the employer to indicate on a postage-paid Interviewer Julia Clark of Raleigh explains the viewer to an applicant. The microfische cards are inserted into the device of magnification on the screen. Key tape operator Margaret Henry keys onto magnetic tape job orders taken during the day. This information is transmitted on high speed telephone lines to the Job Bank computer in Raleigh. 16 ESC QUARTERLY card his reaction to the applicant. Unlike the introduction card, these can be depended upon to reach the employer. The return addresses are preprinted and therefore limited to a few large offices who take their own and forward others to smaller nearby offices. The employer may feel that he is being asked to respond to one or two of our interviewers by telephone and send two cards to one or two offices. No one could justify such a procedure. It will indeed be unfortunate if lack of under-standing is allowed to nullify the value of the computer-generated mailer or to restrict our need to know the employer's reaction to our referrals and also that the applicant hired did not report for work. We cannot claim credit for the applicant who never shows up. The speed of telephone verification is needed to determine what may be wrong with the applicants we are referring. Fast feedback of this information may allow us to change order requirements and make better referrals. Speed is also essential in learning that additional referrals are not needed, but these two pieces of information alone are inadequate. The introduction card, if the employer gets it, and the mailer are intended for this purpose rather than for dun notices. A non-returnable intro-duction card has been prepared for use with the mailer to avoid the appearance of double billing. There are even advantages in providing one card for immediate response and another, which arrives about two days later, for applicants who were held for consider-ation or told to report to work at a future time. Results of referrals and the number of openings the employer filled by other means are reported to the computer to complete the transaction and generate the reports by which we are judged. The entire job, from recording characteristics of the appli-cants we serve and orders we receive to the final disposition of both, is fed into the computer which returns to us operational aids and keeps the score. Someday it may also participate in the matching process, but today human judgment is required to go beyond rudimentary matching of very basic factors. Our potential is a literal fulfillment of our longstanding policy to match the best man for the job with the best job for the man. New tools are not unmixed blessings, but we can and shall become proficient with this one. We have (See BANK, Page 29) ESC NAMES NEW PERSONNEL TO DIRECT TWO DEPARTMENTS Since the last issue of the ESC Quarterly, the Employment Security Commission has made changes in two of its top level administrative posts and has established a new department within the agency. The new department is the Division of Administrative Services and it com-bines departments which previously were joint services reporting directly to the Chairman of the Commission. Personnel, Evaluation and Training, the Bureau of Employment Security Research and the Business Office have combined into Administrative Services under the direction of John L. Allen, Jr., of Raleigh. Allen, who resigned as ESC Business Manager in 1961 to take another State job, returned to the Commission in September, 1972, and oddly enough he replaced the man who replaced him 11 years earlier as Business Manager. When C. L. Wilson retired Septem-ber 30 after 34 years State employ-ment, Allen was appointed Wilson's replacement, then subsequently to director of Administrative Services. Allen was ESC Business Manager from 1952 through '61. He resigned to take an appointment as Assistant Director of the Department of Conser-vation and Development. After two years in that assignment he became State Budget Officer, then State Personnel Director. In 1965, Allen was appointed Controller of the Highway Commission and three years later joined the N.C. Manpower Development Corporation. Subse-quently, after several years in private business, Allen again joined the State with his return to the Employment Security Commission. The Department of Administrative Services is new within the agency, essentially established to reduce the number of departments reporting directly to the chief administrator of the Commission, and it is one of three major ESC divisions. The ESC Legal Department got a new director in April, 1973, when Henry D. Harrison was named Chief Counsel. He replaced David Ball who had 23 years with the Legal Depart-ment. He had been senior attorney and Chief Counsel for four years before he retired the first of April after 36 years with the State. A Wake Forest Law School graduate, Harrison joined the Employ-ment Security Commission as an attorney in 1968. He was previously engaged in private practice in Raeford. ALLEN HARRISON ESC QUARTERLY 17 ADMINISTRATIVE CHANCES MADE IN EMPLOYMENT OFFICES Retirements, promotions, and the death of an area supervisor have all affected personnel changes among Employment Security Commission local office managers in recent months. James E. Knight, former manager of the Wilmington local office, was promoted to area supervisor August 1st, replacing Howard Winstead, who died July 3. Winstead had worked for the Commission for over 30 years. A native of Wilmington, Knight had been manager of the Wilmington office since 1967. He joined the ESC in Wilmington as an employment interviewer in 1961 and now, in his new job, he will have administrative responsibility of employment offices in Lumberton, Sanford, Kenansville, Jacksonville, Goldsboro, Wilmington and Fayetteville. Albert E. Payne has become manager of the Morehead City ESC office following the retirement of its former manager. Retired after 20 years Army service, Payne was the veterans employment representative in Monroe before moving to Morehead City. He attended school at Central Piedmont Community College, University of Maryland, Southeastern University and the Armed Forces Institute. Another retired military man, Marion F. Barnhill, has moved to New Bern to take over managership of the ESC officer there. A veteran of 26 years in the Air Force, Barnhill was a bomber pilot during WWII and he was promoted to the New Bern post after eight years with the Wilmington office. His most recent assignment there was Job Bank manager. Barnhill is a native of Tarboro and he and his wife have seven children. He has long been active in church work and has held many church offices. Out west a native of Mitchell County has become manager of the Hendersonville local office. He is John E. Murdock, Jr., a former interviewer and veterans employment represen-tative in the Spruce Pine ESC office. Murdock, who holds a BA degree in history from Western Carolina University, spent five years in the Marine Corps. Subsequently, he worked in textiles before joining the State. His promotion was effective January 1. Another graduate of Western Carolina University, Ed Guy, was promoted manager of the Bryson City office April 1, succeeding Fred Riddle who moved to the Salisbury office. A business administration graduate, Guy joined the ESC in 1967 as an interviewer in Sylva and then became an employment counselor stationed in Cherokee. In 1971 he was promoted to field representative serving five western counties. James C. Crooks is now manager of the Washington local office. A native of South Carolina, Crooks retired from the Air Force in 1948 after 20 years active military service. While in service he had tours in England, Korea and France. He had three years as an AFROTC instructor at the University of West Virginia and a tour in the Pentagon. After retirement he worked in Minnesota for a short while, then returned to N.C. for an interviewer job at the Charlotte local office in 1970. Jim says, "I have attended night school at the University of Maryland, Central Piedmont Community College and UNC. Now I have approximately three years college. I intend to continue schooling until a BS degree is obtained." When long time Mt. Airy manager John Taylor retired, David B. Johnson moved over from managership of the Lenoir office to take over Taylor's job. A former Army Medical Service Corps officer, Johnson is a 1964 graduate of Wake Forest College with a degree in history. He joined the ESC in 1966 and worked as a veterans employment representative for three years in Lenoir. Out east again the Williamston local office has a new manager. He is William R. Ayers, a native . of Robersonville. He graduated from Wake Forest in 1967 and two years later joined the State as an interviewer in Williamston. Then he was promoted to the Wilmington office and afterwards to the Raleigh central office. Ayers returned to Williamston as a claims supervisor in 1972 and then was promoted to manager of the Ahoskie office. He became Williamston manager in April. Current manager of the Ahoskie office is Guerry Goode, a native of Jacksonville, Florida and a 13-year Air Force veteran. Goode joined the ESC in 1964 as an interviewer in Raleigh. He later became an interviewer in Durham and Winston-Salem and was promoted to Ahoskie manager May 1. MURDOCK GUY CROOKS JOHNSON GOODE 18 ESC QUARTERLY MORE WORKERS, EMPLOYERS ARE UNDER U.I. LAW Effective January 1, 1972, the Employment Security coverage was expanded by about 150,000 workers and as a result wage payments have now grown by over half a billion dollars annually. The coverage expansion has been as follows: (1) the previous indus-trial coverage has been lowered from employers of four or more workers to those of one or more; (2) nonprofit organizations, such as religious, charitable, civic, social, and fraternal associations, employing four or more workers have become liable for the first time; (3) State hospitals are newly liable; as are (4) institutions of higher learning such as colleges and univer-sities. The number of additional reporting units attributed to the expanded coverage had an even greater impact as over 30,000 units were added or a gain of 65 percent over the former coverage. The accompanying table portrays the gains in reporting units, employment and wage payments by major industry groups resulting from the expanded coverage. Although the table is concerned only with measuring the gains contributed by the expanded coverage over the former coverage in the first quarter, 1972, it is also illus-trative of the significance of the expanded coverage. With the extended coverage, first quarter, 1972, employ-ment registered a significant 10.6 percent gain over first quarter 1971 employment. But if the expansion had not taken place, the rise would have been held to an insignificant 0.1 percent. Of the seven major industry groups, Service was the primary beneficiary from the extended coverage. Not only were over 11,000 small service establishments with almost 70,000 workers added to the Service group, but it was expanded to include approxi-mately 30 State hospitals employing 8,000 workers and almost 90 institu-tions of higher learning with over 30,000 workers. Thus, the gains of the Service group over its former coverage were quite large: 11,165 reporting units of 140 percent; 106,657 IMPACT OF EXTENDED COVERAGE BY BROAD INDUSTRY GROUP employment or 101 percent; and $675 million in wages annually or 115 percent (based on first quarter 1972 data). As to be expected, the Trade group followed Service in the numerical size of the gains in reporting units, employ-ment, and wages because of its large number of traditionally small estab-lishments. This group added almost 11,000 reporting units with about 22,000 workers and annual payrolls approaching $100 million. On a percentage basis, reporting units were expanded by 54 percent; employment, seven percent; and wages, about four percent. With respect to percentage gains over the former coverage, Construc-tion varied little from the experience in the Trade group because of the great number of small construction estab-lishments. The numerical gains, however, were much smaller because of the smaller size of the industry: reporting units gained about 3,500; employment about 8,000; and wages of about $42 million annually. The Finance, Insurance and Real Estate group is also one that employs a large number of small establishments such as small insurance and real estate offices. As a result, the expanded (See EXTENDED, Page 29) by the Expanded Cover Industry Group Gair Total Construction Manufacturing Transportation, Communi-cation and Utilities Trade Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Service* State Hospitals Institutions of Higher Learning Other® 674 10,895 2,585 11,165 34. 54 rst Quarter 1972 Employment Total Wages Amount umber Percent Added Percer dded Gainedf (,000) Gaine. 17,213 10.4 $208,773 7,920 7.9 8,739 3,865 0.5 4,248 1,574 1.8 1,673 21,770 7.0 20,812 0.4 0.9 4.4 f Percent added to old coverage contributed by the ex 1972. * Includes State Hospitals, Institutions of Higher Lear @ Agricultural Services, Forestry, Fishing and Mining. TEST RESEARCH CENTER By HERBW. CAMPBELL Test Research Supervisor The present labor market offers a challenge to all engaged in personnel work for the best utilization of avail-able manpower. Tests are, of course, far from being perfect, predictive instruments; but unfortunately this is even more true of other methods of appraising individuals' fitness for jobs. This does not mean that tests should replace other methods used in hiring, however; tests do add further informa-tion about the applicant. When tests are used in the hiring process, employers find that benefits accrue in terms of lower training costs, higher production, and lower turnover. "But the Equal Employment Oppor-tunity Commission and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance are against testing." Not so! The following quote from the purpose of the EEOC's "Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures" not only endorses but encourages the use of properly vali-dated tests. "The guidelines in this part are based on the belief that properly vali-dated and standardized employee selection procedures can significantly contribute to the implementation of non-discriminatory personnel policies, as required by title VII. It is also recog-nized that professionally developed tests, when used in conjunction with other tools of personnel assessment and complemented by sound programs of job design, may significantly aid in the development and maintenance of an efficient work force, and indeed, aid in the utilization of human resources generally." Sound like something new? For years the Test Research Unit has been involved in a continuing program of research to ensure that our tests remain the most "properly validated" assessment tools available to the many employers throughout the country using our services. From 1947 until the early 1960's, test development and research was a function of the Industrial Services Section and was conducted by IS Occu-pational Analysts whenever need arose out of other industrial services involve-ment. By the mid 60's the demand for these studies had grown so much that three analysts were doing test develop-ment projects as a major part of their jobs. The North Carolina Employment Security Commission continued to prove its capability and willingness to accept and carry out projects for the national office and North Carolina employers, and in 1966 a separate test development unit was authorized by the U.S. Department of Labor for the North Carolina agency. This unit was authorized five positions for the sole purpose of test development and research. The unit continued to grow through the years that followed and in 1971, with a staff of nine, was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor for its out-standing contributions to the national test research program for 1970. In 1972 the unit became the Southern Test Development Field Center, one of three field centers in the nation, with added responsibilities for coordinating test research efforts and data collection for 17 southern states. Additional duties included training test research analysts from approximately 25 states or the eastern half of the United States. To carry out these duties as well as regular test research activities within the State, the Field Center was allocated five new posi-tions, bringing its total number to 14, the largest test research staff in the nation. The unit's primary responsibility since its inception has been the valida-tion of Specific Aptitude Test Batteries, using the General Aptitude Test Battery as a research instrument. This is done in accordance with a research process established by the American Pyschological Association, which are the guidelines later adopted by the EEOC and OFCC. A job analysis is conducted to identify aptitudes that may be important for successful performance of the job and to ascertain that all workers to be included in the research sample are performing the same job. All employees in the sample are tested with the complete GATB and a measure of job performance obtained from the immediate supervisor. A preliminary statistical analysis is then conducted again to identify relevant aptitudes. The information obtained from the qualitative and quantitative analyses is then combined and a final analysis conducted to obtain the final set of norms. The final set of norms is the most efficient set of norms for a particular occupation. It is the set of norms that, when used in combination, will screen in the largest number of good workers and screen out the largest number of poor workers. The types of research conducted by the Test Research Unit have varied through the years with the goals of the Employment Service. In 1966 priority was placed on the development of the Non-reading Aptitude Test Battery (NATB), a non-reading edition of the GATB, designed to measure the apti-tudes of the educationally disadvan-taged. This project remained top priority until its completion in 1971. The NATB is now being used in our local employment offices across the nation. Another special project was initiated in 1967, the development of the Basic Occupational Literacy Test (BOLT), an achievement test designed to measure the basic reading and arithmetic skills of adults. The test will be used by Employment Service personnel to measure the extent of literacy training needed by educationally deficient individuals going into various training programs. Eventually the BOLT will be used to establish realistic educa-tional requirements for success in specific occupations based on functional educational levels as opposed to formal educational levels. The BOLT is currently scheduled to go into operational use within the next year. The unit continued to work on various special projects through these years. Studies were conducted on pre-testing orientation programs, a new interest inventory, proficiency tests for typing and dictation, studies on the new manual dexterity boards to ensure equivalency, and research on testing the deaf, including revised GATB instructions to be used by local office personnel to administer the GATB to deaf applicants. In 1970 emphasis was again placed on SATB development. With the issuance of the EEOC "Guidelines on 20 ESC QUARTERLY NATB The NATB is a non-reading version of the GATB and is designed to measure the same nine aptitudes of the educationally disadvantaged. Eight new tests were developed especially for the non-reading battery to measure aptitudes G, V, N, S, and P, while six of the twelve GATB tests, with revised instruc-tions and format, were retained to measure aptitudes Q, K, F, and M. It was possible to retain these six tests because the individual's performance does not depend on his ability to read. Total administra-tion time is approximately 3 1h hours. GATB The basic tool used for USES test research is the General Aptitude Test Battery [GATB], which was first published by the United States Employment Service in 1947. Since that time the GATB has been the object of a continuing program of research to validate specific tests against success in many different occupations. Because of its exten-sive research base the GATB has come to be recognized as the best validated multiple aptitude test battery in existence. The GATB consists of 12 tests which measure 9 aptitudes: General Learning Ability [G], Verbal Apti-tude [V], Numerical Aptitude [N], Spatial Aptitude [S], Form Percep-tion [P], Clerical Perception [Q], Motor Coordination [K], Finger Dexterity [F], and Manual Dex-terity [M]. CAMPBELL Employee Selection Procedures" many tests used in industry began to face challenges on validity. During this time the GATB's and SATB's held their own as validated tests. The Duke Power Case in March 1971 was the turning point in the history of personnel testing in general. In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court placed the burden of proof on the employer to prove that his selection methods were non-discriminatory and job-related. The GATB continued to meet the new standards, even to the extent that various employers across the nation were ordered by the courts to use USES tests in lieu of tests they were using when charged in discrimination cases. The same burden of proof, i.e., that our tests are not discriminatory, rests with the Employment Service; and early in 1972, the U.S. Department of Labor's Testing Branch decided that revalidation was needed on many of our SATB's in order to assure employers using our testing service that no discrimination, even inad-vertent, was taking place. This revalidation was needed because, at the time the majority of the SATB's were developed, there was no documentation of minority and non-minority group representation in the sampling. Since it is essential to have a sample that is representative of the working population, this information has become increasingly vital in imple-menting equal employment oppor-tunity in industry. Moreover, many of the batteries were developed a number of years ago and need to be updated to determine whether the aptitude tests are still valid after job changes brought about by advanced technology. In early 1972, the Manpower Administration appropriated funds for a nationwide revalidation effort. Many states which had never been involved in test research were staffed with analysts. All other projects were phased out or dropped, and in June 1972 our top priority became revalida-tion of SATB's with minority group representation in the samples. Many operational changes began to take place in our testing program. One change affected our program im-mensely. The number of Specific Aptitude Test Batteries that we could report results of applicants to employers was reduced from 466 to 177. This change resulted in some loss of employer confidence and a noticeable loss of confidence by some of our local office managers. For years the GATB had held its own, and now we were in effect saying that we were unsure of the validity of over half of our SATB's since minority groups were not adequately represented in the original samples. These SATB's will become operational again as soon as revalida-tion permits. There seems to be an attitude among some employers as well as our own personnel that "testing is on the way out." Again, not so! Why should we do away with the most scientific selec-tion tool in existence? Why should the Employment Service want to discon-tinue testing when it is one of its best selling points for ES services? To prove this point, we conducted a survey of employers when our number of SATB's was trimmed to 177. Over half of the employers who discontinued testing also discontinued using the Employ-ment Service as a source of applicants. Nothing Replaces Testing Testing is here to stay. There is nothing that can replace it. If alterna-tives existed, we would have already explored them. The speed with which we return to normal testing procedures depends to a very great extent on the ability of our local office personnel to sell the program to employers and, to an even greater extent, on employer cooperation. It is the employers who are interested in testing who will save our testing program. Since our revalidation efforts began, many local office personnel have given their time in assisting our unit in the search for samples of workers in these occupations; many employers have scheduled workers to be tested for research purposes, paying them for the time involved or even overtime in many cases so these studies could be carried out. Due to the efforts of these people, our revalidation program is underway. But, we are still a long way from home! Test development analysts are traveling daily, searching for samples, contacting employers, explaining our program, and testing samples of workers for these studies. However, we need many additional samples. Employers who have used our tests for years and know the value of testing have an optimistic attitude. Their main question is how long will it be before they can use our tests again. The only answer we can give ,at this time is that it is totally dependent on our joint efforts. We need local office personnel to talk testing to employers and employers to assist us by furnishing samples, regardless of size. Most of all, a more optimistic attitude of the testing program is needed in our own camps. After all, it is one of the best tools that we have. ESC QUARTERLY 21 CONGRESS CHANGES SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM WORK INCENTIVE By CARL NEWTON WIN Supervisor The Work Incentive (WIN-I) Program, which was authorized by Title IV of the Social Security Act, became operational in five counties in North Carolina during the latter part of 1969. Its objective was to help persons who were receiving financial support and social supportive services under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to secure gainful employment. The program provided training, basic education, and job placement services. Under this program, the Department of Social Services determined those AFDC recipients who were appropriate for WIN and referred them to one of four WIN projects which were administered for the Department of Labor by the Employment Security Commission. In December of 1971, Title IV of the Social Security Act was revised again by certain amendments which became effective on July 1, 1972, and which are known as the "Talmadge Amend-ments," for Senator Herman Talmadge of Georgia, who introduced the bill. These amendments resulted in the emergence of a new Work Incentive Program, "WIN-II." (See Insert, Page 23) The Talmadge Amendments pro-vided an opportunity to standardize the WIN adjudication system. Pro-cedures have been established in North Carolina for processing hearings and appeals in cases which arise because of failure or refusal to accept employment or to participate in the WIN program without good cause, or because of a claim of exemption on the grounds of a change of status. The adjudication process will be divided between the Employment Service Division and the Unemployment Insurance Division. The first level of adjudication will be handled by the Employment Security Commission local office WIN staff, the second level by the UI Claims Deputies, the third level by the UI Appeals Deputies, and the fourth level by a National Review Panel. Although the Talmadge Amend-ments became effective on July 1, 1972, it was not until May 1, 1973, that the WIN-II program was expanded on a statewide basis to offer services to the remaining 95 counties in North Carolina which were not included under the WINJ program. The delay in implementing WIN-II was due primarily to the time required for the joint development of a statewide operating plan for approval by both State agencies, to the time involved in hiring and training new staff, and to the time involved in implementing a statistical system for the reporting of WIN activities. The WIN-II program in North Carolina is administered jointly by the Department of Labor and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Program operations for the Department of Labor are the responsi-bility of the Employment Security Commission; those of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare are the responsibility of the Department of Social Services. The implementation of WIN-II requires close cooperation and the exchange of information between the two agencies. The function of registering indi-viduals for WIN is performed by eligibility specialists in the Income Maintenance Units of the Department of Social Services at the county level. Completed registration forms are forwarded to the appropriate WIN office, where WIN staff review them and select registrants for appraisal. Those registrants who are selected for appraisal are notified to appear for an appraisal interview which is conducted jointly by WIN staff and the Department of Social Services staff whenever possible. If, as a result of an appraisal interview, an individual is judged to be appropriate for WIN, the individual then becomes a WIN participant. When the individual can be referred to a job or training, certifica-tion is requested from the Department of Social Services Separate Adminis-trative Unit (SAU) to the effect that needed supportive social services can be provided. The supportive services requested are those required for the participant to accept work or training. If no services are required, the SAU certifies to that effect. The major thrust of WIN-II is toward job placement, on-the-job training, and public service employ-ment. The 1971 Amendments require that at least one-third of all WIN funds be spent to provide on-the-job training and public service employment to WIN participants. However, some institu-tional training is possible where it can be established that the training will lead directly to employment and where it has been established by the local Labor Market Advisory Council that jobs are likely to be available in the area at the end of the training period. Since the success of the WIN program depends upon the developing of jobs for participants, a new incentive has been provided to employers in the form of a WIN federal tax credit provi-sion in the Revenue Act of 1971. The amount of the WIN federal tax credit is 20 percent of cash wages or salaries paid to a WIN employee for the first 12 months of employment. The first 12 months of employment do not have to be consecutive, but no WIN tax credit will be allowed for wages paid after 24 months from the first day of employ-ment. The amount of credit that can be claimed is limited to the income tax liability, generally. However, if the tax liability exceeds $25,000, the maximum credit is $25,000 plus one-half the amount of tax credit over that amount. Amounts not allowed because of the limitation may be carried back three years and then forward seven years. However, no unused credit may be carried back to a tax year beginning before January 1, 1972. The credit may be claimed for tax years beginning after December 31, 1971. If a WIN employee voluntarily leaves employ-ment, or leaves because of illness or disability, the employer may claim the 22 ESC QUARTERLY Win II To require that non-exempt individuals register with the manpower agency for man-power services, training, and employment as a condition of eligibility for AFDC. Those individuals who are determined by the Depart-ment of Social Services Income Maintenance Unit staff to be exempt from registration remain a part of the AFDC population in exempt status. Exempt recipients may volun-teer for registration and enter the WIN registrant pool. These individuals will be treated as other registrants, except that no sanctions will apply if they refuse to accept employment or to participate in WIN. Mothers who volunteer must be registered upon their request. To decrease from 20 percent to 10 percent the cost of non-federal contributions to WIN operations. To mandate that state welfare agencies establish separate administrative units (SAU's) at the state and local levels to perform services solely in connection with the administration of the WIN program, and to participate with the WIN manpower agency in the development of employability plans which describe the education, training, work experience, and orientation needed by individuals to become employed. To require that a Statewide Operational Plan be developed jointly by the State WIN manpower agency and the State welfare Special Administrative Unit. This plan prescribes how the WIN program will be operated at the local level and will indicate the number and types of positions which will be provided for training, for on-the-job training, and for public service employment. To require that a Public Service Employ-; ment program be established to provide federally-subsidized employment for WIN participants with public or private non-profit agencies, leading to permanent unsubsidized employment. To require that a program of on-the-job training be established to provide federally-subsidized training for WIN participants hired by public or private employers, leading to permanent unsubsidized jobs. To authorize an incentive payment of not more than $30 per month, and payments for transportation and other costs to the extent that such costs are necessary and directly related to participation in the WIN program. To provide for the establishment of a National Coordination Committee to establish a uniform reporting system and similar administration policies; and for the establish-ment of Regional Coordination Committees for each region which will review and approve Statewide Operational Plans. To require that, beginningjuly 1 , 1973, and for every fiscal year thereafter, the Depart-ment of Social Services must certify to local employement offices as being job -ready at least 15 percent of the average number of individuals required to be registered during the year. The federal share of AFDC assistance payments will be reduced by one percentage point for each percentage point by which the number of certifications fails to meet the 15 percent requirement. To require that Labor Market Advisory Councils be established or designated by the Department of Labor in areas with a significant number of persons registered for WIN, in order to identify and advise on the types of jobs available or likely to become available in the area served by the Council. The North Carolina Manpower Council performs this function in North Carolina, working through local Ancillary Manpower Planning Boards. tax credit for the period of time the individual was employed. To meet eligibility for the tax credit, employers must receive certification from the Employment Security Commission to the effect that the WIN employee was registered for WIN at the time he was hired and that the WIN hire is not causing unemployment elsewhere. Employers may also receive a fast tax writeoff for providing facilities for on-the-job training for WIN workers and for day-care facilities for the children of WIN workers. From a total of 46,564 AFDC families in North Carolina, it was estimated that 23,446 individuals would be regis-tered in the WIN program in fiscal year 1972-73. Of these it was estimated that 12,894 would be appraised and that 5,250 would be selected for active parti-cipation in the program and certified. However, it has been necessary to reconsider these estimates because program activities did not begin state-wide until May 1. Full WIN activity began on that day, however, and it is anticipated that the program will easily meet its goals in fiscal 73. MRS. W, X, Y, AND Z Mrs. "W" is black, 31 years old, has completed the 12th grade, is separated from her husband and has four children, ages 7, 8, 9, and 10. She had been on welfare approxi-mately seven years, and was receiving a welfare grant of $188 a month when she entered the WIN program. Her previous employment of about nine months was primarily as a food service worker and as a domestic maid with wages ranging up to $1.00 an hour. Mrs. "W," unemployed, entered the WIN program in February, 1972. She was provided the stan-dard WIN manpower services: three weeks of orientation, including counseling, testing, deter-mination of job interests; the how, when, and where to seek employ-ment, and how to cope with problems such as transportation as it relates to employment. An attempt was made to instill self-confidence in Mrs. "W." Day care for the children was arranged by the county Department of Social Services. Testing indicated that she needed refresher courses in certain high school subjects. She was scheduled for six to eight months of refresher high school subjects to be attended daily at a local technical institute to help her qualify for a higher level job in the health occupational area or in a manufacturing plant posi-tion. She was counseled and provided encouragement by the WIN counselor to strive for her objective during this period of schooling. In December, 1972, she was hired as an electronic assembler at $1.80 an hour with the opportunity for substantial advancement. Her employer later called the Employ-ment Security Commission local office, on his own initiative, and stated that Mrs. "W" was perform-ing her work well. The employer asked that additional WIN partici-pants be referred to him for employ-ment interviews. The county Department of Social Services is in the process of reducing her welfare grant to $8 a month. * * * * Mrs. "X" is black, has completed the 8th grade, is divorced, 30 years old, has six children, aged 3-12, and has been on welfare approximately IOV2 years. She was receiving $211 a month welfare payments when she entered the WIN program. Her previous work experience consisted of about one year. This employment included waitress work at $1.15 an hour and as a laundry attendant at $72 a week. She was unemployed when she entered the WIN program in August, 1970. She was given the standard WIN services. A review of her interests and abilities indicated a need for her high school graduate equivalency. She attended an adult basic educa-tion course for about seven months. She obtained her high school graduate equivalency certificate in March, 1971. She then attended a six-month clerical course. Mrs. "X" began employment as a tax clerk at $378 a month with the county tax office in October, 1971. In November, 1972, she was still ESC QUARTERLY 23 employed. Her supervisor states that she was performing her work very well. Her welfare grant has been reduced. * * * * Mrs. "Y" was a 30-year old widow with seven children. She had com-pleted the 8th grade and entered WIN in January, 1970. Between March and May of that year, her two oldest daughters, ages 15 and 12, each had an illegitimate child, increasing the size of the family to ten. Her husband had been killed in 1968, leaving her deeply in debt. During the time Mrs. "Y" was taking general educational develop-ment classes in her community, her oldest two daughters were contin-ually in trouble, being suspended every few weeks for conduct problems, and she was in extreme financial distress. During WIN counseling, Mrs. "Y" had always expressed a desire to have a job helping people and counseling them. In December of 1971, the local housing authority had a job opening for a social work aid who, living in one of its housing projects, would know the problems of its tenants. Mrs. "Y" applied for the job and was told that she could have the job if she could get an auto-mobile. She consequently obtained a driver's license and with the help o driver's license and with the help of her mother made a down payment on a vehicle. She was hired by the authority and has been working full time for a year. She has attended several workshops to increase her know-ledge and is in line for a raise. She provides transportation for people in the projects who have appoint-ments at hospitals, doctors' offices, the Department of Social Services and other places. She takes children to day care centers and in general is a liaison person and troubleshooter between project tenants and the housing authority. Her oldest daughter completed nurse's aid training in the Job Corps and is presently trying to enter a technical institute for LPN training. * * * * Mrs. "Z" is black, has completed the 10th grade, is divorced, 31 years old, has three children, ages 3, 5, and 8, and had been on welfare approximately two years. She was receiving $26 a month welfare (See SUCCESS, Page 29) In 40-Year History, Public Employment Program Manages Conglomeration Of Federal-State Manpower Projects The Federal-State employment service system celebrated its 40th anniversary June 6 with more than 400 million candles on its birthday cake—one for each time it has placed a person in a job. How many more the total should be is not exactly known, because statistics for the first two years of the infant agency have grown hazy. It is known that 409 million placements have been made since 1935. It is conservative to say that for each working day, over its 40 years of existence, the Employment Service has placed 42,500 persons in jobs—an average of 88 per minute. By far the world's largest employ-ment service, the system covers the 50 states, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands with a network of more than 2,400 bustling full-time offices and nearly 2,000 more itinerant points where man-power services are provided to small or isolated communities on a scheduled part-time basis. Backbone of the Nation's vital complex of manpower programs, this far-flung network of public "employ-ment" offices since 1946—as far back as certain records go—has taken 293 million new job applications and given 48 million counseling interviews and 38 million aptitude and proficiency tests. In the last 25 years, for which statistics are readily available, it has filled 200 million non-agricultural job openings alone. This vast and highly developed man-power complex has been taking an average of 8.7 million new job applica-tions a year. It has made 10.6 million job placements a year, including those placed more than one time in a year; it has listed 7.5 million non-farm job openings annually, and filled 5.6 million of them. Yet it is sufficiently attuned to the needs of each individual that it can help a person decide whether his employ-ment prospects are better if he chooses to become a tailor or a nurse or an electronics assembler. The Employment Service has developed the world's most reliable and widely used batteries of general and specific aptitude tests, which were put into use first in 1947 and have been constantly improved and expanded since then. The ES can test a deaf mute or a quadruple amputee or a retarded youth; it has devised tests for persons who cannot read. It can help applicants assess interests as well as aptitudes, and manual dexterity as well as skill in handling numbers. The U.S. Employment Service test batteries are also used officially by the Government of Canada and by some 84 other foreign countries. ES reaches out to contact every returning serviceman to offer a helping hand in returning him to the main-stream of the Nation's economic life. When the draft was going strong, the Selective Service System referred every draft rejectee to the local employment office for job help. Of the two and a quarter million Vietnam-era veterans placed in jobs, job training, or in school during the first 20 months of the Government-wide President's Veterans Program (through Feb. 1973), more than one-fourth— 567,000—were veterans placed directly in jobs by the Employment Service. Like the veterans, members of minority groups too have been given special attention by the Employment Service. In recent years minority group members have accounted for about 25 percent of all ES applicants and made up 27 percent of those placed in nonagricultural jobs. Last fiscal year, blacks made up 39 percent of the enrollees in manpower job training programs who were referred by the ES; those of 'Spanish heritage accounted for 11 percent, and Indians 2.3 percent. For these—and for military retirees, professionals, the disadvantaged and the poor, the handicapped, the school dropout, youths and older workers — 24 ESC QUARTERLY the ES has developed special techniques to help people overcome any disadvantages and get back on the career development track. To all, its services are free—to employer and worker alike. It is largely financed by a small tax on employer payrolls. The ES certifies and refers nearly a half million men, women and youth a year for training in some job skill for which they have a desire and an aptitude and an ability—ranging from landscape gardener to dairy farmer to furniture upholsterer to automobile mechanic, auto body repairman, stenographer, computer programmer, bank teller, and a wide range of other occupations— in all, nearly 600 different vocational fields. It operates a professional place-ment network nationwide; an engineer or other professional can walk into an ES office and make himself available to employers across the country via an interstate placement plan which matches his skills and knowledge with job openings listed by any of the 2,400 ES offices. A computer Job Bank system which now serves nearly three-fourths of the Nation's work force brings a speed to the man-and-job matching that was only dreamed about ten years ago. ES has experimented with the move-ment of workers and their families, in demonstration projects, from areas in which their skills aren't needed and in which they can't find a job, to new loca-tions where their skills are in demand. To employers, it furnishes qualified workers, vital labor market informa-tion, and helps them cut their turnover and training costs. In changing plant processes, it helps employers identify those individuals who have the potential to be trained for new jobs. It is used by such companies as Continental Can, RCA, American Tobacco, National Biscuit, General Electric, Campbell Soup, Armour, and Ford Motor Company, as well as by thousands of smaller plants and firms. On the farm front, ES brings together groups of migrant farm workers, in an orderly fashion, to areas needing seasonal help to harvest crops that otherwise would be lost. For farm and agri-business employers, it performs mu |
OCLC number | 26477199 |