Together, we can ensure that the conditions of work promote the

health and well-being of workers and communities.

November 2022 Newsletter

U-POWER is pleased to announce an open call for the second year of our Research Pilot Project Program (RPPP)! U-POWER provides seed money (up to $15,000) to support innovative research from any discipline that explores work, working conditions, cultural narratives of work, worker rights, and the influence of structural factors on access to healthy, safe work. We are especially interested in research that explores the role of power in defining conditions of work. Applications are due March 1, 2023.

What are pilot projects?

Pilot projects can take a variety of forms, including a miniature version of a full-scale study, a study dedicated to the feasibility of a method or recruitment study, preliminary data collection, and instrument development and validation. Investigators at all career stages may choose to work on pilot projects, but they are especially useful for junior investigators, including graduate students and post-doctoral scholars.

Why pilot projects?

Pilot projects are an essential part of the research ecosystem that allow researchers to test innovative approaches and unique questions. Because pilot projects are much smaller than full-scale grants, they present little risk and have the potential for high reward. Pilot projects can also help build confidence, resilience, and social capital of awardees, especially those who are newer to research.

Who can apply?

Prospective awardees of the RPPP can fall into any of the following categories:

• Graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, or faculty at any institution of higher education in Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming) or Arizona
•  Individuals who are not students or employees of an institute of higher education may apply using a multiple PI (mPI) model with faculty from Region 8 or Nevada.

I have an idea, but I’m not sure it fits the call. What should I do?

Contact us! U-POWER offers pre-application assistance that includes concept review, writing assistance, professional development activities, and assistance with finding a community partner or mentor.

How can I apply?

U-POWER’s RPPP application is a simplified version of the typical NIH grant format. The application should include specific aims, a short research strategy, short biosketches, and a budget and budget justification. Other supporting documentation may be required. The full RFP can be found here.  

One major source of employer power in the United States comes from the “at-will” employment system, which allows employers to legally terminate a worker’s employment at any time and for any legal reason, without any explanation or warning. Or, as one Forbes article put it: “it is legal in the U.S. for an employer to cut you loose at any moment, even if you’re doing a fantastic job. They don’t need a reason.” Although employment at-will is not new to America, it has become widespread even in industries like the public sector, where longstanding employees could once expect to earn tenure and job protection after years of service.  Most recently, the layoffs of thousands of workers at Twitter have demonstrated to the public how at-will employment can affect workers and their employers both, which in turn has raised questions about the legality and ethics of making dramatic cuts to staff. For this U-POWER Deep Dive, join us as we explore what exactly at-will employment means, the implications for worker power and health, and what a different labor system looks like. 

At-Will Employment: Who Benefits?

Proponents of at-will employment often argue that the employer’s ability to fire at any time is balanced by an employee’s ability to quit at any time. However, with work’s ties to economic stability, including the ability to obtain housing, essentials, education, and health care, this form of worker power is clearly compromised. Workers who know they can be fired at any moment can live in perpetual precarity, which can result in suppressing worker feedback and innovative ideas that might not please their direct supervisor.

Elizabeth Anderson, a professor of Philosophy and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, argues that at-will employment and other similar laws can lead to abuses, with workers who “can be fired for their political speech, recreational activities, diet, and almost anything else employers care to govern.” This claim is borne out in many examples, including a factory operator fired for displaying a John Kerry for President bumper sticker, a web developer fired for mentioning her employer in her blog, and an aircraft factory worker who was fired for refusing to display an American flag. Anecdotes from workers online have described even more absurd reasons for dismissal, such as arguing with the owner’s wife, playing Solitaire during a break, and providing bottled water to a donor.

These unequal balances of power contribute to other disparities, with one study finding that workers with a migration background are more likely to let go than native workers during a layoff, regardless of experience. At-will employment is thought to disproportionately affect African Americans and Black workers, even with anti-discrimination laws in place. And two million at-will employees are fired each year, with some experts calculating that at least 150,000 of those are unjust terminations. However, in 2021, only 61,331 charges were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 

What Protections Do American Workers Have?

At-will employment does have a few exceptions designed to protect workers against discrimination and retaliation. While unions can help protect workers, only 10.3% of all US workers belong to a union today. These exceptions vary from state to state but typically fall into one of four boxes.

Public Policy Exception: Under the public policy exception, employers are not legally permitted to dismiss workers for reasons in violation of public policy. The most common policies violated by employers include 1) discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, pregnancy, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity; 2) retaliation for “protected activities,” including complaints about harassment, requests for disability accommodation, and sharing salary information with co-workers; 3) retaliation for filing for workers’ compensation; 4) retaliation for whistleblowing.

Of course, most employers don’t state this is the overt reason for dismissing an employee, and instead allege problems with an employee's performance. However, courts have recognized some of these attempts and ruled in the employee’s favor

when it comes to gender and age discrimination, retaliation for complaints, and taking medical leave (among others).

The EEOC tracks reasons for charges against employers, with Title VIII retaliation, disability, and race-based charges leading the pack (see figure below).

Implied Contract Exception: If an employee has a contract that states an expectation of term of length (either named or indefinite), employers must only fire for just cause as named in the employee handbook. One recent case awarded $4 million to a community college’s former employee for reneging on contracted pay and benefits.  

Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing: This implied covenant is used in multiple domains of life, and simply assumes that both parties in a contract will act in good faith and deal fairly with each other. This exception is generally intended to prevent frivolous firings. One California case in 1985 found that “The court found that a breach of an implied-in-law covenant is established whenever an employer engages in a bad-faith action outside a contract and attempts to frustrate an employee's enjoyment of her or his contract rights.”

There are other unique exceptions, like the state of Montana, where at-will employment laws only apply during an employee’s 12-month probation period. Other laws, like the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, are intended to protect workers by ensuring that employers provide adequate advance notice of layoffs.  When Twitter fired thousands of workers without advance notice, many pointed to the WARN Act as a possible remedy. However, at-will employment and underfunded regulatory agencies often mean that employers do not face meaningful legal consequences.

Pursuing individual legal remedies to wrongful termination has a strict time limit, and a worker must first file a charge with the EEOC before they can receive a Notice of Right to Sue. Bringing an employer to court has substantial costs of time and money, with one law firm noting that an adversarial employer can prolong even the most obvious of cases to over two years. Finally, there are limits on compensatory and punitive damages that may disincentivize workers from pursuing legal remedies. 

What Do Other Countries Do?

Labor laws worldwide vary greatly, but the United States' widespread embrace of at-will employment is unique to this country. Check out the infographic below for some examples of employment termination laws in other countries (Sources 1, 2, 3)

December U-POWER Seminar Series: Occupational Segregation in America

Why are most aircraft pilots men and flight attendants women? Why are nearly one-third of all home health providers in the United States Black women? And why is it that we can often predict someone’s identity simply by knowing what job they work? Is it simply preference, or is something else at work?

We’ll center our discussion around Occupational Segregation in America for its clear, concise introduction to the topic and interactive data visualization.

Join U-POWER for 2022’s final Seminar Series as we discuss occupational segregation, or the concept that within occupations, demographic groups tend to be over- and underrepresented in startling ways. We’ll discuss the historical and cultural roots of occupational segregation, how education does and does not change occupational segregation, and the consequences of occupational segregation.

We’ll also take a look at how occupational segregation helps us understand work through a lens of power, and the complex interweaving of different societal, economic, and cultural forces that direct people into their chosen work. Finally, we’ll explore how occupational segregation shapes not only the workplace, but the world around us.

This event will be held on December 8, 2022 at 4:00 pm (MST).

Join us at:

https://utah.zoom.us/j/94664266433

Passcode: 246679

Progress Update: Certificate in Total Worker Health®

In the early days of U-POWER, center personnel noticed a gap in Total Worker Health (TWH) education: namely, that the landscape was missing TWH education targeted at community members, including county health department employees, community health workers, labor activists, and other stakeholders. Since U-POWER is dedicated to community engagement and developing a community of practice devoted to achieving work equity, plans to create a certificate program coalesced around this unique audience. The initial development of the certificate is currently underway by University of Utah graduate students from occupational health, public health, nursing, and social work, who are mentored by five faculty members in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah.

These student content developers are exploring questions about how work relates to health, what key landmark events shaped how we think about work and workers today, how ethics work in occupational health, and how we can all advocate for a healthier, more equitable future of work.

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Total Worker Health® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Participation by the Utah Center for Promotion of Work Equity Research (U-POWER) does not imply endorsement by HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.