Employment Resources

Are you in an employment crisis? Or maybe you’re just looking to go deeper into this topic? There are many free and low-cost resources available to help you.

Here are a few:

2-1-1

Just as you would call 9-1-1 in an emergency, you can call 2-1-1 ( www.211.org) from anywhere in North America using your phone or computer to speak to a specialist in your community who can help you find a variety of free services including:

• Disaster and emergency help
• Housing and food assistance
• Employment and education opportunities
• Help starting a business
• Help for special groups such as veterans and victims of domestic abuse

Online Job Search Resources

Long gone are the days of poring over “Help Wanted” ads in the newspaper. The U.S. Department of Labor and other agencies have websites to help you focus your job choices. 

• CareerOneStop helps you identify careers matching your skill set, research industries and statistics in your field and find training. It also connects you with state, federal and private sector job banks.
• MySkillsMyFuture gives you a way to bridge your current skills to a new career and helps you look for jobs in a particular region.
• O*NET Online lets you explore careers, assess necessary education or training, and analyze the outlooks for many different jobs.
• USAJobs lets you post your resume and find out about federal government jobs available in the U.S. and abroad.

Labor Laws 

On occasion, you need to understand labor laws. Here are a few sites to bookmark in case you need to look up employer practices. 

• Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act: Information about laws that affect minimum-wage workers
• Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA): Information on workplace health and safety standards
• Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA): Minimum standards for retirement and health benefit plans offered in private (not government) jobs 
• Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act: Rights associated with union membership and how unions must interact with their members 
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Rules for allowing unpaid leave up to 12 weeks in the case of a personal or family medical emergency
• American with Disabilities Act (ADA): Laws, regulations and standards associated with permanent or temporary disabilities in the workplace

Help with Employment Issues 

Needing help with an employment issue? Try these sites for information. 

• Problems with health or safety in the workplace: Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
• Problems with employee benefits: Employee Benefits Security Administration 
• Problems with your union: Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
• Problems related to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
• Discrimination in the workplace: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Social Security Administration

Look up your projected Social Security earnings and research how to start taking Social Security benefits at www.ssa.gov.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Visit the BLS’s Occupational Outlook Handbook at www.bls.gov/ooh/ for information on fastest-growing careers and job sectors.

O*Net Online Career Resource Center

Access the career and job database at www.OneTCenter.org.

College Board 

Research post-secondary options and career search tools at www.CollegeBoard.org. 

Small Business Administration

Find resources for starting your own business at www.sba.gov.