Civil Service Title: City Research Scientist

Level:  II

Title Code No: 21744

Salary:  $75,504.00 / $86,830.00 *

Office Title:  Labor Economist

Work location:  42 Broadway, New York, NY

Division/Work Unit: Office of Labor Policy and Standards

Number of Positions: 1

Job ID: 435039

Hours/Shift: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

The NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) protects and enhances the daily economic lives of New Yorkers to create thriving communities. DCA licenses more than 81,000 businesses in more than 50 industries and enforces key consumer protection, licensing, and workplace laws that apply to countless more. By supporting businesses through equitable enforcement and access to resources and, by helping to resolve complaints, DCA protects the marketplace from predatory practices and strives to create a culture of compliance. Through its community outreach and the work of its offices of Financial Empowerment and Labor Policy & Standards, DCA empowers consumers and working families by providing the tools and resources they need to be educated consumers and to achieve financial health and work-life balance. DCA also conducts research and advocates for public policy that furthers its work to support New York City’s communities. For more information about DCA and its work, call 311 or visit DCA at nyc.gov/dca or on its social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The Office of Labor Policy and Standards (“OLPS”) is responsible for enforcing the city’s municipal labor laws such as the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act, Fair Workweek Laws, Commuter Benefits Law, and the Freelance Isn’t Free Act. OLPS also works closely with stakeholders on outreach and public education efforts to reach vulnerable workers and conducts research and data analysis to support enforcement and make policy recommendations. The Office’s Division of Paid Care assists workers with submitting complaints regarding federal, state, and local labor and employment law violations and helps the Office coordinate with other government agencies, worker advocacy groups, as well as community, labor, and employment organizations.

OLPS is seeking a Labor Economist to play a key role in fulfilling OLPS’s research and policy mandates under the City Charter. Reporting to the OLPS Research Director, the Labor Economist will develop and implement the Office’s original research program, focusing on how law, policy, and agency enforcement activities can be used to raise labor standards for low-wage and other vulnerable workers. Working closely with the OLPS Legal and Policy Director, the Labor Economist will also help design innovative new worker protection policies and advocate for their adoption. Research will include a mix of original data collection (e.g., surveys, field experiments) and secondary data analysis, drawing on both descriptive and modern econometric methods. The Labor Economist will disseminate findings externally through publication directed to both technical and non-technical audiences and internally within the City government through reports, memoranda, and presentation. The Labor Economist will also provide analytical support to the Office’s enforcement work, as needed. The ideal candidate has a strong research background in labor economics or a related discipline, excellent writing skills, and a commitment to protecting and enhancing New Yorkers’ rights at work.

•      Using innovative approaches to measure wages, benefits, and working conditions at the City level, especially as they relate to compliance with labor and employment laws;

•      Evaluating the impacts of recent and potential policy changes, including but not limited to those implemented by the New York City government;

•      Modeling the prospective impacts of proposals originating from OLPS, the Mayor’s Office, or City Council;

•      Advising on policy changes to raise labor standards and expand access to employment;

•      Providing analytic support to OLPS’s enforcement work, as needed (e.g., analyzing labor market data to prioritize industries or areas for enforcement, analyzing data obtained from employers to identify violations and calculate damages, evaluating the impact of communications campaigns on complaint volumes, etc.);

•      Producing publications, reports, memoranda, and other products that effectively communicate findings and recommendations to DCA leadership, the Mayor’s Office, City Council, and the public;

•      Coordinating the work of City contractors, academic researchers, or other partners engaged in any of the above.

 

A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health.

To be appointed to Assignment Level II, candidates must have:

1.    A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or

2.    A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or

3.    Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above.

PLEASE NOTE: New York City residency is required within 90 days of appointment. However, City employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

·      Close familiarity with federal labor market data (e.g., CPS, ACS, QCEW);

·      Excellent econometric skills, including regression analysis using common statistical packages (e.g., R, Stata);

·      Prior experience with survey and experimental design;

·      Subject matter expertise in minimum labor standards research and policy;

·      High level of organization, including ability to ensure findings are reproducible and analytical choices are transparent and well-supported;

·      Ability to communicate technical concepts and results to non-technical audiences; and

·      Graduate degree in Economics, though candidates with a quantitative focus in adjacent disciplines will also be considered (e.g., Public Policy, Urban Planning, Industrial Relations, Sociology).

For Current City Employees: Visit Employee Self Service (ESS) to view and click on Recruiting Activities, Careers, and search by Job ID number.

*55-a Candidates: NYC Department of Consumer Affairs is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and culturally responsive workforce. We strongly encourage 55-A candidates to apply to our positions in order to be given the opportunity.

**LOAN FORGIVENESS: The federal government provides student loan forgiveness through its Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) to all qualifying public service employees. Working with DCA qualifies you as a public service employee and you may be able to take advantage of this program while working full-time and meeting the program’s other requirements. Please visit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program site to view the eligibility requirements: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service