{"id":6267,"date":"2023-02-27T13:02:05","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T18:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobbinghood.com\/magazine\/?p=6267"},"modified":"2023-02-27T13:02:06","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T18:02:06","slug":"from-the-peace-corps-to-the-wage-and-hour-division-a-public-service-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobbinghood.com\/magazine\/2023\/02\/27\/from-the-peace-corps-to-the-wage-and-hour-division-a-public-service-career\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Peace Corps to the Wage and Hour Division: A Public Service Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Peace Corps to the Wage and Hour Division: A Public Service Career <\/span><\/p>\n

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Jessica Kyle in Guinea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

En Espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll get malaria if you eat that.\u201d I looked at the young woman in the village health clinic who\u2019d spoken and then down at the mango that I held in my hands. This wasn\u2019t the first time I\u2019d heard mangoes cause malaria, nor would it be the last.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Guinea, where I served as a public health Peace Corps<\/a> volunteer from 2007-2009, the mango season coincides with the rainy reason. What proliferates during the rainy season? You guessed it! Mosquitoes. As a result, the idea that mangoes were connected to malaria was fairly common. But the young woman\u2019s offhand remark gave me just the opening I needed to start a conversation that could, with no exaggeration, save her or her children\u2019s lives. Approximately 10,000 Guineans die from malaria each year in a country with a population just over 13 million<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, I set my mango down on the table and launched into a short speech I\u2019d perfected on mosquitoes, malaria, and the importance of sleeping under a mosquito net. I finished my impromptu lecture with a lesson on eating mangoes to improve eyesight. (Fun fact: Mangoes are full of vitamin A!) What I did in the Peace Corps mattered, even the small conversations. \u00a0
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\nSimilarly, my career with the Wage and Hour Division<\/a> has allowed me to interact with workers, employers and even attorneys who hold common misconceptions about federal labor laws. You consider your entire work staff independent contractors? Your boss fired you when you were on FMLA leave because you live in an \u201cat-will\u201d employment state? Your client doesn\u2019t pay overtime on production bonuses? \u00a0
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\nAs a wage and hour investigator, I was a spontaneous educator, ready at a moment\u2019s notice to provide lessons on the law in plain language. The education I provided often meant the difference in a worker being able to pay their rent, buy groceries, or come back to their job after taking leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition. What we do in the Wage and Hour Division really matters. We educate. We enforce. We promote fair competition by holding employers nationwide to the same standards. And we advance equity by strengthening our outreach efforts in underserved communities.\u00a0
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\nThe connection between my Peace Corps service and the skills I used regularly as an investigator are not unique to me. From coast to coast, there are many other returned Peace Corps volunteers who\u2019ve continued their public service in the Wage and Hour Division. No matter their role in the agency, they find that the skills they gained in the Peace Corps, such as teaching, adapting and communicating effectively with people from different backgrounds and cultures, allow them to effectively protect workers by ensuring employers comply with the laws we enforce.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a returned Peace Corps volunteer and you have a passion for public service, I’d encourage you to consider a career with the Wage and Hour Division<\/a>. It might just be the next toughest job you’ll ever love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Jessica Kyle is a regional enforcement coordinator in the U.S. Department of Labor\u2019s Wage and Hour Division office in Atlanta, Georgia. Follow the division on Twitter at\u202f@WHD_DOL<\/a> and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com\/showcase\/dolwhd<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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De los Cuerpos de Paz a la Divisi\u00f3n de Horas y Salarios: una Carrera de Servicio P\u00fablico<\/h3>\n

\u201cLe va a dar malaria si come eso\u201d. Mir\u00e9 a la joven que hizo ese comentario en la cl\u00ednica del pueblo y luego mir\u00e9 el mango que ten\u00eda en mis manos. No era la primera vez que o\u00eda que los mangos causaban malaria, ni ser\u00eda la \u00faltima.<\/p>\n

En Guinea, donde serv\u00ed como voluntaria en salud p\u00fablica para los Cuerpos de Paz<\/a> del 2007 al 2009, la \u00e9poca del mango coincide con la temporada de lluvias. \u00bfQu\u00e9 prolifera durante la temporada de lluvias? \u00a1Exactamente!: mosquitos. Es por eso lo com\u00fan que era o\u00edr que los mangos ten\u00edan relaci\u00f3n con la malaria. Pero el repentino comentario de la joven me dio la excusa perfecta para empezar a hablar de algo que, sin exagerar, podr\u00eda salvarle su vida o la de sus hijos. Aproximadamente 10,000 guineanos mueren anualmente de malaria en el pa\u00eds con una poblaci\u00f3n de apenas algo m\u00e1s de 13 millones<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

En ese momento puse mi mango sobre la mesa y empec\u00e9 a dar una breve charla sobre mosquitos, malaria y la importancia de dormir bajo un mosquitero. Acab\u00e9 mi improvisada conferencia con una lecci\u00f3n sobre lo bueno que es comer mangos para mejorar la vista. (Por cierto: \u00a1los mangos tienen mucha vitamina A!) Lo que hac\u00eda en los Cuerpos de Paz era transcendente, incluidas las peque\u00f1as conversaciones aparentemente improvisadas.<\/p>\n

De igual manera, mi carrera en la Divisi\u00f3n de Horas y Salarios<\/a> me ha permitido relacionarme con trabajadores, empleadores e incluso abogados que mantienen conceptos y creencias err\u00f3neas sobre las leyes federales de trabajo.
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\nAl ser investigadora de horas y salarios me convert\u00eda tambi\u00e9n en una educadora espont\u00e1nea, lista en cualquier momento para hablar sobre leyes con un lenguaje sencillo. Los conocimientos dados a menudo eran los justos y necesarios para que un trabajador pudiera finalmente llegar a pagar el alquiler, comprar alimentos o regresar a su trabajo tras un permiso para poder cuidar a un miembro de la familia con una seria condici\u00f3n de salud. Lo que hacemos en la Divisi\u00f3n de Horas y Salarios realmente transciende. Nosotros educamos. Hacemos cumplir la ley. Promovemos una competencia justa al hacer que los empleadores cumplan con las mismas reglas en todo el pa\u00eds. Y fomentamos la equidad con nuestros esfuerzos de divulgaci\u00f3n informativa en comunidades desatendidas.
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\nLa conexi\u00f3n entre mi servicio en los Cuerpos de Paz con las habilidades que regularmente uso como investigadora no es algo \u00fanico en m\u00ed. De costa a costa hay muchos otros voluntarios de los Cuerpos de Paz que han continuado su servicio p\u00fablico en la Divisi\u00f3n de Horas y Salarios. Independientemente de su funci\u00f3n espec\u00edfica en la agencia, estos servidores p\u00fablicos descubren que las habilidades que adquirieron en los Cuerpos de Paz tales como como ense\u00f1anza, adaptaci\u00f3n o comunicaci\u00f3n efectiva con personas de diferentes or\u00edgenes y culturas les permiten proteger a los trabajadores al garantizar que los empleadores cumplan con las leyes laborales.
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\nSi has regresado como voluntario de los Cuerpos de Paz y te apasiona el servicio p\u00fablico, te animo entonces a que consideres una carrera en la Divisi\u00f3n de Horas y Salarios.<\/a> Quiz\u00e1s sea el pr\u00f3ximo trabajo duro del que te enamores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jessica Kyle es coordinadora regional para el cumplimiento en la Divisi\u00f3n de Horas y Salarios del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. en Atlanta, Georgia. Sigue a la divisi\u00f3n en Twitter por @WHD_DOL<\/a>\u00a0y en LinkedIn en\u00a0linkedin.com\/showcase\/dolwhd<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

McGinnis.Laura\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wed, 02\/22\/2023 – 15:16<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jessica Kyle<\/a><\/p>\n

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