TY  - JOUR
AU  - Medoff,James L.
AU  - Abraham,Katharine G.
TI  - The Role of Seniority at U.S. Work Places: A Report on Some New Evidence
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 618
PY  - 1981
Y2  - 1981
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w0618
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w0618.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
James L.. Medoff
Department of Economics
Harvard University
Littauer Center 115
Cambridge, MA  02138
Tel: 617/495-4209
E-Mail: jmedoff@harvard.edu

Katharine G. Abraham
Joint Program in Survey Methodology
1218 LeFrak Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD  20742
Tel: 301/405-1004
Fax: 301/314-7912
E-Mail: kabraham@survey.umd.edu
AB  - This study discusses newly collected data concerning the role played by seniority in U.S. firms' termination and promotion decisions. The new information, based on 561 usable responses to a nation-wide survey of companies conducted by the authors, sheds light on two key questions: For what percentage of U.S. private sector employees (outside of agriculture and construction) is seniority -- per se (that is, seniority independent of current performance) rewarded in promotion decisions? For what percentage does protection against job loss grow with seniority even when current value to the firm does not? While there appear to be important differences for hourly versus salaried employees and for those covered by collective bargaining versus those not so covered, the new evidence presented strongly supports the claim that seniority independent of productivity plays a major role in the compensation and termination decisions affecting all employee groups at most U.S. workplaces.
ER  -