In 1992, Congress sought to address "problems created by the simultaneous convergence of broad economic, social, cultural, political, and technological changes in the workplace" and established the National Center for the Workplace (NCW). The NCW was to be administered by the Department of Labor and was to coordinate the efforts of workplace experts from higher education, the public sector, and the private sector in researching and proposing remedies to workplace problems.

The NCW was established through a grant program under which an eligible recipient was to be a consortium of institutions of higher education and was to provide 25 percent of the necessary funding from non-federal sources, with the federal government to provide the remaining funding. The NCW was also authorized to receive donations of money and property. The statute establishing the NCW required the consortium to represent a diversity of views and expertise within the field of employment policy. The hosting institution, among other requirements, was to have established credibility and a working relationship with employers, labor unions, and government agencies at all levels. The NCW was also required to report to Congress annually on its activities.

The statute authorizing the NCW was specific about the uses to which its funding was to be put, including:

• Coordination and funding of research on changes and trends in the workplace and in the labor force, on existing and new public policy issues, and on labor organizations and working conditions.
  
• Analysis of the public policy implications of workplace-related social and demographic changes.
  
• Conducting seminars for governmental policy makers on the policy implications of the findings of the NCW.
  
• Conducting an annual National Conference on Employment Policy for employers and labor union leaders.
  
• Nonpartisan evaluation of the economic and social implications of national and international workplace and employment issues.
  
• Providing access to the NCW's expertise for governmental policy officials and representatives of nongovernmental organizations through various means, including meetings, publications, and email and the Internet.
  
• Development of educational programs and materials for educational institutions to promote innovations in working conditions that provide benefits for both employers and workers.
  
• Establishment of a national repository of information on important workplace issues for ready access by both the public sector and private sector.
  
• Providing fellowship grants to encourage graduate study of subject areas identified as critical to national competitiveness.

The NCW was hosted by the University of California at Berkeley's Institute of Industrial Relations. The statute establishing the NCW was repealed in 1998 as part of the efforts of the congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce to consolidate federal programs to eliminate duplicative or narrowly-focused programs.

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