The National Commission for Employment Policy estimates that 19 million workers--17 percent of the work force--are in jobs directly threatened by office automation, and the consequences of the displacement of clerical workers due to increasing office computerization are as serious as those from manufacturing job loss. Between 1983 and 1988, almost half of displaced workers in the United States came from the service sector. Women, minorities, and older workers fare far worse than others. To prevent clerical dislocation and to mitigate turbulence from labor-saving technologies, the following policies must be adopted immediately: (1) a massive retraining effort targeting women clericals must be undertaken to upgrade workers for the relatively high-growth technical and professional positions; (2) private employers must retrain their current personnel rather than raise hiring standards and then hire externally for upgraded positions; (3) the federal law requiring early notification of impending layoffs must be extended to cover smaller companies or departments within companies; (4) union contracts must include job security clauses that guarantee employment over the life of a contract even in the face of automation and that guarantee replacements for significant numbers of positions now left vacant; and (5) the private and public sectors must fund more job retraining, worker upgrading, and adult education programs in conjunction with local education agencies. (247 references) (CML)