
Read the latest Beyond the Bill studies and policy papers
from the workplace justice lab@RU
National/Federal Enforcement
Memorandum for the White House Worker Empowerment Task Force: Proposed actions to using existing statutory authority that will demonstrably promote worker organizing by taking advantage of all the affordances of the labor standards enforcement regime
Maintaining effective U.S. labor standards enforcement through the coronavirus recession
Webinar Cross References:
State/Regional Enforcement
In partnership with the State Innovation Exchange (SIX), this two-page issue brief explains how state lawmakers can use anti-retaliation legislation to better protect workers and the rule of law. The paper includes policy options that strengthen retaliation protections, examples of states that have enacted such policies, and additional resources for state legislators to learn more.
After Florida voters raised the state minimum wage, we contacted key Florida organizers to create a partnership focused on minimum wage enforcement. With the Florida Policy Institute, we authored a study showing that workers of color and immigrants were more likely to experience minimum wage violations, and resulting in the introduction of state bills in February 2021 and January 2022 (HB 507/SB 1756)
In early 2020, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) contracted with us to produce three studies, which we completed and released to the agency in February 2021. These studies now inform NJDOL’s strategic enforcement planning efforts. Learn more about the workplace justice lab@RU’s Collaboration with NJDOL.
Municipal/Local Enforcement
We worked with partners in LA County on a study comparing complaints and compliance with the local minimum wage law. The study was then used as support to establish the Office of Labor Equity (OLE). The motion creating OLE explicitly instructed the new agency to develop strategies and partnerships to target 3 of the 4 industries our study found had the highest violation rates.