ProGov21 Policy Library

Sustainable and Safe Recycling: Protecting Workers Who Protect the Planet

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2015

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Partnership for Working Families

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Safety, Health

Recycling workers face serious hazards on the job. For long hours, they work with heavy equipment in dangerous situations and deal with an array of unsafe materials (needles, broken glass, etc) that should not be on the recycling line. As a result of these unsafe conditions, recycling...

The Business Case for Worker Ownership

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level Other

State(s) All States

Source American Sustainable Business Network

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Over the past half century, workers have become more productive while receiving stagnated wages. This misalignment has caused workplace discontentment and exacerbated economic injustice. To address this issue, this report makes a case for worker ownership using long term solutions...

Ensuring the High Road in Cannabis

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Economic Justice

As federal and state governments move toward marijuana legalization, labor conditions within the industry need to be evaluated. Currently, many of the employers in the marijuana industry take a "low road" approach to their workforce, with low wages, poor to no benefits, and frequent...

It is Time for Earned Sick Leave in Michigan

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level State

State(s) Michigan

Source Michigan League for Public Policy

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Children & Families

Michigan should enact an earned sick leave law. An earned sick leave law in Michigan would require most employers to bank sick time for their workers based on the number of hours they have worked. This would help low-paid workers keep their jobs, increase productivity and reduce employee...

All States Must Set Higher Wage Benchmarks for Home Health Care Workers

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year -

Level State

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute, New America

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice

Home health care workers are being underpaid for their work caring for vulnerable persons across the United States. This report calculates the gap between current pay levels land just-wage-for-work-performed for home health care workers in every American state, and introduces state-specific...

Botched Policy Responses to Globalization have Decimated Manufacturing Employment with often Overlooked Costs for Black, Brown, and other Workers of Color

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This report examines the impact of misguided globalization policies, (including monetary policy, unfair trade agreements, failed agreements, and investment deals) and shows that the consequences of these policies have disproportionately affected workers of color....

National Survey of Gig Workers Paints a Picture of Poor Working Conditions, Low Pay

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Firms like Uber, DoorDash, and others have amassed market power by circumventing labor rights through the practice of classifying their workers as contractors rather than employees. Many of the firms within the so-called "gig economy" have argued that the freedom to choose when to...

Hour Crisis: Unstable Schedules in the Los Angeles Retail Sector

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

The retail sector is an integral part of the Los Angeles landscape with almost half a million workers in the county, and 147,157 workers in the city. Retail makes up one-tenth of the private sector workforce in the county and is its second largest employer. Yet more than half of the...

The Stakes for Workers in How Policymakers Manage the Coming Shifts to All-electric Vehicles

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level Other

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Data & Technology, Economic Justice, Transportation & Mobility

The shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) will change large sectors of the economy, and these changes will require workers take on new roles. These changes provide an opportunity to reconsider existing policies that are currently failing workers and to improve labor protections. If...

2013 Vicco Fair Employment Ordinance

Type Ordinance

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) Kentucky

Source Vicco City Council

Policy Areas Civil Rights

This ordinance prohibits employers from refusing to hire, or terminating and discriminating against an individual due to their race, color, or national origin; sex and/or gender; religion; age; or sexual orientation. The ordinance requires the City Council to appoint a member of the...

2017 Cook County Ordinance 16-4229 Earned Sick Leave

Type Ordinance

Year 2017

Level County

State(s) Illinois

Source Cook County Board

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Health

Under this ordinance, any covered employee who works at least 80 hours for an employer within any 120-day period shall be eligible for earned sick leave. For every 40 hours worked after a covered employee's earned sick leave begins to accrue, they shall accrue one hour of earned sick...

CEO Pay has Skyrocketed 1,322% since 1978

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Inequality between CEO and their employees has been growing exponentially over the last four decades. This report illustrates how outsized the growth in executive compensation has been after accounting for pay, stock awards, and stock options. This report also shows that average...

Wage Theft

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2016

Level County

State(s) All States

Source SiX Action

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Children & Families

Wage theft is a catchall term for a range of situations in which an employer fails to pay an employee, and it can take many forms - from employers paying employees less than the minimum wage or failing to pay overtime to withholding tips, not providing employees with their final paycheck,...

Los Angeles Ordinance No. 178084

Type Ordinance

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source City of Los Angeles

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Hotels in the LAX area have instituted the practice of adding a "service charge" of 15% to 20% of the bill for banquets and other large group events. Some hotels pass a portion of the service charge to the workers who actually performed the services, while other hotels retain the...

Rigging the Gig: How Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash’s Ballot Initiative Would Put Corporations Above the Law and Steal Wages, Benefits, and Protections from California Workers

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level State

State(s) California

Source Partnership for Working Families

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

In California, Uber, Lyft, Instacart, DoorDash, and Postmates workers are all classified as employees under California law entitled to the same benefits and protections enjoyed by all California employees. However, these companies are funding a ballot initiative – Proposition 22 or...

Raising Pay in Public K-12 Schools is Critical to Solving Staffing Shortages

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level Other

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Children & Families, Education, Finance & Procurement

Public school staffing shortages have been a persistent problem across the United States, and the recent pandemic has only intensified the issue. Low pay for K-12 teachers and support staff is a long standing factor in public school staffing shortages. This report suggests ways in...

The Raise the Wage Act Would Support Essential Care Workers

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice

Essential care workers would benefit from the Raise the Wage Act, and the $15 per hour minimum wage it would establish. This report illustrates the impact of this legislation on various demographics, locations, and industries....

Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority Construction Careers Policy

Type Executive Order

Year 2019

Level County

State(s) California

Source Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Transportation & Mobility

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LACMTA) Construction Careers Policy (CCP) encourages construction employment and training opportunities in ways calculated to mitigate the harms caused by geographically concentrated poverty and unemployment in economically...

The Role of Local Government in Protecting Workers’ Rights: A comprehensive overview of the ways that cities, counties, and other localities are taking action on behalf of working people.

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute, Labor and Worklife Program, Local Progress

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice

Local governments play an important role in enforcing labor protections. This report examines why local action matters and what can be done to improve labor law enforcement, and reviews the wave local labor protection actions taken by pro-worker local governments. ...

The Promise and Limits of High-pressure Labor Markets for Narrowing the Racial Gaps

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level Other

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This report explores the case for continuing to run the economy "hot" in order to maintain low unemployment and high effective demand for labor as a strategy for reducing racial wage gaps and improving racial equity. This report also explores the promises and limits of a high-pressure...

Preempting Progress in the Heartland

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice

This report compares the prevalence of preemption in Midwestern states to other U.S. regions and finds that the Midwest is second only to the South in overreach into local affairs, preventing municipalities from being able to enact strong labor protection policy, economic health support...

Setting Higher Wages for Child Care and Home Health Care Workers is Long Overdue

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level Other

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Care work is vital to the function of society, but labor market discrimination has prevented care workers from receiving fair wages. This report focuses on the impact of discrimination on wages for workers in childcare, education, and home health care....

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