ProGov21 Policy Library

The Anchor Dashboard: Aligning Institutional Practice to Meet Low-Income Community Needs

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level County

State(s) All States

Source The Democracy Collaborative

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Education, Health, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, Children & Families

Anchor institutions are place-based entities such as universities and hospitals that are tied to their surroundings by mission, invested capital, or relationships to customers, employees, and vendors. These local human and economic relationships link institution well-being to that...

California’s Hero Labor Law: The Private Attorneys General Act Fights Wage Theft and Recovers Millions from Lawbreaking Corporations

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level State

State(s) California

Source Partnership for Working Families

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Though California has enacted numerous laws that help workers recover stolen wages, access paid leave from work, and enforce safe and humane working conditions, such legislation fails to deliver economic security to working Californians unless accompanied by strong enforcement mechanisms....

2023 Chicago Ordinance Increasing Paid Leave

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2023

Level City or Town

State(s) Illinois

Source City of Chicago

Policy Areas Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice

The updated Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance doubles workers' paid time off, allocating 40 hours of paid sick leave and 40 hours of paid leave for unspecified purposes. It also requires large employers to pay out all unused paid leave upon an employee's separation...

Four Case Studies and Lessons for Advancing Community Health through Community Benefits Agreements

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2010

Level City or Town

State(s) All States, California

Source Pacific Institute

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are legally binding contracts between developers and community groups to ensure development projects deliver benefits to residents. This report examines how CBAs can advance community health outcomes and examines four case studies from California:...

Cleveland Youth Face Barriers to Good Jobs

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town

State(s) Ohio

Source Policy Matters Ohio

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This report examines job market challenges faced by youth in Cleveland. The report reveals that youth encounter higher unemployment rates than the general population and that young workers, particularly people of color, are concentrated in low-wage sectors. The report recommends implementing...

2013 Bernalillo County Ordinance 2013-12 Establishing Changes to the Minimum Wage

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2013

Level Other Boards and Agencies

State(s) New Mexico

Source Bernalillo County

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This ordinance requires that all employers pay no less than the minimum wage and specifies the required minimums for tipped workers and health or childcare workers. It also mandates a minimum wage increase from $7.50 to $8.50 per hour over the following year and includes a cost-of-living...

Houston City Contractor Pay or Play Program

Type Executive Order

Year 2021

Level City or Town

State(s) Texas

Source City of Houston

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement, Health

Local governments can require public contractors to provide health benefits to their workers, which improves labor standards and enhances competition between bidders. This executive order establishes the city of Houston's "Pay or Play Program," which requires public contracts to either...

Blue Collar Jobs: Where's the money?

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) Ohio

Source Policy Matters Ohio

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

Despite a decline in the state's unemployment rate and job recovery after the 2007 recession, wages in Ohio have stagnated. This infographic reveals that many projected job openings still fail to pay a living wage and advocates for increased worker bargaining power, raising the minimum...

Memphis Fast Forward Program

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) Tennessee

Source Initiative for a Competitive Inner City

Policy Areas Community Development

Suffering from years of disinvestment and persistently high rates of poverty, this case study shows how Memphis city officials joined forces with the private and nonprofit sectors to have a collective impact on some of the city's most pressing social issues....

City Governments Are Raising Standards for Working People—and State Legislators Are Lowering Them Back Down

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town, State

State(s) All States

Source Economic Policy Institute

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This report looks at the rising use of preemption by state legislatures to undercut local labor standards. It provides an overview of five key areas of labor and employment policy affected by preemption—including minimum wage, paid leave, fair work scheduling, prevailing wage, and...

2022 Austin Ordinance 31 Establishing Wage Theft Prevention Standards

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) Texas

Source City of Austin

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice

This ordinance combats wage theft by requiring the city to designate a wage theft coordinator, establishing a database of employers with a record of wage theft adjudication, and preventing offending employers from contracting with the city. It also outlines the wage theft coordinator's...

2020 Washington Legislation Chapter 39.12 Establishing Prevailing Wage

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) Washington

Source Washington State Legislature

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

This act requires that government contractors pay a prevailing wage rate to all workers who are employed on public works and public building maintenance projects in the state of Washington. It defines the prevailing wage rate as the hourly wage, usual benefits, and overtime pay provided...

2022 Cleveland Ordinance 892-2022 Preventing Wage Theft and Payroll Fraud

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) Ohio

Source City of Cleveland

Policy Areas Civil Rights

This ordinance prevents persons or entities that have engaged in wage theft or payroll fraud from bidding on city services or construction contracts or receiving financial assistance from the city. It also requires the city to create a database of entities that have committed such...

Preempting Progress in the Heartland: State Lawmakers in the Midwest Prevent Shared Prosperity and Racial, Gender, and Immigrant Justice by Interfering in Local Policymaking

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source EARN

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance

Across the midwest, conservative state lawmakers have increasingly used preemption—a tactic whereby a higher level of government limits or eliminates the power of a lower-level government to regulate an issue—to reduce the policy tools and power available to local lawmakers. This...

Berkeley Minimum Wage Ordinance

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2011

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Berkeley City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

This ordinance requires employers to pay their employees no less than the City's minimum wage. Beginning at $12.53 in 2016, the minimum wage shall increase yearly by an amount corresponding to changes in the Consumer Price Index. It also requires any service or gratuity charges to...

Balancing Work and Family: The Economic Effects of Earned Paid Sick Time

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2014

Level City or Town

State(s) Massachusetts

Source MassBudget

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Children & Families, Health

This brief examines challenges faced by working families and the role that earned paid sick time can play in helping families meet those challenges. It finds that paid sick time allows families to meet basic needs, increases long-term employment, and prevents unnecessary health expenses....

2022 Madison Living Wage Ordinance 12.363 Mandating a Living Wage for City Employees

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source Madison City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This ordinance requires employers that contract with the City of Madison, receive financial assistance from the City, or operate in City-owned facilities to pay their employees a living wage. The City of Madison must also pay their employees a living wage. This ordinance defines a...

Public Task Forces Take on Employee Misclassification: Best Practices

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, Other Boards and Agencies, State

State(s) All States

Source National Employment Law Project

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice

Cities, states, and workers' organizations have established interagency task forces to take on companies that illegally misclassify workers. This report provides an overview of best practices for creating worker misclassification task forces and highlights successful case studies....

Impact of the Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance on Workers and Businesses

Type Article

Year 2015

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice

Living wage laws establish wage and benefit standards for companies that do business with the government to improve job quality and increase living standards for low-income workers. The Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance greatly improved pay for low-income workers, with an average...

10 Ways to Rebuild the Middle Class for Hard Working Americans

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2012

Level City or Town, State

State(s) All States

Source Partnership for Working Families

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Public Safety, Health

The U.S. economy is headed towards greater inequality as middle-class jobs are becoming increasingly scarce, while low wage jobs are growing. This report details ten proposals to strengthen the economy for the long term by creating “good” jobs and addressing the economic insecurity...

The Crisis in Milwaukee’s Service Industry

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) Wisconsin

Source COWS

Policy Areas Economic Justice

Milwaukee's service industry jobs offer low wages, inadequate and unpredictable hours, and poor benefits packages. This report calls attention to the crisis in low-wage service work by highlighting the average wages in key service occupations in Milwaukee, while outlining how these...

Raising the Minimum Wage Leads to Significant Gains for Workers, not to ‘Benefits Cliffs’

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source National Employment Law Project

Policy Areas Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Finance & Procurement

Minimum wage increases have raised questions about whether income improvements will push working families above eligibility thresholds for public assistance programs. This report analyzes minimum data from across the country and finds that most major benefits programs gradually phase...

Building Resiliency: The Role of Anchor Institutions in Sustaining Community Economic Development

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2013

Level County

State(s) All States

Source Mayors Innovation Project

Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Education, Health, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, Children & Families

Chester, Pennsylvania, a small, formerly industrial city located on the Delaware River, not far from Philadelphia, exemplifies the problems and possibilities faced by older manufacturing cities across the United States, especially in the Northeast and Midwest. Chester's problems of...

2011 Philadelphia Ordinance Establishing Fair Practices for Employers

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2011

Level City or Town

State(s) Pennsylvania

Source City of Philadelphia

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This ordinance creates fair practices for employers within the City of Philadelphia. Some notable clauses include prohibiting employers from inquiring about prior wage history, prohibiting businesses from denying cash retail, and establishing protected classes....

2007 Los Angeles Ordinance 178432 Establishing an Airport Hospitality Enhancement Zone

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2007

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Council of the City of Los Angeles

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice, Public Spaces

This ordinance establishes an Airport Hospitality Enhancement Zone to promote infrastructure improvements, neighborhood beautification, and the creation of a conference center. It requires hotels in the zone to pay a living wage and provides for other enhancements such as workforce...

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