ProGov21 Policy Library

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....

Warning: Bossware May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level State, National

State(s) All States

Source Center for Democracy & Technology

Policy Areas Health, Data & Technology

Bossware refers to systems that closely monitor and actively manage workers’ activities and performance. In particular, modern worker monitoring technologies (i.e. sensors and cameras that track workers’ physical movements, handheld scanners scanners that track each item a warehouse...

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...

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...

Algorithm-Driven Hiring Tools: Innovative Recruitment or Expedited Disability Discrimination

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Center for Democracy & Technology

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Data & Technology

Employers use algorithm-driven hiring tools as a fast and efficient way to process job applications in large numbers. Job-seekers are increasingly asked to record videos (that employers mine for facial and vocal cues), complete online tests (that are used to evaluate their optimism...

2014 Philadelphia Ordinance 130687 Prohibiting Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Pregnancy or Childbirth

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2014

Level City or Town

State(s) Pennsylvania

Source Philadelphia City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Health, Children & Families

This ordinance makes unlawful employment discrimination against pregnant women and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee's pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition at the employee's request. The ordinance defines a reasonable accommodation...

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...

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...

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....

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...

2000 Santa Cruz Living Wage Ordinance 25

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2000

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Santa Cruz City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Finance & Procurement

This ordinance requires city service contractors to pay workers a living wage. Each year the city council will review and extend the living wage by at least an amount which corresponds to the cost of living increase as measured by the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area Consumer...

2014 Los Angeles Ordinance Establishing a Minimum Wage for Hotel Workers

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2014

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Council of the City of Los Angeles

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

According to the Economic Development Department, 43 percent of the people who work in hotels in Los Angeles earn wages that put them below the federal poverty line. This ordinance adds Article 6 to Chapter XVIII of the Los Angeles Municipal Code requiring a minimum wage for hotel...

The Role of Local Government in Protecting Workers Rights

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States, Wyoming

Source Local Progress

Policy Areas Community Development, Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Health, Public Safety

Protecting and advancing worker' rights are central functions of local governments. This report provides an overview of some of the most noteworthy ways in which localities have taken action on behalf of working people, in spite of challenges imposed by federal and state preemption...

1999 Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance 172336

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 1999

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Los Angeles City Council

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

This ordinance requires that nothing less than a living wage be paid to employees of the city's service contractors, of certain of its lessees and licensees, and of its financial assistance recipients. Employers should also provide at least 12 compensated days off per year and some...

Philadelphia Fair Workweek Employment Standards

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) Pennsylvania

Source City of Philadelphia

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This Philadelphia ordinance ensures that workers receive predictable work schedules. It provides workers with a good faith estimate of their work schedule, implements predictability pay for employer-initiated schedule changes, and offers workers additional hours. ...

2013 Vicco Ordinance Prohibiting Employment Discrimination

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2013

Level City or Town

State(s) Kentucky

Source Vicco City Council

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Economic Justice

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

Philadelphia Fair Workweek Employment Standards

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) Pennsylvania

Source City of Philadelphia

Policy Areas Economic Justice

This Philadelphia ordinance ensures that workers receive predictable work schedules. It provides workers with a good faith estimate of their work schedule, implements predictability pay for employer-initiated schedule changes, and offers workers additional hours. ...

2017 Cook County Ordinance 16-4229 Earned Sick Leave

Type Ordinance or Resolution

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...

2022 Richmond Collective Bargaining Ordinance 2022-221

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) Virginia

Source City of Richmond

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Economic Justice

This ordinance grants employees the right to form, join, assist, and pay dues or contributions to employee organizations; to bargain collectively through an exclusive bargaining representative of their own choosing; and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective...

2014 Milwaukee County Ordinance 14-7 Requiring Employers to Pay a Minimum Wage

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2014

Level County

State(s) Wisconsin

Source Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Finance & Procurement

The ordinance requires Miwaukee County and employers that are contractors, subcontractors, or lessees of, or recipients of economic development financial assistance from, the county to pay all covered full and part-time employees a living wage equal to 100% of the poverty income level...

ProGov21 Policy Library

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