This ordinance modifies existing business licensing requirements to require denial of a business license to any applicant having been found to have committed wage theft if that finding has not been remedied or cured. Previously, New Brunswick law required all business license applications to be submitted to the police department for investigation of the applicant's business responsibility, moral character and ability to properly conduct the licensed activity as necessary for the protection of the public, and to deny license applications if the police determined that the applicant's character, ability or business responsibility were unsatisfactory or the products, services or activity not free from fraud. This ordinance adds wage theft as an additional reason for business license denial.

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 turnover, and protect the health of other employees and the public.

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 workers face above-average injury rates and are sometimes even killed on the job. To ensure safe and dignified recycling jobs, municipal govern- ments must require rigorous health and safety standards in recycling contracts. This report explores the dangers recycling workers face and provides policy recommendations that municipal decision makers should follow to improve industry accountability and health and safety outcomes.

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 the “Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act”– that would grant app-based transportation and delivery companies a complete exemption from AB 5, freeing them from complying with California’s labor laws. Thus, their workers would be unprotected and companies would be allowed to avoid paying for overtime, discriminate on the basis of immigration status, deny workers health or income protections if they are hurt on the job, and prevent workers from accessing paid leave. This report urges voters to reject Proposition 22 to protect workers’ health, safety, and dignity.

This ordinance requires all employers in the City of Chicago to offer employees the opportunity to earn and accumulate sick time. The ordinance requires employers to provide one hour of sick time for each 30 hours worked, with a cap of 40 accumulated hours for small employers and a cap of 72 hours for all other employers. The ordinance prohibits employers from requiring employees to find a replacement for themselves as a stipulation for using sick time. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against employees for valid sick time usage. Employers are exempt from this requirement if there is a valid collective bargaining agreement in place or if they offer paid leave that can serve the same purpose as sick days. Employees may receive no reimbursement for sick days upon termination and must provide advanced notice of plans to use sick days to the employer when possible. The ordinance lists several civil penalties for violations of this ordinance.

This ordinance outlines workplace standards for construction employers. This ordinance requires that construction employers allot time for regular rest breaks for construction workers, which are particularly important due to the increased physical strain and increased risk of heat-related illnesses associated with construction labor. It guarantees that construction workers employed within the municipality are provided adequate rest breaks and establishes remediation processes for employers who deny construction employees a rest break.

Corporations and their political allies deploy state preemption to stop local progress and block the abilities of local governments to act on the values and needs of their communities. This report uses data from Colorado, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee to demonstrate how communities, particularly low-income women of color, are working towards equitable policies around paid sick days, wages, and affordable housing, only to be blocked at the state level by lawmakers caving to corporate pressure or following an anti-regulation agenda.

This report examines methods for cities to improve job quality in their communities by using city regulatory power to establish wage floors and other employment standards, regulating domestic-employee placing agencies, using city resources to enforce existing government employment regulations, implementing equal opportunity employment policies, using city proprietary interests, and curbing employers' practices that take advantage of immigrant workers. The policy recommendations in the report are based on the experience of cities around the country.

Many of the largest companies operating in the United States have increased their profits by forcing employees to work off the clock or by depriving them of required overtime pay. An analysis of federal and state court records shows that these corporations have been embroiled in hundreds of lawsuits over wage theft and have paid out billions of dollars to resolve the cases. This report analyzes the prevalence of wage theft in big business and identifies the specific corporations and industry sectors that have been involved most often and paid the largest penalty amounts.

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. In response to the lack of enforcement power, California enacted the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) in 2003 to reduce noncompliance with the state’s labor laws and prevent unlawful and anti-competitive business practices. This brief explores how PAGA positively impacts California’s workforce through enhancing Labor Code compliance among employers, building enforcement capacity among state agencies, and ensuring that violations of the law have a legitimate remedy.