Ahead of change of administration, experts detail how states can lock in Biden-era protections for workers
November 27, 2024
Wahington, DC, (Highpoint Digest News) − The National Employment Law Project, NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School, Towards Justice, American Economic Liberties Project, and the Economic Policy Institute released a new policy brief on Tuesday outlining how states can defend the key pro-worker advances of the Biden administration, many of which are under attack in the courts and which face an uncertain future as the presidential administration changes.
The brief details how state legislatures, as well as governors acting through their labor agencies, can act quickly to lock in recent federal wins for workers. Among the recommendations are:
- Ensuring broad overtime coverage for workers by adopting an appropriately high salary threshold for the “white collar exemption”;
- Enacting workplace protections against extreme heat;
- Curbing noncompete and other employment contract provisions that trap workers in jobs and suppress wages and innovation;
- Taking steps to safeguard workers’ right to organize; and
- Creating online tools for disclosing enforcement data and employer violations.
The brief outlines how states can lock these important policies into state law, and provides policy models lawmakers can follow.
“As the most pro-worker administration of our lifetimes comes to a close, states need to respond to attacks on the key pro-worker policies of the Biden years,” said Paul Sonn, State Policy Program Director at the National Employment Law Project. “Attempts to block them in the courts and uncertainty about whether the new administration will abandon these protections mean it’s up to state policymakers to preserve hard-fought wins and ensure that protecting working families is put above corporate interests. As states plan for defending their residents against rollbacks of federal policy in other areas, they need to include worker protections too—and should act quickly to lock them into state law.”
“This is a moment for bold action by state lawmakers to stand up for working people. As critical federal advances for workers are at risk, states can take action,’ said Terri Gerstein, Director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative. “The policies in this briefing should be eminently feasible: several have a full evidentiary record at the federal level, while others have already been enacted at the state level in one or more jurisdictions. States have always led the way on workers’ rights, from the first minimum wage laws over a century ago to paid leave laws today. This is a crucial time for states to step up and play their historic role in protecting America’s workers.”
“States and localities have an important role in protecting workers, especially when there’s such uncertainty at the federal level,” said Raj Nayak, Fellow at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School. “We’re excited to provide a resource for ensuring that workers’ rights and economic interests continue to be protected.”
“When working people have good jobs and fair pay, economies thrive. With lots of uncertainty at the federal level right now, governors and state lawmakers can and should act quickly to insulate their state from actions that would undermine workers’ rights or weaken workers’ bargaining power,” said Dave Cooper, Director of the EARN Network at the Economic Policy Institute.
“We are at a precarious moment for working families, and state leaders must step up. In service of corporate profits, corporate interests are poised to use the next administration and the courts to roll back the critical victories this administration has won for working people,” said David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice. “But states have the tools and the roadmap to protect working families, and they need to act now to lock in these critical gains before they’re dismantled.”
“Americans are more concerned than ever about the power dominant corporations wield over their lives, so state legislators can and must act to reinforce the Biden administration’s key worker protections against employer monopolies,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “These vital rules will prevent corporate actors from using their power to lower wages, lock workers into abusive contracts, or harm their health and well-being and we urge leaders to enact them at the state level now.”
Read the full report here: Quick Fixes to Lock In Wins for Workers: How States Can Preserve New Federal Protections
Source: EPI
Image Credit: Highpoint Digest News
