Whether it is exposing legislation and regulations that benefit unions, lawyers or management at the expense of workers, detailing the folly of occupational licensing laws; supporting the expansion of state right-to-work laws; or highlighting the overreach of lawmakers, bureaucrats, and courts; CEI advances reforms in this crucial, often overlooked policy area. Our op-eds, policy papers, media appearances, coalition work, and innovative research serve as crucial counterweights to the aggressive efforts by unions and their allies to frame the policy debate.
Labor and Employment Issue Areas
Featured Posts
DC Journal
This Labor Day, Respect the Right to Join (or Not) a Union
Labor Day was created to celebrate all the Americans who work to support their families. The least the government can do in return is…
News Release
US economy adds 162,000 jobs in August, higher than expected: CEI analysis
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report for August shows the economy added 162,000 jobs, higher than economists predicted. While the news is a…
Blog
The ‘no hire, no fire’ era is starting to crack
Families gathering around the barbeque next Monday to celebrate the national day off from work will probably be grilling more hot dogs and cheap…
Search Posts
Blog
Will the Next Labor Secretary Support Job-Killing Climate Measures?
President-elect Biden has selected most of his nominees to head the federal departments, and he has made clear to them that addressing climate change…
Blog
Department of Labor Cautions “Gig Economy” Companies against Limiting Workers’ Freedom
The Department of Labor (DOL) said on Wednesday, January 6, that if someone is currently working for one or more of your business rivals,…
News Release
December Job Losses in Leisure & Hospitality Eclipse Gains in Other Sectors – What Can Policymakers Do?
The Labor Department reported today the economy lost 140,000 jobs in December 2020. Gains in various sectors were eclipsed by 500,000 jobs lost…
Blog
Biden Labor Nominee Marty Walsh Poised to Make Radical Changes
Joe Biden’s decision to nominate Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as Labor Secretary will elevate a person to oversee the nation’s workplace who is…
News Release
Biden’s Labor Dept. Pick Will Likely Seek Union-First Policies
President-elect Joe Biden announced Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as his pick for Labor secretary. That signals a union-first approach to labor policy, predicts…
The Washington Examiner
The Davis-Bacon Act May Present Challenges To Biden’s Infrastructure Plans
The Washington Examiner cites Research Fellow Sean Higgins on the Davis-Bacon Act: One of the reasons for the delay was the…
Blog
Labor Department Independent Contractor Rule out Today
The Department of Labor (DOL) acted to promote entrepreneurialism and protect freelancers on Wednesday by issuing a new rule under the Fair Labor…
National Review
How an Inexplicable New York Court Decision Threatens Uber and Lyft
Imagine a job where you only need to show up for work when you feel like it, and when you do show up, you can…
Blog
To-Do List for 2021: Just Get Rid of AB5
It isn’t just Washington that gets a fresh start beginning in January. California gets one, too. One of the top items on the Golden…
Blog
UAW Corruption Case Reveals Lack of Accountability at Union
Today the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement in a long-running corruption probe of the United Auto Workers (UAW) that will put…
Blog
Democrats Hoping to Unionize Entire Sectors of Economy at Once
Democratic lawmakers will push to have entire sectors of the economy unionized, a practice called “sectoral bargaining,” when Congress reconvenes next year. The idea…
Inside Sources
Does ‘Blue Collar Joe’ Biden Underwhelm Union Workers?
President-elect Joe Biden has radical ideas to build up union membership in Pennsylvania and across the country, having endorsed policies that labor leaders have…
Blog
Labor Department Job Report Shows Improvement but Challenges Ahead
The Labor Department’s Friday report that 245,000 jobs were added in November confirms that, while an economic recovery is still underway, its momentum…
Blog
Biden’s OMB Pick, Neera Tanden, Once Warned Democrats against a $15 Minimum Wage
Joe Biden’s choice of Neera Tanden, president of the liberal Center for American Progress, to be the next director of the Office of Management…
Blog
A Cold Winter for Santa in Sunland, California
Department store Santa Claus Patrick Turnbull has hoisted children onto his lap and listened to their Christmas wishes for two decades in Sunland, California,…
National Review
Exit Polls Suggest Little Enthusiasm for Biden among Union Members
Although Joe Biden won a majority of votes cast by labor-union members, available data suggest he did slightly worse than past Democratic presidential candidates.
Blog
Biden to Focus on Public Sector Unions First?
All indications are that the Biden administration will be the most pro-labor one since at least Harry Truman’s. Biden has promised to defer to…
Blog
Can New York’s Hotel Industry Survive the Latest Union Victory?
Numerous New York City hotel owners are struggling to stay alive and their workers’ union isn’t exactly making it easy for them. In fact,…
Blog
Who Will “Blue Collar Joe” Work for?
Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States signals a possibly radical shift in labor policy, pushing things much further left than even…
Blog
In Spite of It All, Workers, Businesses Persevere
The Labor Department’s report that 638,000 jobs were added in October, bringing the national unemployment rate down to 6.9 percent, shows that the best…
National Review
Free-Market Victories down the Ballot
The top of the ticket got most of the press, but for free-market enthusiasts, much of the real 2020 action was down ballot. As…
Blog
The 2020 Election Actually Had Some Free-Market Victories
Neither presidential candidate has much interest in limited government. But over at National Review, I look at some neglected down-ballot…
Blog
California’s Proposition 22 Wins
Golden State voters did their neighbors a solid Tuesday by voting to support Proposition 22 by a wide margin, rolling back the misguided and…
Blog
Department of Labor’s Radical New Concept: Innocent until Proven Guilty
The Labor Department has an interesting new idea: only publicly shame companies when it is clear that they have made serious violations of the…
Blog
Court Ruling Could Kill Uber and Lyft in California
A California appeals court ruling caps a crusade against ride-sharing apps in the state. Just days before Californians themselves were set…
Blog
Fans of California’s AB5 Are Drunk with Power, MADD Warns
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is urging Californians to abolish AB5, the state law supposedly meant to prevent worker misclassification by employers. The nonprofit…
Blog
Labor Department Proposes Letting Rank and File Union Members Watch over their Organizations
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced today that it wants to update rules to require private sector unions to be more transparent…
Blog
Pension Managers Must Focus on Retiree Security, Not Politics
A new proposed rule from the Department of Labor on pension funds would clarify the responsibilities of pension fund fiduciaries covered under the Employee Retirement…
Blog
Up to 75 Percent of Uber Drivers Would Lose Work If They Were Classified as Employees
If organized labor and its allies in government are successful in their bid to force so-called gig economy companies like Uber and Lyft to treat…
Blog
Amazon Claims Worker COVID-19 Infection Rates below Norm
Amazon’s critics have made a point of saying the company is endangering its employees by keeping its fulfillment centers active during the…
News Release
September Brought Uptick in Jobs – Will Next Government Steps Help or Hurt?
Employers added 661,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9 percent from 8.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said…
Blog
New York’s School Principals Try to Flunk the Mayor
The problem with public sector unions is that they represent not just the workers for a government entity but also the elected leaders’ constituents.
Blog
Yes, Ridesharing Is Mainly a Part-Time Gig
The vast majority of people who drive for rideshare company Uber in California do so for less than 40 hours or less a week.
Reason
Department of Labor Proposes New Rule Protecting the Right To Be a Gig Worker
Reason cites research fellow Sean Higgins on California’s AB5 rule: The new rule “is definitely a reaction” to the California law, says Sean Higgins,…
Blog
Labor Department Trying to Rewrite Definition of “Employer”
In the credit where credit is due department, the Trump administration deserves a cheer for attempting to save an emerging part of the economy:…
Blog
School Closures to Offer a Lesson in Economics
The U.S. got some good news that the employment rate had fallen to 8.4 percent in July, but it is possible that that could jump back…
Blog
Brother, Can You Spare Two Weeks?
Last year, California passed AB5, which was intended to go after rideshare companies Uber and Lyft. The law requires “gig economy” companies to classify all…
Blog
Headline: School Closures to Offer a Lesson in Economics
The U.S. got some good news that the employment rate had fallen to 8.4 percent in July, but it is possible that that could jump…
The Detroit News
Workplace Transformation Will Affect Everyone, Even Labor Unions
The Labor Day holiday dates to the early 20th century, and envisioned as a public celebration of “the strength and…
Blog
School’s Out Forever? Teachers Unions Flex Muscle on Reopening Policies
What determines whether your child school is open this fall? Apparently, the strength of the teachers local union. That was what analysts found using data…
Blog
California’s AB5 Holding Back Recovery Nationally
There was some modest good news in the Labor Department’s report today on unemployment benefits, the falling numbers indicating that people are finding work despite…
Blog
Should Parents Have to Choose between Keeping Federal Benefits or Keeping their Kids Safe from COVID-19?
Should parents have to choose between keeping federal benefits to cope with COVID-19 or keeping their children at home if the local school isn’t doing…
Blog
This Labor Day, Let’s Celebrate Individual Worker Rights
Labor Day 2020 is definitely an ironic moment: The federal government is having a holiday to celebrate working Americans at a time when record numbers…
Blog
App-less in Sacramento? Uber and Lyft Allowed to Postpone California Departure
On August 20, an appeals court in California allowed Uber and Lyft to halt their plans to flee the Golden State rather than comply with…
National Review
App Shrugged: Will Uber Go Galt in California?
The rideshare company Uber is threatening to end its operations in California entirely if the Golden State forces the company to classify all its drivers as…
Blog
Can You Have Worker Representatives without Unions? Uber Hopes So
Rideshare company Uber is trying to find a way to allow its drivers to collectively express any grievances or concerns they have without having those…
Blog
Trump Adopts one of Barack Obama’s Better Ideas: The Payroll Tax Cut
Trump’s decision to Institute a payroll tax holiday via an executive order over the weekend is a good idea even if its effectiveness as an…
Blog
Cautious Optimism on July Jobs Numbers: Prudence, Resilience Will Aid Recovery
In July, 1.8 million new jobs were created, and the unemployment rate dropped to 10.2 percent. That is a welcome follow-up to the second quarter’s…
News Release
July Jobs Numbers Show Economic Impact of Coronavirus Policy Reversals
CEI labor policy expert Sean Higgins breaks down what the jobs numbers from July are telling decision makers:…
Blog
Californians: Educate Your Children at Your Own Risk
Activist Carl DeMaio caused a stir this week by holding a press conference in which he declared that hiring tutors could be could result in…
Staff & Scholars
Sean Higgins
Research Fellow
- Deregulation
- Labor and Employment
Ryan Young
Senior Economist and Director of Publications
- Antitrust
- Business and Government
- Regulatory Reform
Ivan Osorio
Editorial Director
- Labor and Employment
Iain Murray
Vice President for Strategy and Senior Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Trade and International