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
Citation
US economy shows momentum but risks continue heading into 2026
The National News Desk cited CEI’s expert on labor hiring “It’s low hire and low fire, and what that means is that people are scared,…
News Release
Tariffs loom over US economy’s disappointing job gains for December 2025
The US economy added a disappointing 50,000 jobs in December 2025, according to government data. CEI experts point to tariffs and economic uncertainty as a…
Blog
Courts reject states’ efforts to take over union law enforcement
A California court late last month struck down a law that would have allowed the Golden State to usurp the role of the National Labor…
Search Posts
Blog
West Virginia Court Blocks “Right-to-Work” Law, Restricts Worker Choice
Workers in the state to have most recently enacted right to work, West Virginia, have lost their freedom to choose whether or not to financially…
Trib Live
Saturday Q&A: How NLRB muddled the joint employer standard
Trey Kovacs is a policy analyst focusing on labor issues for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank. He spoke to the Trib…
Bloomberg BNA
DOL’s Perez Walks Election Tightrope as Clinton Supporter
Bloomberg BNA speaks with Trey Kovacs on the head of the Labor Department's plans to travel to campaign on labor issues. The labor secretary…
Blog
Tepid Economic Performance Argues for Cutting Government Red Tape
How is the economy doing? It’s a mixed picture.
Blog
Joint Employer Liability Stifles Small Business
In Hillary Clinton’s nomination acceptance speech at the DNC convention, she said “Way too many dreams die in the parking lots of banks.” Obtaining financing…
Fox Business
One Year Later, the Joint Employer Standard Still Causing Confusion
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Browning-Ferris decision, which radically redefined employment rules for businesses nationwide. Under the…
Blog
The Long Term Strategy Behind the Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule
It’s not often that proponents of labor regulation proponents admit to how forceful the rules have become. Yesterday, however, we had the benefit of one…
Blog
Cooperative Agreement on Wage and Hour Rules Could Backfire on Employers
As I discussed earlier this week, Subway came to terms with the Department of Labor (DOL) in what is being considered a cooperative agreement. Its…
Reason
Ridiculous Rules For Swordfish, Ceiling Fans, Grain Barges Help Make 2016 The Most Highly Regulated Year In History
Reason discusses the size of the federal regulatory state with Ryan Young and Wayne Crews. Ryan Young, a fellow with the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Corporate Social Responsibility Policies May Suffer under “Joint Employer” Standard
Companies adopting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies has been in vogue for a while now. According to the Financial Times, in 2014, U.S. and UK…
Politico
Legal challenges to minimum wage hikes
Politico's Morning Shift highlights Trey Kovac's report on how the National Labor Relations Board's joint employer standard eliminates jobs. The broadened joint employer standard…
Law 360
Think Tank Says NLRB Joint Employer Rule Harmful To Biz
Law 360 highlights Trey Kovacs's report on the National Labor Relations Board's new joint employer standard. Competitive Enterprise Institute's report called on Congress…
Inside Sources
REPORT: Joint-Employment Could Upend Unsuspecting Businesses
Inside Sources highlights Trey Kovacs's report on the unsuspecting ways the National Labor Relations Board's joint employer rule could impact businesses. The National Labor…
News Release
Report: Businesses Exposed to Unexpected Liabilities from Obama Joint Employer Regulations
A Competitive Enterprise Institute report released today reveals a set of unexpected liabilities American businesses and employers will face in the wake of recent changes…
Study
Redefining Workers out of a Job
View Document as PDF Federal agencies should be cautious when overturning established policies. Doing so creates uncertainty and frequently generates unintended consequences.
Blog
Subway Labor Agreement Could Lead to Problematic “Joint Employer” Status
It has been just about one year since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision that rocked the franchise-franchisee world, which dramatically altered…
Washington Times
Preserving the right to work
Labor unions are aggressively filing lawsuits against right-to-work laws across the nation. Currently, in Idaho, Indiana, Wisconsin and West Virginia, organized labor is challenging workers’…
Nation's Restaurant News
Subway reaches labor deal with regulators
Nation's Restaurant News discusses the National Labor Relation Board's joint employer standard with Trey Kovacs. Trey Kovacs, a policy analyst for the free-market…
The Detroit News
WikiLeaks reveals DNC holds unions in contempt
The Detroit News discusses what the DNC email leak revealed about the party's relationship with labor unions with Trey Kovacs. The DNC pledges…
Blog
The DNC Platform and Inequality
As the DNC convention wraps up in Philadelphia, I took some time to look over the party platform’s planks on inequality. Iain Murray and I…
Blog
DNC Email Leak Shows Cozy Relationship between Democrats and Unions
The Democratic Party and labor unions are consistently accused of having a quid pro quo relationship, and for good reason. Emails from the DNC email…
Blog
Democratic Party Platform Seeks to Curb Worker Choice and Opportunity
The policies set forth in the Democrat platform are misguided – in order to help American workers really succeed in the 21st century, we should roll…
NBC News
Tom Perez, the Last Liberal Standing on Clinton’s VP Shortlist
NBC News reports on Tom Perez as a possible Vice President pick for Hillary Clinton, and quotes Iain Murray on Perez's reputation. Iain Murray, the…
Blog
Labor Regulators Set Sights on Microsoft
It has almost been one year since the National Labor Relations Board dramatically changed the definition of “joint employer” in Browning-Ferris.
Blog
Worst Procedural Abuses of the Obama Era: Regulation by Guidance
Federal agencies are to publish a notice of rulemaking and allow the public time to comment on the rule before it becomes final, or legally…
Washington Examiner
After Obama, GOP platform moves right on labor issues
Washington Examiner discusses the GOP platform's position on labor issues with Trey Kovacs. "It is a positive development that the GOP recognizes the…
Daily Caller
Feds Rule Unions No Longer Need Consent To Combine Workplaces
The Daily Caller discusses with Trey Kovacs a decision by labor regulators which makes it easier to unionize multiple workplaces as a single unit. …
Blog
Collective Bargaining Increases Inequality
I recently pointed out that minimum wage regulations increase inequality. That’s not what the “Fight-for-15” activists intend, but it is the result they would achieve.
Blog
Appropriations Committee Moves to Defund Harmful Labor Regulations
Yesterday, the full House Appropriations Committee held a markup of the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill, which defunds numerous harmful regulations implemented by…
Blog
CEI Supports Defunding Obama’s Joint Employer Standard in House Appropriations Bill
This week, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee will markup the Fiscal Year 2017 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. CEI commends the…
Blog
CEI Commends Rep. King’s Amendment to Halt Enforcement of Davis-Bacon
This week, the House is scheduled to vote on the Fiscal Year 2017 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill (H.R. 5538). CEI commends Rep. Steve King’s…
Blog
NLRB Overturns Precedent, Makes Organizing Two Workplaces At Once Easier
In a case involving Browning-Ferris Industries, a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision overturned longstanding precedent regarding joint employer status—when two employers in a contractual…
Washington Examiner
Fed agency OKs unions including temp workers
The Washington Examiner discusses with Trey Kovacs the National Labor Relations Board's decision to force businesses to allow unions to include temporary workers.
Blog
Bringing Transparency to Union Subsidies
Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) and Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) have co-sponsored legislation this session to ensure reporting of federal employees using “official time,” the practice…
Blog
Minimum Wage Increases Inequality, Decreases Labor Force Participation
The minimum wage actually increases inequality. It helps some workers, but only at others’ expense.
Coalition to Save Local Businesses
Feds Threaten the Independence of Small Business Owners
We value our independence in the country, and not just from imperial foreign governments like the British 240 years ago. Americans love independence from the…
The Detroit News
Obama’s new overtime rule could sting workers
The Detroit News discusses the impacts of the overtime pay rule with Trey Kovacs. Obama may be touting the raises he hopes his rule…
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: Jobs, Stats, and Monetary Machinations
This week we go behind the scenes: gathering Federal employment numbers, uncovering the relationship between inflation and jobs, and debating the apparent impotence of central…
Blog
Feds Threaten the Independence of Small Business Owners
We value our independence in the country, and not just from imperial foreign governments like the British 240 years ago.
Blog
The Fight for Union Dues Independence
This holiday weekend, we celebrate the birth of our great country. Two hundred and forty years ago, the United States adopted the Declaration of Independence…
Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council
NLRB Joint Employer Ruling Undermines Small Businesses and IP
The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council quotes Trey Kovacs on labor regulators efforts to expand the joint employer standard. This effort to expand the…
Blog
Federal Labor Agencies’ Actions Threatens Worker Opportunity
During the course of the Obama administration, federal labor agencies have turned labor and employment policy on its head via a slew of regulations, sub-regulatory…
Blog
Federal Unions’ “Official” Waste of Tax Dollars
While unions representing government employees are still private entities, it is shocking just how much tax dollars they receive for performing union business that does…
Study
‘Release Time’ Forces Taxpayers to Pay for Union Work
Full Document Availible in PDF Taxpayers expect their government to spend their tax dollars only on activities that benefit the public. Yet…
Blog
D.C. Scheduling Law Would Have Done More Harm than Good
On Tuesday, D.C.’s City Council will consider scheduling legislation that would force companies to provide schedules at least 14 days in advance.
Blog
Judge Halts Labor Department Persuader Rule for Now
A federal judge in Texas yesterday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing its “persuader rule,”…
Daily Caller
Teacher Loses Pension For Doing Union Work Instead Of Her Job
The Daily Caller discusses the practice of official time for public employees with Trey Kovacs. The practice exists on the federal level where it…
Blog
The True Losers of the Overtime Rule: Small Businesses
On June 23, 2016, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing over the Department of Labor’s new overtime regulation. The tone of the…
Maryland Reporter
Opinion: County contracts with union paid leave cost taxpayers
Prince George’s County Council is considering approval of a union contract covering firefighters and paramedics. But legal developments around the country should give council members…
Blog
New Joint Employer Standard Hurting Business of All Sizes
Recently, the business community aired their grievances about the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint employer standard in the form of briefs from Microsoft and…
Blog
Congress Fights Back Against DOL Attack on Flexible Work and Small Business
Congress may have missed an opportunity to defund the Department of Labor’s overtime rule via the appropriations process, but they have not given up the…
American Legislative Exchange Council
Union Time on the Taxpayer Dime
Connecticut state budgets are in dire straits. Belts need to be tightened. Revenue projections estimate the budget deficit could spill over $900 million in…
Blog
Building on the Optimism of “Uber-Positive” Attitudes
There’s a new resource for understanding the state of play between politics and developments in the sharing economy, the pleasantly slim volume by the Manhattan…
Investor's Business Daily
Congress Missed Chance To Roll Back Job-Killing Regulations
A dismal May jobs report — where only 38,000 jobs were added to economy when 162,000 were expected — was the lowest mark since…
Bus & Motorcoach News
Millions of workers will soon qualify for overtime pay
Bus & Motorcoach News discusses the impact of the overtime rule with Trey Kovacs. Some businesses plan to cut base employee pay to offset…
Blog
Speaker Ryan’s Deregulatory Report: Clamp Down on Federal Labor Agencies’ Overreach
Today, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) released his plan for how to modernize our federal regulatory system in order to jumpstart the economy. This is…
Coalition to Save Local Businesses
CEI: Heavily Scrutinized NLRB Joint Employer Standard Heads to Court
Most people can pretty easily tell you who their boss is, but the Obama administration has made that a difficult question. In a decision last…
Daily Caller
Obama’s Disputed Union Election Rule Survives Appeal
The Daily Caller discusses a courts ruling on union elections with labor expert Trey Kovacs. Employers are also required to submit the personal…
Blog
House Committee Examines Overtime Rule’s Negative Impact on Non-Profits and Universities
The House Education & Workforce Committee held a hearing today that examined the Department of Labor’s recent overtime regulation’s impact on non-profits and universities.
Blog
Heavily Scrutinized NLRB Joint Employer Standard Heads to Court
Most people can pretty easily tell you who their boss is, but the Obama administration has made that a difficult question. In a decision last…
Real Clear Policy
Congress, Reject Labor Department’s Overtime Rule
The Obama administration publicly touts the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule as a boon for workers. But the rule, which dramatically raises the salary…
Real Clear Policy
Congress, Reject Labor Department’s Overtime Rule
The Obama administration publicly touts the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule as a boon for workers. But the rule, which dramatically raises the salary…
Daily Caller
Republicans Move To Block Obama’s Overtime Rule
The Daily Caller discusses the impact of Department of Labor's overtime pay rule with Trey Kovacs. Salaried workers could lose their ability to…
One News Now
Higher minimum wage not a panacea for all
One News Now discusses the effects of minimum wage and collective bargaining policies on the poor with Ryan Young. Ryan Young of the…
Blog
RealClear Radio Hour: Fighting Injustice & Igniting Prosperity
This week on RealClear Radio Hour, professors Stephanos Bibas and Donald Boudreaux discuss injustice in the plea bargain system and the dangers of the dismal…
Lexology
What do Employment Law and Skydiving have in common? Part I: The Big Picture
Lexology cites Trey Kovacs on the Department of Labor's policy objectives behind the overtime pay rule. There were two policy objectives set forth…
Blog
Attorney General Lynch Refuses to Defend Law to Speedily Terminate Wrongdoers
Attorney General refuses to defend law passed by Congress to speedily terminate wrongdoers One of an Attorney General’s fundamental duties is to defend laws passed…
Blog
Administration’s War on Work Reflected in Jobs Numbers
The administration and its allies are currently engaged in a regulatory onslaught on employers that can only be described as a war on work. Today’s…
National Review
Meet Tom Perez
National Review discusses the work of Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez, with Iain Murray. Iain Murray, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s vice president of strategy,…
Blog
NLRB Downplays Pro-Union Threats
Union bias permeates the actions of the current National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This is hardly surprising since a former union lawyer, Richard Griffin,…
Blog
Unions and Environmentalists Oppose Plan to Address California’s Rising Housing Costs
Everyone’s for affordable housing—except, it seems, some unions and environmentalists. On May 18, a coalition of unions and environmental advocacy groups—including the State Building &…
National Review
“Income Inequality” – Missing the Point
President Obama, Paul Krugman tells us, has declared war on income inequality. In fact, income inequality is at the root of just about everything…
Citation
VIDEO: Trey Kovacs cited on The McLaughlin Group
[VIDEO::https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEMWnVEiVGY::aVideoStyle]…
Blog
White House Supports Bill that Exempts Puerto Rico from New Overtime Regulation
Progressives praised the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule as a way to fatten workers’ pockets and a means to strengthen the middle class. If…
Washington Examiner
States constitutions can rein in union subsidy
On May 10, the Arizona Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could provide a roadmap to eliminate a persistent form of government…
Daily Caller
Former DOL Administrator Bashes Obama’s Overtime Rule
The Daily Caller discusses the Department of Labor's overtime pay rule with Trey Kovacs. Salaried workers could lose their ability to work flexible work…
Fox News
Surprise, surprise, Obama’s new overtime rule was never intended to raise your wages
The Obama administration claims that millions of salaried workers will get a raise under the new Department of Labor overtime rule. But a wage increase…
Watchdog.org
Experts say Obama’s overtime rule will hit taxpayers, economy hard
Wisconsin Watchdog.org discusses the Obama administration's overtime pay rule with Trey Kovacs. “This extra income will not only mean a better life for…
Blog
How the Overtime Rule Hopes to Design Higher Salaries, But Can’t
The Labor Department has just issued a new regulation for overtime pay for salaried employees. Under the new rule, all salaried workers earning less than…
USA Today
Millions more Americans to be eligible for overtime pay
USA Today discusses the Department of Labor's overtime rule with Trey Kovacs. “The Obama rule puts a huge cost and regulatory burden on…
U.S. News & World Report
Obama’s Overtime Rule Raises Pay for Millions
U.S. News & World Report discusses the coalition letter headed by CEI urging Congress to take action against the overtime pay rule. The Competitive…
News Release
CEI Labor Expert Warns of Negative Consequences for Obama Overtime Pay Mandate
The Labor Department is set to issue its final rule expanding a federal mandate on employers for overtime pay. The overtime rule makes more salaried…
Blog
Free Market Organizations Call on Congress to Block the DOL Overtime Rule
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute along with 16 other organizations sent a letter to Congress in support of the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity…
The Guardian
Millions could get a raise under Obama administration’s new overtime rules
The Guardian reports on CEI's coalition letter urging Congress to take action against the Department of Labor's harmful overtime rule. A coalition of…
Washington Examiner
White House aims to force firms to pay more overtime
Washington Examiner discusses the Department of Labor's overtime rule with Trey Kovacs. Critics said that rather than paying out more overtime, many businesses…
Daily Caller
Here’s Why Obama’s Upcoming Overtime Rule Faces Fierce Opposition
The Daily Caller discusses the coalition letter CEI headed up to urge Congress to take action against the Obama administration's overtime rule. Managers…
News Release
CEI Leads Coalition Urging Congress to Reject Obama Overtime Rule
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today sent a coalition letter to Congress urging support for S. 2707 and H.R. 4773, the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act –…
Blog
Air Traffic Control Reform Opponents Still Miss the Big Picture, Repeat Errors
Air traffic control is in dire need of reform and modernization, and there is a great plan in the House FAA bill to do just…
Blog
Members-Only Unions Benefits Unions and Individual Workers
There has been a surge in right-to-work laws over the past couple of years. Since 2012, four states (Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and West Virginia) revoked…
Daily Caller
Unprecedented Overtime Expansion Likely To Send Business Leaders Into Payroll Damage Control
The Daily Caller discusses the impact of the Department of Labor's overtime rule with Trey Kovacs. "These small businesses, who may not be…
Blog
Small Businesses and Nonprofits Ill-Equipped to Handle DOL’s Overtime Rule
The Department of Labor's overtime rule may be published as early as next week. The rule's "one-size-fits-all" nature is set to harm small businesses the…
Blog
Conservatives for Big Government: Air Traffic Control Reform Opponents Have Lost Their Minds or Principles
UPDATE: Diana Furchtgott-Roth has responded. I offer my reply. Right now in Congress, there is a proposal to end a government monopoly, replace…
Blog
Seattle Regulators Go After Rideshare Driver Privacy
Today, I have a column up at FEE.org on the need for classical liberals to make financial privacy as important an aspect of their…
Blog
Companies May Scrutinize Employee Activity More under DOL’s Proposed Overtime Rule
The battle over the Department of Labor’s proposed overtime rule is heating up. A number of business groups, labor unions, and progressive organizations have met…
Blog
Congress Needs to Halt DOL Regulatory Onslaught
Last week, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) called out recent Department of Labor policies as having a “chilling effect” on the economy. Ryan’s statements were…
One News Now
Labor representative reporting rule burdens businesses
One News Now discusses the Department of Labor's "persuader rule" with Ivan Osorio. Critics refer to this latest effort as “the persuader rule” and…
Blog
Why Is Employee Involvement an Unfair Labor Practice?
U.S. labor law is largely based on the false narrative of an inequality of bargaining power between employees and employers. The theory goes that an…
The Hill
Department of labor overtime rule is a roadblock to a bright career path
Obama labor regulators are touting a plan to boost wages, but unfortunately for people living in the real world, it’s a bill of false goods.
Blog
A Diverse Collection of Stakeholders Oppose the DOL’s Overtime Rule, Really
The Huffington Post recently ran a piece entitled, “Who Opposes Overtime Pay Increase, Really?” The author, Harlan Green, publisher at PopularEconomics.com, says, “That’s a…
Blog
Give Job Seekers a Break: Get Government Out of the Licensing Business
Public policy easing union organizing is not an economic cure-all, and really wouldn’t help at all—no matter how many times union-backed politicians say so (see…
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