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
News Release
Modest job numbers signal slow economic growth: CEI analysis
Just 29,000 jobs were added to the US economy in September 2026, according to the latest monthly government report, while the unemployment rate rose…
Blog
Diagnosing unemployment
The unemployment rate is a symptom, not a diagnosis. When it rises or falls, it shows that something is changing in the labor market,…
Blog
Reading the fine print on unemployment
When politicians talk about unemployment, it is worth remembering an old principle: buyer beware. The unemployment rate is a statistic, but politicians can transform…
Search Posts
Blog
How Government Unions Plan to Keep Members and Dues Flowing After Janus
Government unions are preparing for a world where they can no longer force non-members to pay dues in the public sector. That is because a…
U.S. News and World Report
The High Cost of a Bad Overtime Rule
Former Department of Labor Wage and Hour Administrator David Weil urges Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to defend an Obama era overtime regulation in a recent…
Blog
Illinois Outlaws Local Worker Freedom Laws
Employers in Illinois really didn’t need another reason to bypass or move out of the state, but the legislature gave them one. On October 24,…
Blog
Time to Eliminate Hidden Taxpayer Support of Union Activities
Tax dollars should exclusively support the public’s business. But a Mackinac Center for Public Policy open records request show this is not the case in…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging Repeal of Expanded Davis-Bacon Act
View Full Document as PDF Dear Secretary Acosta: As the Department of Labor implements Executive Order 13771, “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory…
Intercollegiate Review
Licensed to Death: How One Reform Could Empower Americans and Boost Our Economy
Economic freedom—the ability of individuals to exchange voluntarily without government interference—is the greatest driver of prosperity the world has ever seen. Over the past three…
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