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
The Daily Signal
How Many Biden Appointees ‘Burrowed in’ to the Permanent Bureaucracy?
The Daily Signal cited CEI’s expert on political career placements Sean Higgins, a research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, also highlighted the threat of…
News Release
April adds 177,000 jobs to economy, tariff policies yet to majorly shakeup labor market: CEI analysis
The job numbers for April show 177,000 jobs were added to the economy, with the unemployment rate staying steady at 4.2 percent. While job growth…
Blog
CEI suggests DOT put the brakes on train two-person crew rule
The Transportation Department recently asked the public for comments on how to reduce the regulatory burden. One thought that the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)…
Search Posts
Foundation for Economic Education
The Progressives Took Away Our Right to Contract. It’s Time to Reclaim It
According to surveys, 77 percent of millennials want flexible work hours, which many say makes them more productive at work. Yet some recent…
Blog
Greater Government Economic Intervention Isn’t the Only Way for Workers to Receive More Paid Leave
President Trump, along with his daughter Ivanka, have frequently advocated for mandated paid family leave. Most recently, on Mother’s Day, Trump touted his desire…
Inside Sources
Free-Market Coalition Urges Lawmakers to Support Overtime Choice Bill
Inside Sources covers a coalition letter led by CEI urging lawmakers to support The Working Families Flexibility Act. A coalition letter from free-market…
Inside Sources
Congress Considers Plan to Improve Workplace Flexibility
Sometimes people need extra time off work to take care of loved ones or tend to life’s other demands and goals. But for many, that…
Bloomberg BNA
Trump to Nominate Kaplan, Emanuel for Key Labor Board Spots
Bloomberg BNA covers President’s Trumps progress in nominating two members to the National Labor Relations Board and CEI’s take on the matter. The…
Fortune
This Overlooked Labor Rule Could Be a Huge Drag on U.S. Businesses
On May 10, 13 Democrats in the House of Representatives sent a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) expressing concerns over the…
News Release
April Jobs Report Still Falls Short, Regulatory Reform Needed
The jobs report for April, 2017 shows decent but not spectacular progress, says the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Iain Murray. Though the economy added 211,000 jobs in April…
Blog
Celebrate National Small Business Week
There is no better way to celebrate National Small Business Week than for the Trump administration to rollback red tape that discourages business formation and…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Supporting Working Families Flexibility Act
View Full Document as PDF Dear Members of Congress: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in support of the Working…
InsideSources
Senate Confirms Trump’s Labor Secretary Pick
InsideSources highlights CEI’s coalition letter’s estimation of regulatory costs from the Department of Labor. Those opposed to the last administration also hope the…
Washington Free Beacon
Acosta Is New Secretary of Labor
The Washington Free Beacon discusses the confirmation of Alexander Acosta as Labor Secretary with John Berlau. Conservative legal experts urged Acosta to act…
News Release
CEI Priorities for New Labor Secretary Acosta
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Alexander Acosta to head the U.S. Department of Labor. CEI experts on labor and financial policy, respectively, offered their thoughts…
Blog
Time to Repeal Special Interest ‘Prevailing Wage’ Laws
If Congress passes a massive infrastructure spending plan, it is imperative to ensure the best rate of return for tax dollars spent on these projects.
Blog
Reviewing Trump’s First 100 Days
This Saturday, April 29th, marks President Trump’s 100th day in office, which offers us the opportunity to reflect on what his administration has accomplished so…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging Missouri Governor to Champion Public Sector Union Reform
View Full Document as PDF Dear Governor Greitens, In your first month in office, Missouri joined a growing majority of states to…
Blog
Senate Moves to Confirm Acosta as Labor Secretary
There is much work to do at the Department of Labor. The Obama administration’s DOL spent eight years imposing huge costs on the economy and…
Blog
Labor and Employment in Trump’s First 100 Days
The White House should fill key personnel positions at labor agencies so that they can get to work on repealing numerous roadblocks erected by the…
Daily Caller
Report: Taxpayers Subsidize Thousands Of Federal Workers Conducting Union Business
The Daily Caller highlights Trey Kovacs’ report on the practice of official time. Thousands of federal employees are likely spending 100 percent…
Washington Free Beacon
Report: Taxpayers Potentially Paid Thousands of Union Officials
The Washington Free Beacon reports on Trey Kovacs’ study on the practice of official time. An analysis by a pro-free-market think tank estimates…
InsideSources
Report: Ending Taxpayer Funded Union Work
InsideSources reports on Trey Kovacs’ study on the practice of official time. Official time allows federal employees to do union tasks instead of…
Washington Examiner
Estimated 700 Federal Employees Do Only Union Work
Washington Examiner reports on Trey Kovacs’ study on the practice of official time. The estimate is from a study by the Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
Stop Paying Federal Employees to Perform Union Business
There are an estimated 1,000 federal employees who spend 100 percent of their work hours on labor union business instead of actual government work.
News Release
Report: Taxpayers Spend Millions to Subsidize Government Unions
Congress should end a multi-million dollar taxpayer subsidy to federal government unions, a new Competitive Enterprise Institute report urges. “The practice called ‘official time’…
Study
It Is Time to End Official Time
View Full Document as PDF For years, federal employee unions have enjoyed a government subsidy that enables their members to perform union…
The Hill
Overtime Pay Isn’t A Cure-All: Make Work Flexible Without The Red Tape
Proponents of the Obama-era overtime rule claim that arbitrarily raising the cost of labor at a new, higher salary threshold would help workers achieve a…
Blog
A Time for Choosing: Will Trump Side with Taxpayers or Unions?
If keeping construction unions as an ally comes at the expense of efficient use of tax dollars and competition, the White House must side with…
Blog
Increasing Worker Satisfaction Shouldn’t Be an Unfair Labor Practice
Companies should be permitted to establish a system so they can receive feedback from employees and remedy worker dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, national labor law generally prohibits…
News Release
Court Injunction on Unionization for Rideshare Companies Wins Praise From CEI Labor Expert
Today, a federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary injunction against a Seattle law on unionization for rideshare companies. CEI labor policy expert Trey Kovacs praised…
Blog
Time to End Official Time
The Official Time Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 1364) would prohibit federal employees from conducting political activity on union official time. Union official time…
Blog
SEIU Spending Big on Fight for $15
Why has the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) spent at least $19 million last year and $90 million since 2012 financing the Fight for…
Blog
Seattle Forced Union Dues Scheme Faces Legal Challenge
In 2015, the City of Seattle enacted a misguided ordinance that allows Uber and Lyft drivers, who operate as independent contractors, the privilege to collectively…
InsideSources
Striking a Balance Between Small Businesses and Regulations
InsideSources highlights a CEI’s coalition letter to the Senate. President Donald Trump has promised to help businesses struggling with burdensome regulations. He has…
InsideSources
Letter Pushes Restrictions on Taxpayer-Funded Union Work
InsideSources reports on CEI’s coalition letter urging Congress to limit the practice of union official time. The practice of letting federal officials conduct…
Blog
Columnist Misrepresents Civil Service Reforms
In a recent column, The Washington Post’s Joe Davidson presents a gravely distorted view of Republican civil service reform efforts, which seek to save…
Washington Free Beacon
Taxpayers Paid $162.5 Million for Union Work
The Washington Free Beacon discusses the practice of official time with Trey Kovacs. Trey Kovacs, a labor policy expert at the pro-free-market Competitive…
Blog
President Trump Expected to Block Blacklisting Rule
Today, President Trump is expected to approve a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to repeal what is known as the Blacklisting rule. Upon signing,…
Blog
New Report: Federal Employee Union Subsidy Costs $162 million
Last Friday afternoon, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released its biennial report, “Official Time Usage in the Federal Government—Fiscal Year 2014.” The survey…
The Hill
Skinny Trump budget has fat omission: NLRB cuts
President Trump has released his “skinny budget” giving a blueprint of where the administration would like to see spending and cutbacks at federal agencies.
InsideSources
Taxpayers Spend Millions Providing Unions With Free Labor
InsideSources discusses the practice of official time with Trey Kovacs. Supporters argue that official time allows federal unions to properly fulfill their legal…
Blog
Mr. Acosta Goes to Washington
Mr. Acosta came off as smart, accomplished, and an individual who will enforce the laws on the books, not pursue a political agenda.
Inside Sources
Labor Secretary Nominee Finally Gets Confirmation Hearing
Inside Sources discusses Labar Secretary Nominee Acosta’s confirmation hearing Acosta noted during his opening statement that his views regarding labor stem from his…
Blog
Court Slaps Down Overreach of Federal Labor Regulators
President Trump needs to fill the vacancies at the National Labor Relations Board in order to restore balance at the agency.
Blog
White House Should Expand Budget Cuts to Additional Agencies
President Trump’s proposed budget blueprint rightly eliminates funding for many agencies, but there are additional candidates for cuts.
Blog
Trump Administration Budget Request Targets Union Slush Fund
The White House budget finds savings in the Department of Labor prominently through eliminating or cutting back ineffective or duplicative training programs.
Blog
Takeaways from Browning-Ferris ‘Joint Employer’ Hearing
The National Labor Relations Board’s Browning-Ferris decision upended 30 years of precedent and creates immense uncertainty. Congress needs to step in and pass legislation that…
Investor's Business Daily
Labor Reform Is Necessary To Sustain Economic Optimism, Growth
Economic optimism is on the rise among small businesses and consumers alike, judging from recent surveys. The monthly Index of Small Business Optimism finds…
InsideSources
States Give Trump Administration Roadmap for Government Union Reform
President Donald Trump has signaled federal workforce reform is a high priority as a means to cut wasteful spending and improve the delivery of public…
Washington Free Beacon
Senate Rescinds Obama’s Blacklist Rule
The Washington Free Beacon discusses the Department of Labor’s blacklisting rule with Trey Kovacs. Labor law experts on both sides of the union…
Blog
Senate Takes Aim at Federal Contractor ‘Blacklisting’ Rule
Senators are considering a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act which would repeal the Department of Labor's "blacklisting" rule.
Blog
Federal Workplace Officials Using Un-‘Reasonable’ Legal Standard on Harassment
The primary winners from defining harassment very broadly are trial lawyers, not minority employees.
