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
Blog
Déjà vu all over again as Trump administration move to protect freelancing
The Department of Labor has proposed a new worker classification rule to replace the previous administration’s 2024 rewrite. This new version would…
Blog
Yes, Trump has shrunk the government
President Trump’s big jobs boast in his State of the Union address Tuesday was that under his watch every job created in the US…
Blog
Freelancers want to be free
The labor movement has been trying for years to organize gig economy workers, claiming that they are traditional employees being exploited by their bosses. The problem is that gig employees don’t view themselves that way…
Search Posts
Reason
The Supreme Court’s Big Public Sector Union Case Is Really About Free Speech
Reason covers Janus v. AFSCME. Mark Janus did not vote to join a union, and he does not support the union that he was forced…
InsideSources
How Member-Only Unions Could Solve the Free-Rider Problem
InsideSources covers the release of CEI’s latest report “Supreme Court Can Strike a Victory for Worker Freedom in Janus Case.” The U.S. Supreme…
Blog
Stop Forcing Unions on Workers
Workers should have the right to speak for themselves at their workplace and decide how to spend their hard earned wages.
News Release
Report: Supreme Court Janus Case Could Stop Forced Union Dues, But States Need Change to Members-Only Unions
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear oral argument in a lawsuit challenging forced union dues for public-sector workers, Janus v AFSCME Council 31,…
Study
Supreme Court Can Strike a Victory for Worker Freedom in Janus Case
View Full Document as PDF Mark Janus is a state child support specialist in Illinois. He works to ensure that children receive…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Opposing Contractor Nexus Tax Grab in Massachusetts
View Full Document as PDF Dear Mr. Harding: We, the undersigned, write in opposition to the “Proposed Update – 12/19/17” 830 CMR…
Blog
Prohibit Union Official Time during Potential Government Shutdown
Under OPM policy, exempt federal employees who work during a shutdown “serving as union officials may continue to be granted official time to the same…
InsideSources
Ending the Federal Labor Policy Swing
InsideSources discusses the National Labor Relations Board with Trey Kovacs. Former President Barack Obama was accused by critics of unilaterally implementing an extensive labor…
Blog
End of ‘California Rule’ Can Open Path for Pension Reform
Ending the 'California Rule' won’t mean that pension reform will become easy—union opposition will remain as fierce as today—but it’s a needed start.
Fox Business
Minimum Wage Hikes Sending Restaurants the Way of the Shopping Mall?
Fox Business discusses minimum wage hikes with Iain Murray. Eighteen states raised their minimum wages at the start of 2018, but increasing labor…
Blog
The Dangerous Posturing of New York’s Fossil Fuel Pension Divestment
New Yorkers should be wary of Mayor Bill de Blasio's decision to divest fossil fuel energy stocks from the city's public employee pension plan.
Blog
Right to Work Laws Protect Workers from Union Corruption
Widespread union corruption is just another reason why states should adopt right-to-work laws and free workers from forced union dues requirements.
Fox Business
Red Robin Eliminates Bus Boys as Restaurants Combat Minimum Wage Hikes
Fox Business discusses minimum wage hikes with Iain Murray. At the beginning of January, minimum wage increases took effect in 18 states and…
Blog
New Evidence on the Effects of Teacher Unions
At a time when minimum wage laws are causing opportunities for unskilled young people to disappear, it is all the more vital that education provides…
Blog
Tax Reform Delivers Another Blow to Union-Funded ‘Fight for $15’
Tax reform has produced results that have largely eluded the union-funded movement to raise the wages of workers across the country.
InsideSources
The Merciless Death of Obama’s Workforce Legacy
InsideSources discusses changes to labor policy with Trey Kovacs. Former President Barack Obama oversaw significant changes to employment policies during his time in office,…
Blog
Top 5 Changes in Labor Policy to Look for in 2018
In 2018, expect a hard push by Congress to cement the traditional joint employer standard into law.
Blog
Pension Bailout Bill Would Put Taxpayers on the Hook for Billions
Policymakers can help underfunded pension plans meet their payout obligations without bailouts.
Blog
NLRB Restores Commonsense Joint Employer Standard
During the past eight years, the Obama National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) tilted labor-management relation precedent far in favor of labor unions. This came in…
The Washington Times
NLRB Reverses Obama-era Ruling on Employers’ Liability for Subcontractors
The Washington Times covers the National Labro Relations Board’s reversal of the joint employer standard. The National Labor Relations Board reversed an Obama-era ruling Thursday…
News Release
CEI Praises NLRB Decision to Reverse Course on Harmful Joint Employer Liability
Today the National Labor Relations Board, in a 3-to-2 decision, overturned its Obama-era ruling in the board’s own case against waste management company Browning-Ferris Industries. The…
The Washington Examiner
Democrats Seek to Hobble Republican-led Labor Board
The Washington Examiner discusses an attemt to hobble the National Labor Relation Board’s pro-worker agenda with Trey Kovacs. Democrats led by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth…
Watchdog News
More Briefs Filed with SCOTUS in Forced Union Dues Case
Watchdog News covers CEI’s amicus brief in Janus v. AFSCME. Three more briefs were filed with the U.S. Supreme Court this week in support…
Politico
CEI to File Janus Brief
Politico’s Morning Shift covers CEI’s amicus brief in Janus v. AFSCME. The Competitive Enterprise Institute will file an amicus brief this morning in …
InsideSources
A Case for Banning Forced Union Dues
InsideSources covers CEI’s amicus brief in Janus v. AFSCME. The U.S. Supreme Court should outlaw forced union dues in the public-sector when it hears…
Blog
Forced Union Dues Fund Labor Union Politics
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submitted a brief in Janus v AFSCME, Council 31, a case before the United States Supreme Court. The question at…
Blog
Labor Department Should Delay Overtime Rulemaking Pending Report
Trey Kovacs suggests a way to improve the Department of Labor's evidence-based policy making.
Comment
Comments to the Department of Labor on the 2018 Draft Strategic Plan
View Full Document as PDF Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Draft Strategic Plan for…
Blog
Brief Filed to Supreme Court in Forced Union Dues Case
No worker should be forced to fund an organization they do not wish to support.
Blog
What to Expect from the Department of Labor
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has made a much needed course correction at the Department of Labor (DOL). During the past administration, federal regulators consistently issued…
Townhall
Democrats’ ‘A Better Deal’ Revised to Help Unions Wield More Power
Democratic leadership made one huge gaffe when they released “A Better Deal,” a new economic plan aimed at building a strong economy. They forgot to…
InsideSources
Business Community Makes Final Push to End Obama-Era Franchise Rule
InsideSources covers the passage of the Save Local Business Act. The business community is ramping up its efforts to underscore the dangers of a…
The Washington Free Beacon
Congress Stands Up for Ronald (McDonald)
The Washington Free Beacon covers the passage of the Save Local Business Act. The House of Representatives passed a bill that could roll back…
News Release
House Passes Save Local Business Act
The House today passed the Save Local Business Act, which would protect small businesses and jobs nationwide. Passed by 242 to 181 margin, the bill would…
The Hill
Congress Must Stop Union Scheme Siphoning Funds from Medicaid
Congress created Medicaid to exclusively fund care to the elderly and disabled, not fund labor unions. But powerful labor unions like the Service Employee International Union…
News Release
Save Our Local Business Act Up for House Vote
The House is expected to vote Tuesday, November 7 on a bill to restore a longstanding federal rule that businesses relied on in their dealings…
Blog
A New Day in Labor-Management Relations
While it is important for the NLRB to restore longstanding precedent that was upended, Congress needs to pass legislation that ensures worker freedom and relieves…
Blog
Ghouls and Goblins and Guidances
You could consider CEI to be the Ghostbusters of Washington, fighting back ghouls and goblins on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue.
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…
Blog
Pension Liabilities Bite in the Present, Too
Politicians should close underfunded public employee pension funds to new enrollees and offer new hires other options, such as defined contribution or hybrid plans.
Blog
Joint Employer Deception from Democrats
Democrats in Congress need to be honest about their opposition to restoring a commonsense joint employer definition.
The Washington Post
Gorsuch Could Strike a Mortal Blow to Unions
The Washington Post covers Janus v. AFSCME and CEI’s brief in the case. Last week, the Supreme Court announced that it would…
Blog
Small Business Needs Relief from Federal ‘Joint Employer’ Scheme
Today, the Save Local Business Act was approved by the House Education and Workforce Committee, a great step forward from clearing up the confusion caused…
InsideSources
Free-Market Coalition Urges Action on Franchise Rule
InsideSources covers a coalition letter, led by CEI, in support of the Save Local Business Act. A coalition of free-market advocates sent a letter…
Politico
Joint Employer Bill Draws Support
Politico’s Morning Shift covers a coalition letter, led by CEI, in support of the Save Local Business Act. A coalition of 28 pro-business groups…
Blog
Executive Order Disbands National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations
President Trump has signed an executive order disbanding the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations.
The Washington Examiner
Conservative Groups Urge Congress to Rein in NLRB
The Washington Examiner covers a coalition letter, led by CEI, urging Congress to roll back the joint employer doctrine. A who’s who of…
News Release
CEI Leads Coalition Supporting NLRB Joint Employer Fix: the Save Local Businesses Act (H.R. 3441)
Today, CEI sent a coalition letter to the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of the Save Local Business Act (H.R. 3441), which would restore and harmonize standards on when two…
Letters
CEI Joins More than 50 Organizations Urging Congress to Support the Employee Rights Act
View Full Document as PDF Dear Members of Congress: On behalf of our organizations and the millions of Americans we represent across…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Letter Supporting Save Local Business Act (H.R. 3441)
View Full Document as PDF Dear Member of Congress: The undersigned organizations write in strong support of legislation, the Save Local Business…
National Review Online
The Supreme Court Will Probably Strike a Huge Blow to Public-Sector Unions
National Review Online covers Janus v. AFSCME and CEI’s brief in the case. The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear the case…
InsideSources
Supreme Court Accepts Case to End Forced Union Dues
InsideSources covers Janus v. AFSCME and a statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to hear it by Trey Kovacs. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to…
News Release
CEI Praises Supreme Court Decision to Hear Forced Union Dues Case Janus v. AFSCME
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear a crucial lawsuit challenging forced union dues for public sector workers. CEI labor policy expert …
Lexology
Senate Confirms William Emanuel; Republicans Now Control the NLRB
Lexology covers the confirmation of William Emanuel to the National Labor Relations Board with a statement by Trey Kovacs. On September 25, the…
Blog
Crafting a Sensible Overtime Rule
It is important that the Trump administration avoid the pitfalls the Obama Department of Labor fell into on overtime regulation.
The Hill
Senate Confirms Second Trump Nominee to Labor Board
The Hill discusses the confirmation of William Emanuel to the National Labor Relations Board with Trey Kovacs. The Senate confirmed President Trump’s second pick…
InsideSources
Senate Confirms Trump’s Last Labor Board Nominee
InsideSources discusses the confirmation of William Emanuel to the National Labor Relations Board with Trey Kovacs. President Donald Trump had his last federal labor…
The Washington Examiner
Senate OKs Trump pick for NLRB
The Washington Examiner discusses the confirmation of William Emanuel to the National Labor Relations Board with Trey Kovacs. The Senate on Monday confirmed business…
The Washington Free Beacon
GOP Controls Labor Board
The Washington Free Beacon discusses the confirmation of William Emanuel to the National Labor Relations Board with Trey Kovacs. Republicans hold majority on the…
News Release
CEI Praises Senate Confirmation of NLRB Nominee William Emanuel
The Senate voted September 25 to confirm Trump nominee William Emanuel to the powerful National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). CEI labor policy expert …
Comment
CEI Comments to the Department of Labor on Overtime Rule Regulations
View Full Document as PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is pleased to submit these comments in response to the Department of…
Blog
Will Government Union Gravy Train Come to an End?
No worker should be forced to financially support an organization against his or her will. For too long, government employee unions have possessed the power…
Blog
Missouri’s $5 Billion State Pension Underfunding Shows Results of Faulty Accounting
Government pension managers should calculate the state contribution using a more realistic rate-of-return estimate.
Federal Times
Report Calls for Drastic Workforce Cuts at Regulatory Agencies
Federal Times covers CEI’s publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. The non-profit Competitive Enterprise Institute is all about shrinking government. In a newly released report…
Blog
Why Should Millennials Want to Shrink Government Bureaucracy?
Free markets and limited government are for every generation.
Washington Examiner
Labor Day: Give Workers, Not Labor Unions, More Rights
With Labor Day around the corner, it’s an appropriate time to examine federal labor policy in relation to worker rights. Upon examination, it becomes clear…
Blog
White House Suspends EEO-1 Form that Cost Businesses $400 Million to Gather Wage Data
On August 29, the White House suspended a burdensome reporting requirement for employers that would have cost them $400 million while yielding information…
Blog
Texas Court Strikes Down Costly Obama Overtime Rule
Today, the Eastern Texas District Court struck down the Obama administration’s misguided overtime rule. This is a crucial victory for the rule of law and…
Reason
Report: Florida Unions Milk Taxpayers for Millions Through ‘Release Time’
Reason covers a new report co-authored by Trey Kovacs on public uninon release time in Florida. Taxpayers in Miami have spent more than…
Blog
Subsidy Forces Florida Taxpayers to Pay for Union Work
Most hardworking Americans would be shocked to learn that public employees at all levels of government—federal, state, and local—conduct union business that is totally unrelated…
News Release
Union Subsidy Wastes Millions of Taxpayer Dollars in Florida
Florida has a problem with taxpayer giveaways to labor unions due to a practice known as “release time,” explains a new report from Florida’s James…
Study
Union Time on the Taxpayer Dime
View Full Document as PDF Published with the James Madison Institute Over the past 20 years, Floridians have consistently made conscious decisions…
Reason
Instead of Filling Vacancies, Congress Should Abolish the NLRB
Reason discusses the National Labor Relations Board vacancies with Trey Kovacs. The U.S. Senate voted earlier this month to confirm Marvin Kaplan’s appointment…
Blog
Congress Expands Investigation into Inappropriate Federal Employee Political Activity
U.S. Postal Service employees and union engaged in a “systematic violation” of the Hatch Act, a law placing limits on political activity performed by federal…
U.S. News & World Report
Why Google Could Lose
The fired and now-infamous Google engineer James Damore may have a federal case against his former employer. In the aftermath of Damore’s 10-page memo criticizing…
Blog
Workers Desire the Freedom to Choose
It is past time to give workers the freedom to choose that they desire.
Blog
Rethinking the National Labor Relations Board
The NLRB has become a highly partisan agency that does more harm than good.
InsideSources
Worker Choice — Pay Dues, or Not
Forcing workers to pay union dues as a condition of employment may soon become a policy of the past, at least for government employees. As…
Blog
Occupational Licensing Reform in the Beehive State
Occupational licensing reform is a winner in terms of giving the working poor greater opportunities to earn a living…
Washington Times
Federal Government Needs Major Overhaul to Cut Red Tape, Reduce Costs: Report
The Washington Times covers CEI’s latest publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. Shrinking the federal bureaucracy would spur economic growth and reduce costs to taxpayers,…
Washington Free Beacon
Report: Reducing Regulatory Agencies’ Authority Could Boost Economy, Increase Job Creation
The Washington Free Beacon covers CEI’s latest publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. Reducing some of government’s regulatory agencies’ authority could boost economic growth and…
InsideSources
REPORT: Why the Federal Labor Board Should Be Dismantled
InsideSources covers Trey Kovacs’ suggested reforms for the National Labor Relations Board as part of CEI’s most recent publication Shrinking Governmnet Bureaucracy. The…
OneNewsNow
Min. Wage Study Suggests a Robot Works for Free
OneNewsNow discusses a new report by the National Labor Relations Board with Trey Kovacs. A new study has concluded what many people have…
Study
Rethinking the National Labor Relations Board
View Full Document as PDF The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that oversees private sector labor relations in the…
Blog
NLRB Fails to Explain Departure from Joint Employer Precedent
Today, for the second time this week, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a decision that…
News Release
Court Ruling in NLRB Joint Employer Case Against CNN Points to Urgent Need for Reform
Today the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals gave a partial win to news network CNN in a labor dispute with the National Labor Relations Board…
News Release
Improving Job Numbers Emerge but Damaging Regulations Remain a Problem
The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate declined to 4.3 percent, the lowest since March 2001, according to the U.S.
Blog
Can You Make a Living without a Government License?
There is an expanding strange-bedfellows coalition that would like to see fewer professions for which people need a government-issued license.
Blog
$15 Minimum Wage Could Cost 47,000 Jobs in a Single U.S. County
The Washington Post has “sobering news for $15 minimum-wage boosters.”…
Washington Examiner
Senate Confirms Marvin Kaplan for NLRB
Washington Examiner covers Marvin Kaplan’s confirmation to the National Labor Relations Board. The Senate on Wednesday approved President Trump’s pick of Marvin Kaplan…
The Washington Free Beacon
Senate Confirms Second GOP Board Member to NLRB
The Washington Free Beacon covers Marvin Kaplan’s confirmation to the National Labor Relations Board. Republicans are no longer the minority at the National…
News Release
Urgent Labor Reforms Depend on Senate Confirming Trump Labor Nominees
Update: The Senate voted on August 2, 2017 to confirm Marvin Kaplan to the National Labor Relations Board. The Senate is expected to vote today…
The Daily Signal
One Union’s Desperate Effort to Unionize Automakers in the South
A union organizing campaign at one workplace does not normally generate national headlines, but the 10-year-plus effort by the United Auto Workers to unionize the…
InsideSources
House Introduces Bill to End Joint-Employment Uncertainty
InsideSources discusses joint employer with Trey Kovacs. House lawmakers are looking to add clarity to a patchwork of legal interpretations Thursday by introducing…
Blog
Senate Committee Advances Union Subsidy Transparency Bill
The Senate took a great step forward today to bringing transparency to the wasteful practice of official time. Now it is time to finish the…
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