Worker Protection
Worker Protection
The ACS State Attorneys General Project develops, collects, and disseminates legal resources highlighting and examining the authority and actions of state attorneys general in key policy areas. This page collects resources related to worker protection.
A collection of recent guidance documents issued by state attorneys general advising public sector employers, employees, and employee unions of their rights and responsibilities after the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 (2018).
Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Overuse of Non-Competition Agreements: Understanding How They are used, Who they Harm, and What State Attorneys General Can Do To Protect The Public Interest (June 2018).
Prepared by Lisa Madigan, former Attorney General of the State of Illinois and Jane Flanagan, former Chief, Workplace Rights Bureau for: Unrigging the Market: Convening to Restore Competitive Labor Markets, Harvard Law School.
Washington State Attorney General’s Office, 2019 Labor Day Report: Report on the AGO’s Worker Protection Initiative
State and Local Enforcement Project, Labor and Worklife Program: Harvard Law School
The Enforcement Project works with government agencies and officials engaged in enforcing workplace laws. For more information, click on the link above.
See also State AGs Protecting Workers' Rights Roundtable (video) (October 26, 2020).
StateAG.org, Labor
Database from StateAG.org that includes a variety of resources on State AG labor-related cases and investigations.
Economic Policy Institute and the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program, State Attorneys General as Protectors of Workers’ Rights, (Dec. 3, 2020).
This webinar featured bureau, division, and section chiefs who lead labor rights work in their state attorneys general offices. They addressed the growing role state AGs play in protecting workers’ rights.
Jane Flanagan, Terri Gerstein & Patricia Smith, How States and Localities Can Protect Workplace Safety & Health, Harvard Law School Labor & Worklife Program & National Employment Law Project (May 2020).
This paper provides a basic explanation of OSHA preemption and describes some potential sources of authority and avenues for action by states and localities wishing to protect working people in their jurisdictions.
Terri Gerstein, How District Attorneys and State Attorneys General are Fighting Workplace Abuses, Economic Policy Institute (May 17, 2021).
Terri Gerstein, State Attorneys General Taking on Protection of Workers’ Rights, Economic Policy Institute (Dec. 16, 2020).
This Q&A is based on some of the follow-up questions asked during the webinar State Attorneys General as Protectors of Workers’ Rights. They explore issues such as setting up a labor unit in the state AG’s office to state AGs’ authority to address workplace safety matters.
Terri Gerstein, Workers' Rights Protection and Enforcement By State Attorneys General, Economic Policy Institute (August 27, 2020).
Terri Gerstein and Marni von Wilpert, State Attorneys General Can Play Key Roles in Protecting Worker's Rights, Economic Policy Institute (May 7, 2018).
This report describes some of the ways state attorneys general have been involved in protecting workers' rights.
Daniel Wiessner, Calif. AG Moves to Sink Uber, Postmates’ Bid to Block Worker Classification Law, Reuters (Jan. 21, 2020).
See, Celine McNicholas & Margaret Poydock,How California’s AB5 Protects Workers From Misclassification, Economic Policy Institute (Nov. 14, 2019).
ACS Resources
ACS Briefing Call, A More Perfect Union: The Future of Labor Law in Post-COVID Economy, (Dec. 22, 2020).
ACS Podcast, Immunizing the Labor Market? Protecting American Workers During a Pandemic, (March 30, 2020).
Jane Flanagan, No Exit: Understanding Employee Non-Competes and Identifying Best Practices to Limit Their Overuse, American Constitution Society Issue Brief (Nov. 2019).
Terri Gerstein, How State Attorneys General are Protecting Workers During the Coronavirus Pandemic, ACS Expert Forum (Apr. 3, 2020).
Andy Beshear, Kentucky Must Keep the Promise on Pensions for Teachers, Police, State Workers, ACS Expert Forum (Apr. 30, 2018).