Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws
in Americas Cities
Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws
in Americas Cities (PDF; 834 KB)
Source: National Employment Law Project, UCLA Institute for Research on
Labor and Employment, and UIC Center for Urban Economic Development
This report exposes a world of work in which the core protections that
many Americans take for grantedthe right to be paid at least the minimum
wage, the right to be paid for overtime hours, the right to take meal
breaks, access to workers compensation when injured, and the right to
advocate for better working conditionsare failing significant numbers of
workers. The sheer breadth of the problem, spanning key industries in the
economy, as well as its profound impact on workers, entailing significant
economic hardship, demands urgent attention. In 2008, we conducted a
landmark survey of 4,387 workers in low-wage industries in the three
largest U.S. citiesChicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
We used an innovative, rigorous methodology that allowed us to reach
vulnerable workers who are often missed in standard surveys, such as
unauthorized immigrants and those paid in cash. Our goal was to obtain
accurate and statistically representative estimates of the prevalence of
workplace violations. All findings are adjusted to be representative of
front-line workers (i.e. excluding managers, professional or technical
workers) in lowwage industries in the three citiesa population of about
1.64 million workers, or 15 percent of the combined workforce of Chicago,
Los Angeles and New York.
--
Eugene McElroy
Rutgers University
School of Management and Labor Relations Library
50 Labor Center Way
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901
732-932-9513
tel: 732-932-9513
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