Creating an effective enforcement system
As the United States moves through an extended period of economic difficulty, characterized by high rates of unemployment and “involuntary” part-time employment, enforcement of labour laws has become an even more critical concern. The presence of vulnerable workers, including those without immigration status, influences labour standards compliance, as does the necessity of many businesses to cut costs. Yet budgetary limitations — at both federal and state levels — constrain the ability of enforcement agencies to carry out their mandates. These are some of the findings in the research titled ‘Labor standards enforcement and low-wage immigrants: creating an effective enforcement system’ by Donald M. Kerwin and Kristen McCabe.
Characteristics of an effective labour standards enforcement system
In today’s workplace, low-wage workers, especially unauthorized immigrants, face significant challenges, ranging from non-payment of wages to poor working conditions to unrealized collective bargaining rights. This report examines the characteristics of an effective labour standards enforcement system, with a particular emphasis on enforcement in industries and firms with heavy concentrations of low-wage immigrant workers. It argues that the administration, Congress, states, localities, and other stakeholders should make labour standards enforcement a pillar of their immigrant policymaking agendas.
Recommendations
The report highlights gaps and anomalies in labour protection,
while recognizing that American law sets significant standards for
minimum wage, overtime pay, child labour, safe and healthy
workplaces, antidiscrimination, labour organizing, and collective
bargaining. It recommends that Congress extend core labour
protections to categories of workers now exempt, to unauthorized
workers, and to others not meaningfully afforded protections. It
also argues that Congress should strengthen penalties for labour
standards violations in order to promote compliance and deter
violations, and that it should provide for the tolling of statute
of limitation periods upon the filing of complaints.
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Reference material
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Research Effective Enforcement System
28 Jul 2011, pdf, 4MB