Employment and Workplace

March 13 marks the 5th anniversary of President Trump’s COVID-19 emergency declaration. In the wake of the pandemic, telework increased drastically, particularly for workers in professional and managerial jobs.

This report examines the relationship between workplace flexibility and exercise among workers in the United States, with a focus on gender, race, and ethnicity. Using data from the 2017–2018 American Time Use Survey Leave Module, the study explores how access to employee-centered flexibility (e.g., flextime, remote work) and employer-centered flexibility impacts the likelihood of exercise.

This IWPR Quick Figure analyzes changes in unpaid caregiving responsibilities before and after the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the American Time Use Survey (2018 and 2023). Family care work is an important public health issue, particularly for responding to long-term care provided in people’s homes.

The body of serious research into women’s health now includes many reliable studies that help us understand the unique biological factors that affect women. There is also intriguing research on the wide range of social determinants impacting the health of women and girls.

The importance of paid sick leave has been underscored like never before in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world grappled with the challenges of a global health crisis, the simple act of staying home when feeling unwell became a critical strategy in curbing the spread of the virus.

This report highlights the dual crises of youth unemployment and staffing shortages in Chicago's restaurant industry. It discusses the potential of One Fair Wage, a policy to ensure full minimum wage with tips on top for tipped workers, to address both issues simultaneously.

This report addresses the National Restaurant Association's efforts to weaken child labor laws, contextualizing it within the staffing crisis in the restaurant industry. It highlights the historical context of the NRA's advocacy for subminimum wages and its shift towards advocating for relaxed child labor regulations to fill staffing shortages.

This guide discusses the implications of Initiative 82 in Washington D.C., aiming to reform the restaurant industry by transitioning from a tipping model to a service charge model. It highlights the historic move away from subminimum wages for tipped workers, aiming to create a fairer wage system.

This report contrasts the effects of One Fair Wage policies in California against New York's subminimum wage system on small business restaurants, with a focus on sales, job growth, and the success of minority and women-owned business enterprises.

This report examines the severe staffing crisis in Illinois' restaurant industry, focusing on the refusal of workers to accept subminimum wages.

This report explores the systemic issue of subminimum wages for tipped workers in Maryland, a direct legacy of slavery, affecting over 105,000 tipped workers, predominantly women and people of color. It highlights the refusal of workers to work for subminimum wages amid the pandemic, leading to a staffing crisis in Maryland's restaurant industry.

It is with good reason that there has been an outpouring of support for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Essential workers have tended to the sick, responded to emergencies, and kept the food supply intact, thus permitting the rest of society to have continued access to health care and basic necessities, and to remain safe and, for the most part, comfortable.