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Reports and Working Papers: Low-Wage Work

All Work and No Pay: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City

Annette Bernhardt; Michael Spiller; Diana Polson
Social Forces; 2013

Despite three decades of scholarship on economic restructuring in the United States, employers' violations of minimum wage, overtime and other workplace laws remain understudied. This article begins to fill the gap by presenting evidence from a large-scale, original worker survey that draws on recent advances in sampling methodology to reach vulnerable workers. Our findings suggest that in America's three largest cities, violations of employment and labor laws are pervasive across low-wage industries and occupations, affecting a wide range of workers.

Short Hours, Long Hours: Hour Levels and Trends in the Retail Industry in the United States, Canada, and Mexico

Françoise Carré; Chris Tilly
W.E. Upjohn Institute; 2012

In settings where most workers have full-time schedules, hourly wages are appropriate primary indicators of job quality and worker outcomes. However, in sectors where full-time schedules do not dominate—primarily service-producing activities—total hours matter, in addition to hourly wages, for job quality and worker outcomes. In this paper we employ a sector-focused, comparative framework to further examine hours levels—measured as average weekly hours—and trends in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Employers Gone Rogue: Explaining Industry Variation in Violations of Workplace Laws

Annette Bernhardt; Michael Spiller; Nik Theodore
Working Paper; 2012

Drawing on an innovative, representative survey of workers in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, the authors analyze minimum wage, overtime, and other workplace violations in the low-wage labor market. They document significant inter-industry variation in both the mix and prevalence of violations, and show that while differences in workforce composition are important in explaining that variation, it is differences in job and employer characteristics that play the stronger role.

Working in Large Food Retailers in France and the USA: The Key Role of Institutions

Philippe Askenazy; Jean-Baptiste Berry; Françoise Carré; Sophie Prunier-Poulmaire; Chris Tilly
Work, Employment and Society; 2012

Despite numerous similarities between the food retail sectors of France and the USA, there are significant contrasts in the jobs, and in particular the modal job, cashier. Notably, there are differences in pay, productivity and physical working position. Using the concept of ‘national-sectoral models’ of employment practices, this research draws on in-depth, interview-based case studies of food retailers in France and the USA, as well as standard data sources, to probe the reasons for these differences.

Low-Wage Lessons

John Schmitt
Center for Economic and Policy Research; 2012

Over the last two decades, high – and, in some countries, rising – rates of low-wage work have emerged as a major political concern. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in 2009, about one-fourth of U.S. workers were in low-wage jobs, defined as earning less than two-thirds of the national median hourly wage (see Figure 1). About one-fifth of workers in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and Germany were receiving low wages by the same definition.