Workers' Rights

All workers have the right to a safe and healthful workplace and a fair wage. But the American workplace has changed dramatically since many of our labor laws were last updated, creating new hazards for workers, and transforming the relationship between employer and employee. New, bigger, more powerful equipment has come online. New chemicals and other toxic substances have come into routine use. New production and construction methods have been introduced.

At the same time, more and more employers rely on “contingent” workers instead of permanent employees to perform jobs at all levels. Employers are also fighting grassroots efforts to raise the minimum wage, denying sick leave and family medical leave, misclassifying workers to avoid overtime pay, and retaliating against workers who report wrongdoing.

Worker deaths or injuries resulting from conditions that violate workplace safety laws are still too common. Often, rather than treating these deadly violations of the law as subjects for criminal investigation, prosecutors simply defer to OSHA or comparable state agencies, significantly reducing the scope of possible penalties, and reducing any deterrent effect as violations are "punished" with light fines. CPR's first-of-its-kind Crimes Against Workers database catalogs state criminal cases brought by enlightened prosecutors, as well as grassroots advocacy campaigns against employers responsible for workers being killed, maimed, or seriously endangered on the job.

Through research and scholarship, CPR Member Scholars and staff offer local, state, and federal policymakers and prosecutors tools to make sure all workers have a safe workplace and a fair deal for their labor. See their work below. Use the search box to narrow the list.

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Letter to Department of Labor on Executive Order 13673 Guidance

Letter to Department of Labor on Executive Order 13673 Guidance, "Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces," on behalf of poultry and meatpacking workers.

Type: Letters to Agencies (Aug. 26, 2015)
PDF: Letter to DOL on EO 13673 Guidance, August 27, 2015
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Author(s): Matt Shudtz, Katie Tracy
Tags: swine poultry worker safety
Categories: Workers' Rights Workers' Rights

Katherine Weatherford's letter to Maryland Delegates Dereck E. Davis and Sally Jameson on Construction Safety

Katherine Weatherford's letter to Maryland Delegates Dereck E. Davis and Sally Jameson on Construction Safety bill, HB 977, February 29, 2016.

Type: Legislative Testimony (Feb. 29, 2016)
PDF: Katherine Weatherford's letter to Maryland legislature on Construction Safety bill, HB 977, February 29, 2016.
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Author(s): Katie Tracy
Tags: worker safety
Categories: Workers' Rights Workers' Rights

Comments on Draft OSHA Guidance for Recommended Practices for Preventing and Addressing Retaliation.

Joint comments on draft OSHA Guidance: Recommended Practices for Preventing and Addressing Retaliation.

Type: Letters to Agencies (Jan. 19, 2016)
PDF: Comments on Draft OSHA Guidance: Recommended Practices for Preventing and Addressing Retaliation. CPR's Thomas O. McGarity, Sidney Shapiro, and Katherine Weatherford, January 19, 2016.
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Author(s): Katie Tracy, Thomas McGarity, Sidney Shapiro
Tags: OSHA
Categories: Workers' Rights Workers' Rights

March 24, 2016, New Manual Helps Workplace-Safety Activists to Push for Criminal Charges in On-the-Job Tragedies

March 24, 2016,

Type: News Releases (March 23, 2016)
PDF: March 24, 2016, New Manual Helps Workplace-Safety Activists to Push for Criminal Charges in On-the-Job Tragedies
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Categories: Workers' Rights Workers' Rights

Judgment Day for Reckless Executives

Judgment Day for Reckless Executives, op-ed by Rena Steinzor

Type: Op-Eds (April 7, 2016)
PDF: Judgment Day for Reckless Executives
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Author(s): Rena Steinzor
Categories: Workers' Rights Workers' Rights

Worker Deaths Should Lead to Punishment for Companies, Executives

Worker Deaths Should Lead to Punishment for Companies, Executives, op-ed by Rena Steinzor and Katie Tracy

Type: Op-Eds (May 31, 2016)
PDF: Worker Deaths Should Lead to Punishment for Companies, Executives
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Author(s): Rena Steinzor, Katie Tracy
Tags: worker safety OSHA
Categories: Workers' Rights Workers' Rights