Boosting Job Quality: How State and City Policies are Filling the Federal Gap

With a changing U.S. economy, Americans are increasingly finding themselves working precarious jobs that are unstable, insecure, or offer limited benefits or protections. This is particularly true for women and people of color. Many individuals now find themselves working multiple part-time jobs or entering the gig economy for increased flexibility. Yet, these positions are often characterized by uncertain hours, low pay, temporary contracts, and lack of job security.

Federally, very little policy exists in the regulation of precarious work. The federal minimum wage was last increased in 2009 and currently sits at $7.25 per hour. This is not a living wage in most parts of the U.S. The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides unpaid leave and job security for those who experience the birth of a child, those who suffer a serious health condition, or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. But, even FMLA requires an individual to have worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave for an employer with 50 or more employees, and is, by definition, unpaid.

In the wake of federal inaction, states, counties, and cities have taken the lead in adopting policies to fill the gap. Our team investigated the extent to which these state, county, and city governments have adopted policies as of July 1, 2023, that discussed minimum wage, workers’ schedules, sick leave, family leave, and other protections for “gig” workers. The project was funded by the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health Policy, Practice and Prevention Research Center and the University of Illinois Institute for Government and Public Affairs.

[S]uccessful local policies often expand to become successful state and federal initiatives, as well.

At the state level, minimum wage was the topic most often addressed with 31 states requiring an amount greater than the federal minimum. Still, many states have adopted preemptive policies that stop the county or city government from passing a policy stronger than the one the state passed or, in some cases, stop the local government from passing a policy at all. For example, in 2016, Birmingham, Alabama voted to increase its minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, up from $7.25. In response, the state legislature passed a law that preempted local policy—stating that municipalities could not set their own minimum wage. States can similarly use this practice to stop policies in the other areas we evaluated, such as paid leave and scheduling.

Some states have also passed novel laws protecting workers. Oregon was the first state to pass a secure scheduling policy, mandating that an employer provide an employee with a work schedule at least 14 calendar days before the first day of the work schedule. Seventeen states required paid sick leave or family leave, though the amount of time provided varied significantly. And Washington State passed a series of gig worker protections to be phased in over the next few years, including a minimum wage for ride-share drivers on a per-trip basis.

Locally, some counties and cities have also passed employee protection policies. In the 10 counties and 10 cities we looked at, we found four cities (Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Paul) that mandated paid sick leave and paid family leave for employees and three cities (Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle) that required advance notice of schedules. Counties were less likely to be active in these areas, with Cook County (home to Chicago) standing as an exception with paid sick and family leave policies. San Francisco maintains the same policies at the city and county level, and also has policies in the areas listed above.

While there is clearly more work to be done to understand the impacts of these policies on precarious employment and even the health of the employees themselves, it is important to recognize that states, counties, and cities have been experimenting with novel policies that do have the potential to improve the lives of employees across their jurisdictions. In the end, successful local policies often expand to become successful state and federal initiatives, as well.