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Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta holds a press conference at the U.S. Department of Labor on July 10th, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

News in Brief

The Secretary of Labor Wants to Cut Funding for an Agency That Combats Human Trafficking

Acosta, who is currently under scrutiny for his 2008 plea deal for Jeffrey Epstein, has proposed an 80 percent cut to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs' budget.

Kelley Czajka

Advocates say recent shifts within the Department of Labor will add extra layers to the visa application process.

News in Brief

The Department of Labor Is Making It Harder for Trafficking Victims to Get Protection

Advocates fear that a new policy on visa certifications will further discourage survivors from reporting crimes.

Isabela Dias

Economics

The Corporations Trying to Ditch Workers’ Compensation Hit a Snag

An Oklahoma commission ruled that a state law allowing companies to "opt out" of workers' comp and write their own plans was unconstitutional while similar bills in other states lose steam.

Michael Grabell

Economics

On Pivoting: How We Talk About Labor

Euphemisms offer important comfort in a recession. They also tend to exclude the people hit hardest.

Elizabeth Greenspan

Education

Why Teaching Girls to Code Is Not the (Only) Answer

We must do more to fill the gender gap in tech leadership and venture capital.

Elizabeth Scharpf

Economics

The City That Never Sleeps Is Waking Up to Its Pay Problems

Is New York—and the rest of America—failing the the Fair Labor Standards Act?

Tyler S. Bugg

Economics

The Future of Work: Independence and Flexibility

The latest entry in a special project in which business and labor leaders, social scientists, technology visionaries, activists, and journalists weigh in on the most consequential changes in the workplace.

Travis Kalanick

Economics

4 Ways You Can Seek Back Pay for an Unpaid Internship

Think you’re entitled to be paid for your unpaid internship? Here are resources you should know about.

Kara Brandeisky

Economics

How the Labor Department Has Let Companies Off the Hook for Unpaid Internships

Four years after warning for-profit companies about unpaid internships, the agency has investigated relatively few employers for wage violations.

Kara Brandeisky & Jeremy B. Merrill