Labor Rights

Analysis for D.C. Office of the Attorney General: Economic Analysis of Incentives to Fraudulently Misclassify Employees in District of Columbia Construction
Summaries

U.S. Treasury: The State of Labor Market Competition
EPI: Comments on DOL's proposed rulemaking on employee or independent contractor classification under Fair Labor Standards Act

Press Mentions

Construction Citizen: AG Racine Releases Report on Payroll Fraud in District Construction Industry
AG Racine's testimony to U.S. House: Misclassification of Employees: Examining the Costs to Workers, Businesses, and the Economy

Benson, A., A. Sojourner, & A. Umyarov (2020) Can Reputation Discipline the Gig Economy? Experimental Evidence from an Online Labor Market. Management Science. 66(5):1802-1825
Working Papers

Mpls Fed OIGI, HCEO & IZA

Press Mentions

Minneapolis Fed The Region: In the gig economy, reputation counts
Workday Minnesota with video: Researchers draw lessons from online labor markets
IZA Newsroom (Germany): New forms of work and shady employers: How reputation can discipline the "gig economy"
- Picked up by: EU CEDEFOP's Skills Panorama
Technology Policy Institute: Research Roundup Strikes Back
Economisch Statistische Berichten (Netherlands): Reputatie als tegengas in de sjeesconomie
BuzzFeed Tech: American Labor Unions Are Falling Down on Digital Workers

Economic Policy Institute's Working Economics: American job seekers think increasing the minimum wage would be good for them

Pickens, J. and A. Sojourner (2026) Effects of Fair Workweek Laws on Labor Market Outcomes, Industrial Relations. 65(2): 132-155
Working Papers

Pickens, J. and A. Sojourner (2022) Effects of Access-to-Hours and Just Cause Regulations on Labor Market Outcomes

Summaries

Policy brief from Upjohn
Employment Research brief from Upjohn

Sojourner, A. & J. Yang (2022) Effects of Union Certification on Workplace-Safety Enforcement: Regression-Discontinuity Evidence. ILR Review. 75(2): 373-401.
Working Papers

IZA Discussion Paper 9610
Data: NLRB Elections 1962-2009 consolidating Thomas Holmes & Henry Farber data. OSHA inspections from U.S. Department of Labor.

Summaries

The Conversation: Unionized workers are more likely to assert their right to a safe and healthy workplace
- Also published in: Houston Chronicle

Press Mentions

Common Dreams: COVID-19 gag rules endanger everyone, but study shows unions make it easier to assert workplace safety rights
UnionTrack: Has the pandemic been a turning point for healthcare unions?
The Daily Poster: Amazon tries to block vote on worker safety initiative

Pickens, J. and A. Sojourner (2026) Just Cause Protections Under Managerial Discrimination, ILR Review. 79(2): 333–363
Working Papers

Pickens, J. and A. Sojourner (2022) Effects of Access-to-Hours and Just Cause Regulations on Labor Market Outcomes

Summaries

Qui, Y., A. Sojourner, & P. Volpin (2025) M&A and Workplace Safety: Evidence from Mines

Star-Tribune: Sunday op-ed as part of pro-/con- feature on RTW

Star-Tribune: Sunday op-ed as part of pro-/con- feature on the minimum wage

Star-Tribune: The case for mandating paid sick-leave in Minneapolis

The Hill: If there are right-to-work laws, there must be right-to-invest laws

Marinescu. I., Y. Qiu, & A. Sojourner. Wage Inequality and Labor Rights Violations
Press Mentions

Ruffini, K., A. Sojourner & A. Wozniak (2021) Who's in and who's out under workplace COVID symptom screening? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.
Working Papers

Minneapolis Fed

Summaries

Econofact: COVID Symptom Screening at the Workplace

Press Mentions

The Hill: Employers have critical role to prevent second wave
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank: How well do workplace COVID-19 screens work? And do they discriminate?
Tradeoffs podcast: The perils of self-reported COVID screening