Terri Gerstein discusses how states and cities can protect workers as federal oversight recedes.
In a conversation with The Regulatory Review, Terri Gerstein discusses state and local enforcement of workers’ rights, the growing role of state attorneys general, criminal prosecution of wage theft, and cooperation among states to protect workers.
Gerstein explains why state and local governments can respond to new developments faster than federal agencies and how she has come to see many of them as more reliable than the federal government. She describes how, over the past decade, the number of state attorney general offices with dedicated worker-protection units has grown from three to at least 12. Gerstein also discusses what criminal prosecutors bring to wage theft cases, including the power to signal which conduct society will not tolerate. She identifies what makes labor standards offices effective: adequate funding, strategic enforcement, partnerships with unions and community groups, and bold leadership.
Turning to what she views as the federal government’s retreat from labor enforcement, Gerstein assesses how much of the federal government’s work states and localities can absorb and explains how agencies can expand their capacity by hiring outside lawyers who collect fees only if they win. She identifies ways that states can coordinate enforcement and legislation across state lines.
Gerstein is the director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative at New York University’s...
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