State and Local Enforcement Project

Terri Gerstein is frequently quoted in the media on workers’ rights and employment law issues.

2023

• New York Workers Are Waiting on $79 Million in Back Wages, Marcus Baram, ProPublica, August 21, 2023.
• A Hands-Off Labor Department Retreats From Wage Theft Enforcement, Maxwell Parrott, New York Focus, August 16, 2023.
• Food-Delivery Companies Sue New York City Over Minimum Pay Law, Kellen Browning and Ana Ley, The New York Times, July 6, 2023.
• Advocates Say Wage Theft Fight Needs Community Orgs, Daniela Porat, Law 360, June 23, 2023.
• California’s Alex Padilla Calls for Corporate Accountability to End Migrant Child Labor Exploitation, Sierra Sun Times, June 15, 2023. 
• Democratic senators push for Labor budget increase to prevent abuse of migrant children, Caleigh Kelly, The Hill, June 14, 2023.
• In Rare Conviction, Contractor Is Held Liable in Construction Death, Lola Fadulu, The New York Times, March 3, 2023.
• After they won their wage theft cases, they waited years to get paid. Some still wait., Juliana Feliciano Reyes, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 23, 2023.
• The importance of enforcing wage theft, Affording Your Life Podcast with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, February 14, 2023.
• The Labor Case Before SCOTUS Has Big Implications for Democracy, Slate Podcasts, Amicus Podcast with Dahlia Lithwick, January 15, 2023.

2022

• Child workers found throughout Hyundai-Kia supply chain in Alabama, Mica Rosenberg, Kristina Cooke, and Joshua Schneyer, Reuters, Dec. 16, 2022.
• State AGs Could Play Key Role in Clean Energy Transition, Carl Smith, Governing Magazine, December 15, 2022.
• Report: Public development subsidy deals should guarantee better jobs, working conditions, Erik Gunn, November 29, 2022.
• Elon Musk’s Twitter lays off employees across the company, Donie O’Sullivan and Clare Duffy, CNN, November 5, 2022.
• Why going on strike could get much harder for American workers, Irina Ivanova, CBS News Moneywatch, October 13, 2022.
• Companies Are Required to Report Their Union Busting, but Many Don’t, Rachel Phua, The American Prospect, Sept. 5, 2022.
• How do gig workers fit in to the rest of today’s labor force? David Brancaccio and Jarrett Dang, Marketplace, Aug. 31, 2022.
• In the Face of Federal Inaction, Local Governments Tackle Labor Issues, Mark Kreidler, The American Prospect, July 19, 2022.
• Local Governments Mobilize to Support Working Citizens, Carl Smith, Governing Magazine, July 14, 2022.
• Local Policies Fill the Gaps in Workplace Protections Where State, Fed Laws Fail, Fisayo Okare, Documented, June 16, 2022.
• Massachusetts Court Throws Out Gig Worker Ballot Measure, Kellen Browning, New York Times, June 14, 2022.
• Commerce Fraud Bureau to get new powers to investigate wage theft, other financial crimes, Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer, May 25, 2022.
• Multnomah County district attorney moves to prosecute employers who intentionally cheat workers out of pay, Jamie Goldberg, The Oregonian, April 29, 2022.
• Late Disclosures Concealed the Extent of Amazon’s Anti-Union Campaign, Dave Jamieson, Huffington Post, April 22, 2022, Updated April 25, 2022.
• How Gig Workers in Canada are Fighting for Employee Rights, Luis Feliz Leon, the REAL news network, March 8, 2022.
• Washington State Advances Landmark Deal on Gig Drivers’ Job Status, Noam Scheiber and Kellen Browning, New York Times, March 4, 2022.
• After five years of #MeToo movement, a modest win for women’s rights, Hassan Kanu, Reuters, February 16, 2022.
• Data Provided by Amazon Workers Offers Rare Glimpse into COVID Cases in California Warehouses, Maddy Varner and Dara Kerr, The Markup, February 10, 2022.
• Mills administration cracking down on employer wage and hour violations, Peter McGuire, Portland Press Herald, February 6, 2022.
• Teens Driving 18-Wheelers Among Efforts to Help Supply Chain, Lillianna Byington, Bloomberg Government, January 13, 2022.

<< State & Local Enforcement Project

2020

• NY Appeals Court Says Upstate Uber Driver is Employee, Michael Angell, Law360, December 18, 2020.
• Prop 22 passes in California, exempting Uber and Lyft from classifying drivers as employees, Sara Ashley O’Brien, CNN Business, November 4, 2020.
• Inside Scalia’s Pro-Industry Revamp of Labor Agency Enforcement, Ben Penn, Bloomberg Law, November 2, 2020.
• McDonald’s Legal Boss Jerry Krulewitch Retires (1), Ruiqi Chen, Bloomberg Law, October 15, 2020.
• Lack of oversight and transparency leave Amazon employees in the dark on Covid-19, April Glaser, Olivia Solon, Cyrus Farivar, Adiel Kaplan and Ezra Kaplan, NBCNews.com, September 30, 2020.
• From tackling payroll fraud to suing Trump: Nessel recognized as leading AG on workers’ rights, Laina G. Stebbins, Michigan Advance, September 7, 2020.
• State AGs Taking On Bigger Workplace Enforcement Role, Braden Campbell, Law360, August 28, 2020
• Pa. is part of growing movement of state AGs defending workers’ rights, report finds, Juliana Feliciano Reyes, The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 27, 2020
• Covid Gag Rules at U.S. Companies Are Putting Everyone at Risk, Josh Eidelson, Bloomberg Businessweek, August 27, 2020
• Uber and Lyft could shut down in California this week. It may not help their cause, Sara Ashley O’Brien, CNN Business, August 16, 2020.
• Summer was always a heat and health risk for UPS workers. Then came COVID-19., Adiel Kaplan and Lisa Riordan Seville, NBCNews.com, August 15, 2020.
• Uber Might Briefly Shut Down In California After Court Rules That Drivers Are Employees, Whizy Kim, Refinery29, August 11, 2020.
• COVID-19 Employment Study: American Job Losses and Recovery by State, Deb Gordon, Money Geek, August 8, 2020.
• These Furloughed Workers Must Sign Arbitration Agreements To Get Their Jobs Back, Dave Jamieson, Huffington Post, July 22, 2020.
• No Mask, No Service Rules Leave Workers Open to Customer Abuse, Robert Iafolla and Fatima Hussein, Bloomberg Law, July 21, 2020.
• An ER Doctor Lost His Job After Criticizing His Hospital On Covid-19. Now He’s Suing, KPCW, May 29, 2020.
• One Way To Protect Workers In A Pandemic: Make It Harder To Fire Them, Dave Jamieson, Huffington Post, May 22, 2020
• ‘We can only do so much’? Here’s what experts say Pa., Philly can do to protect workers during the coronavirus., Juliana Feliciano Reyes, The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 16, 2020
• How To File For Unemployment If You’ve Been Affected By Coronavirus Layoffs, Monica Torres, HuffPost, March 23, 2020
• Apple Case Shows Federal-State Split on Security Screening Pay, Robert Iafolla, Bloomberg Law, February 14, 2020
• Gig economy bills move forward in other blue states, after California clears the way, Eli Rosenberg, The Washington Post, ‎January‎ ‎17‎, ‎2020
• Courts Block State Laws Aimed at Protecting Workers, For Now, Erin Mulvaney, Bloomberg Law, January 2, 2020

Radio, podcast and Video appearances

• How SCOTUS Could CRUSH Labor Strikes, Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar, October 16, 2022.
• How to End Wage Theft, Chris Bangert-Drowns, WPFW, May 10, 2021. Also available here.
• Episode 53: Uber, Lyft & The Gig Economy’s Impact On Workers, Miranda Warnings Podcast hosted by David Miranda, Jan. 31, 2020.
• Episode #6 What is Wage Theft? w/ Workers’ Rights Advocate Terri Gerstein, Affording Your Life with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, December 2019.