State and Local Enforcement Project
State Attorneys General
Reports
- Terri Gerstein, How district attorneys and state attorneys general are fighting workplace abuses, Economic Policy Institute and Harvard Labor and Worklife Program, May 17, 2021.
- Terri Gerstein, Workers’ rights protection and enforcement by state attorneys general, Economic Policy Institute and Harvard Labor and Worklife Program, August 27, 2020.
- Terri Gerstein and Marni von Wilpert, State attorneys general can play key roles in protecting workers’ rights, Economic Policy Institute, May 7, 2018.
- Bethany Davis Noll, Terri Gerstein, Tiernaur Anderson, A Role for State Attorneys General in a Just Transition, Harvard Labor and Worklife Program and NYU State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, December 2022.
Op-eds, blog posts, articles
- Terri Gerstein, The Role of State Attorneys General in Protecting Workers’ Rights, American Constitution Society blog, September 4, 2022.
- Terri Gerstein, State attorneys general taking on protection of workers’ rights, Economic Policy Institute Working Economics blog, December 16, 2020.
- Terri Gerstein and Arisha Hatch, Re-Envisioning the Roles of Prosecutors and Attorneys General to Make the Justice System Work for Everyone, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2020.
- Terri Gerstein, State Attorneys General Are Helping Workers in Hard Times, The American Prospect, September 7, 2020.
- Terri Gerstein, Why a Vote for State Attorney General Is One of the Most Important Ballots to Cast on Tuesday, Slate, November 2, 2018.
Webinars
- State AGs Protecting Workers’ Rights Roundtable, October 26, 2020, featuring D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. (available on this page, go to the black video space in the middle of the page).
- State Attorneys General as Protectors of Workers’ Rights, hosted by the Economic Policy Institute and the Harvard Labor and Worklife Program, featuring AG labor bureau chiefs from CA, IL, MA, NY, PA.
Law Review articles
- Bethany Davis Noll and Terri Gerstein, Examining the Role of AGs in a Just Transition, 40 Pace Envtl. L. Rev. 198 (2023)
- Jennifer Brand, The Role of State Attorneys General in the Enforcement of Labor Laws, National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School (Feb. 2007).
- Jane R. Flanagan, Alt-Enforcers : The Emergence Of State Attorneys General As Workplace Rights Enforcers, 95 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 103 (2020).
- Peter Romer Friedman, Eliot Spitzer Meets Mother Jones: How State Attorneys General Can Enforce State. Wage and Hour Laws, 39 COLUM. J.L. & SOC. PROBS. 495 (2006).
- Terri Gerstein, State and Local Workers’ Rights Innovations: New Players, New Laws, New Methods of Enforcement, 65 St. Louis U. L.J. 45 (2021).
Select news coverage about the trend of state AGs getting involved in workers’ rights
- 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.
Reports by State AG offices
- 2022 Labor Day Reports: California, D.C., Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington.
- Sampling of prior Labor Day Reports: Massachusetts, New York, Washington.
- Massachusetts AG office 2022 report about its work in the construction industry.
- Minnesota AG 2022 report following a Task Force on the Economic Security of Women, offering a number of policy proposals.
- DC AG 2019 report on misclassification and payroll fraud in the DC construction industry.
- NY AG 2014 report on payment of wages by payroll cards.