The Labor Center conducts a wide range of research on low-wage work in California and nationally. Our research focuses on documenting and understanding working conditions in low-wage industries, especially for women, immigrants, and workers of color. We also analyze policies to raise labor standards at the local, state, and national levels.
For an in-depth description of California’s low-wage workforce, see our Data Explorer.
View our Inventory of US City and County Minimum Wage Ordinances and our new Inventory of Sectoral Wage Ordinances.
New! Know Your Rights at Work: Information for New Workers in California. This handout is given to all CA high school students applying for work permits explaining their rights on the job, as mandated by AB 800. Useful for all new workers — and long-time workers, too.
You can also visit our Black Worker project.
Minimum wage, living wage, and other labor standards studies.
Research on the societal and fiscal costs of low-wage work.
In-depth studies of labor markets and working conditions in low-wage industries.
Independent contracting, gig work, and employee misclassification
Supporting early educators and expanding childcare access isn’t just morally right—it’s smart economic policy. Higher wages, stable programs, and affordable care options strengthen families and unlock economic potential across generations.
Our Low-Wage Work in California Data Explorer offers disaggregated data by regional subgroup for AAPI workers, showing important differences across occupation, gender, and nativity status within this diverse group.
Our report assesses the impact of AB 1228 by estimating how eligibility for Medi-Cal might change for workers covered under this law. From this, we also estimate potential reductions in federal and state Medi-Cal spending.
A proposed ordinance in the Chicago City Council would set minimum standards for transportation network driver compensation. In this brief we analyze drivers’ earnings in Chicago under current law, and what drivers would earn under the proposed policy.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential impacts of consolidating collective bargaining for California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers from the county level to the state or regional level.
February 6, 2025
Estimating the impact of California’s $20 fast-food minimum wage on Medi-Cal eligibility
January 21, 2025
Chicago Transportation Network Drivers’ Earnings and Projections Under Proposed City Ordinance
January 8, 2025
Home care workers help California’s aging population. Should they be covered by state unions?
May 20, 2024
Gig Passenger and Delivery Driver Pay in Five Metro Areas
February 20, 2024
California health care minimum wage: New estimates for impacts on workers, patients, and the state budget
Beginning July 1, 10 cities and counties across the Golden State will increase in the minimum wage. In some cities, industry-specific wage hikes will take effect.
In residential construction, a system of contractors and subcontractors opens the door to abuses, said Enrique Lopezlira. Contractors hire workers, often immigrant laborers, for low-wage jobs and pay them in cash, to save money on benefits and make the lowest possible bid for projects.
“I think the move toward automation to preserve NOI [net operating income] – if not done carefully and ethically – can cement a two-tier service model that reflects and reinforces broader societal inequalities,” says Enrique Lopezlira, director of the Low-Wage Work Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center.
“The hotel industry’s increasing reliance on automation…raises serious concerns about job security, working conditions and the long-term erosion of labour standards in the hospitality sector,” Enrique Lopezlira says.
A 2016 UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education study found one-third of U.S. manufacturing workers relied on a government assistance program such as food stamps, and pay for manufacturing jobs lag behind non-manufacturing jobs.
Enrique Lopezlira
Director, Low-Wage Work Program
Carmen Brick
Senior Researcher
Ken Jacobs
Senior Policy Advisor
Savannah Hunter
Senior Researcher
Ellen Love
Policy and Project Analyst
