Low-Wage Work

  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Newsletter

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

Research & Publications

Nari Rhee,Ken Jacobs,Laurel Lucia,Enrique Lopezlira,Alexis Manzanilla,Savannah HunterandKelly Quinn

Analysis of the Potential Impacts of Statewide or Regional Collective Bargaining for In-Home Supportive Services Providers

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.

Press Coverage

Hospital Investor

Hospitality’s two-tier tech divide

“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.