Aspects of employment are subject to a variety of federal, state, and sometimes local regulation. Obvious examples are minimum wages and overtime, leave time, equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, collective bargaining, and frequency of wage payment. Often, regulations vary in application depending on the status of the employee, e.g., age and occupation. In some cases, there are incentives – generally through the tax code – to provide certain benefits rather than mandates. Sometimes governments as purchasers of goods and services may specify particular workplace conditions that must be provided by contractors, e.g., “living” wages. This research cluster deals with the labor market impacts of the various forms of regulation and incentives.
