Business goals and worker well-being can be improved through strong LGBTQ+ workplace policies and practices, which research shows benefit workers’ well-being and firms’ financial performances.

The temporary staffing industry is a $186-billion industry, widely used across sectors from food processing to product creation. Temp staffing can be used to skirt liability, and staffing agencies and the companies that use them create a second-tiered workforce, says Lorraine Sands, legal organizer at GLOW: Grassroots Law and Organizing for Workers. To advance the process of bettering temp workers’ rights, this research highlighted how racial and gender discrimination is often pervasive in the temporary staffing sector. The report explores the national context but focuses particularly on Harris County, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Low-wage workers are less likely to submit a claim for unemployment insurance and more likely to have their claims appealed by their former employers than median-wage workers. New research shows that current UI policies may contribute to these disparities by incentivizing some businesses to appeal UI claims and prevent eligible workers from receiving needed income support, in part by potentially deterring them from applying at all.

Given shifts in attitudes and legislation around irregular work hours, this study explores the effects of changes in scheduling practices on employee and business outcomes, finding benefits for both parties.