Overview
Employer practices such as hiring, scheduling, promotion, supervision, and on-the-job training determine workers’ day-to-day reality and long-term prospects in the labor market. The growing prevalence of independent contractors and contingent workers underscores the continued fissuring of employer-employee relationships.
Working Knowledge

Employer practices
August 23, 2023
Research Summary
Compliance Challenges of Ban the Box
Ban the Box policies, intended to promote equitable hiring practices for those with criminal records, face challenges due to employer noncompliance. Clear legislation, communication, and enforcement are crucial for effective policy adherence.

Employer practices
August 16, 2023
Research Summary
Agricultural Worker Shortage to Worsen without Wage Increases
Research finds that workers from Mexico are leaving farm work and are less inclined to participate in US agricultural work unless inflation-adjusted wages rise significantly, which in turn creates incentives for US farm employers to increase wages while seeking labor-saving technological solutions.
Research
Employer practices
Report
Last updated on January 22, 2025
Job Quality and Employer Practices: Evidence from B Corporations
A new WorkRise report, Job Quality and Employer Practices: Evidence from B Corporations, examines differences across firms in employer practices related to job quality, and how those differences relate to outcomes for both workers and businesses.
WorkRise Research
Employer practices
Last updated on December 04, 2024
Advancing Economic Mobility in Manufacturing
In today’s labor market, manufacturers, like many employers, recognize that recruiting and retaining workers often means rethinking diversity considerations and identifying new talent pools.
Last updated on December 04, 2024
Employer practices
Report
Last updated on October 25, 2024
The Minneapolis Small Business High-Road Labor Standards Intervention Pilot Project
The Minneapolis Small Business High-Road Labor Standards Intervention Pilot Project seeks to provide services that support immigrant, black, indigenous, and people of color owned small businesses so that they can create healthy, just, and equitable jobs through meeting and or exceeding minimum city labor standards.
Grantee Research
Employer practices
Brief
Last updated on September 19, 2024
Extreme Heat at Work
This research brief offers the first nationally representative estimates of how outdoor and indoor workers are affected by extreme heat, highlighting that low-wage workers, defined as adults earning less than $15 an hour, face greater risks than higher-wage earners.
WorkRise Research