The phrase “government regulation” isn’t one that often inspires feelings of joy, gratitude or national pride. Typically, it’s derided as “red tape,” saddled with labels like “burdensome” and “unnecessary.” But this attitude is at odds with the benefits that regulations have brought — from clean air and potable water to healthy foods, effective medicines, safe consumer products and more.
Regulations have yielded immeasurable benefits to the health, well-being and quality of life for Americans. Yet even among those who recognize its importance, few would go out of their way to celebrate it. This Labor Day, I will.
Every player in our economy — individuals, businesses and policymakers — can make work better for working people. And while individuals and businesses have the power to raise the bar, most often it’s policymakers who set the floor.
Regulations on work have yielded significant benefits for the American people. Thanks to government regulations, we have a 40 hours work week, weekends and paid holidays, and most, but unfortunately not all, can expect to earn a minimum wage (although it desperately needs to rise) and be fairly compensated for overtime. Thanks to government regulations, workplaces are much safer today and child labor is no longer the norm and no one can be hired, fired, promoted or punished because of their race, religion, sex or disability. Yes, passing a law didn’t completely cure workplace discrimination, but it discourages it and provides an avenue for redress.
Regulations grant most workers the right to protest, organize and unionize in search of better conditions, though employers still too often fire organizing workers at no consequence. And it will be regulations that help us negotiate the knottier questions of the emerging economy — gig work, globalization, artificial intelligence and the fraying social contract between employers and employees.
My organization hosted a series of conversations exploring how well legislation underlying U.S. workplace regulations, most of which was passed decades ago, fits with the challenges faced by working people today.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, for example, set the first minimum wage, banned employment of young children, established standards for teen employment and set rules on working hours and overtime pay. While many people today continue to benefit from FLSA protections, the law intentionally excluded industries and occupations with high numbers of women and people of color, consequences still felt by those workers today.
Workplace safety is another area where regulation has undergirded considerable improvements in workers’ health and well-being. In 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act in response to rising concerns about workplace injuries and fatalities. The law resulted in dramatic improvements in workplace safety, including a 65 percent decline in the number of worker deaths and a 67 percent decrease in worker injuries and illnesses — even as the working population doubled in size.
Nowadays, most people take these norms for granted, but they met fierce opposition when they passed and continue to face an onslaught today, as states attempt to roll back child labor laws and preempt local governments from raising the minimum wage. The National Labor Relations Act, which established the right of workers to form a union 12 years before that right was included in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has long been contested by business interests.
Despite current high public opinion regarding unions, major corporations continue to use every tool — including the courts — to oppose them. Business organizations are also quick to oppose any effort to improve the enforcement of existing labor laws. A recent example is the strenuous objections to a proposed requirement that businesses write a short statement attesting that they are in compliance with federal labor laws in order to qualify for government subsidies for their workforce training.
Opposition like this has resulted in a significant underinvestment in the enforcement of U.S. labor laws. Funding for agencies such as the Wage and Hour Division, the National Labor Relations Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has largely been flat over the last couple of decades despite inflation and a growing population.
The Supreme Court’s recent Chevron decision will almost certainly make it harder for government agencies to promulgate and enforce regulations. That would be a verybad thing for workers and families. Viewed through the lens of history, however, Chevron is the natural end to a long and very public war against regulation itself.
The case against regulation tends to be based on an anecdote about a sympathetic small business or individual that struggled with “red tape” combined with some statistics about the volume of regulations to conclude that we just have too many, while never being clear which ones they hope to do away with. It is akin to the Emperor’s critique of Mozart’s music in the movie “Amadeus,” when he declared too many notes. And just as Mozart asked which notes the Emperor had in mind to cut, so too we should query the anti-regulation advocates which specific ones they plan to do away with.
Considering the regulations related to work, I suspect that the majority of the public would not side with the anti-regulation approach. Unions, despite have weak regulatory protections, are popular with the public while, when given the opportunity to vote, that same public broadly favors raising the minimum wage.
It’s important to remember that, while still imperfect, working families’ lives are significantly safer and more prosperous thanks to regulation. So, this Labor Day, grill some burgers, grab a beer and bust out some celebratory red tape to appreciate the regulations, and those who fought for them, that ensure our way of life.
Maureen Conway is vice president and executive director of the Economic Opportunities Program at the Aspen Institute.
