Corporations are not afraid to pick up and move.
Many states are offering companies attractive incentives, such as lower taxes, if they change their operations, but a superior business climate does not always equate to a superior work climate.
“Things that benefit employers when it comes to their bottom line or their margin in terms of economic expansion can directly conflict with things that benefit real employees, residents and workers,” said Niani Tolbert, Founder and CEO of Hire Black Now, an organization that combines talent recruitment and development to improve the upward mobility of black women in the US workforce.
Many of the states with the most attractive business incentives are also passing controversial social policies that some businesses and the general public have rejected. These issues include LGBTQ restrictions, limiting access to vote, restrictions on abortion, and preventing schools and employers from conducting training on diversity and inclusion.
The annual Best States to Work Index by anti-poverty organization Oxfam America looks at which states have the best policies to protect workers.
Oxfam America ranked North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina as the worst states for workers in 2021.
“Every year, the worst states to work in are the ones in the South, almost always. And 2021 was no different,” said Kaitlyn Henderson, Senior Researcher at Oxfam America.
A partisan division has formed around labor policies. Democrats are more likely to approve the kinds of policies that Oxfam America tracks in its best states to work on the list, such as higher minimum wages, workplace pregnancy accommodations and policies that protect the right to unionize.
But the states with the best policies for workers, according to Oxfam America’s analysis, also tend to be the states with the highest cost of living.
Oxfam America ranked Oregon, New York, Massachusetts and California as some of the best states for workers’ rights, but CNBC’s 2022 Best States for Business Index found that these states also have some of the highest costs of living in the country. .
“There are a number of things workers look for when considering different job opportunities that companies should consider when recruiting talent for jobs,” said Rachel Lipson, director of the Project on Workforce at Harvard University. “We are still in a very tight job market where workers still have a lot of power and the ability to be demanding.”
Watch the video above to learn which states are the worst for workers and how companies in those states can attract the best talent.
