Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, REPORTS—Public sees benefits from strong standards for government workers, (Sep 22, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

Reliance on public assistance to offset poor pay is common among the lowest-paid government workers, the report states.

While state and local governments may be looking to cut their own spending due to significant reductions in federal funding and slowing economic growth, maintaining fair working conditions for government workers can result in increased productivity, improved public outcomes, and stable revenues, according to an issue brief by the Center for American Progress (CAP). The issue brief highlights research demonstrating that the public reaps the benefits of supporting strong standards for government workers.

Benefits to public. According to CAP, studies consistently find that wage and benefit standards for direct government workers, as well as workers whose jobs are funded by government spending, help raise wages, reduce racial wealth gaps, and shrink the wage gap between public and private sector workers. Such standards can also create a more effective and efficient government, which, in turn, benefits the public. State governments, for example, can improve outcomes for Medicaid recipients by recognizing the right of Medicaid-funded home care workers to bargain. Research has also shown that, for municipal police recordkeeping employees, work-from-home benefits increased worker productivity by 12 percent on average by decreasing distractions. Conversely, outcomes deteriorate when job standards are revoked, leading to high turnover and increased worker injury.

Worker retention. Raising and maintaining strong standards for state and local public sector workers—who earn significantly less than their private sector counterparts with similar occupations and backgrounds—will help boost retention, creating a more experienced, knowledgeable workforce and reducing restaffing costs, the issue brief states. Conversely, weakening workplace standards increases turnover, which, in turn, increases restaffing costs. According to the issue brief, large school districts spend about $25,000 to replace a departing teacher, and, among state social workers in Nebraska, replacement costs 34.5 percent of a social worker’s salary.

Reducing reliance on public assistance, increasing tax revenue. Maintaining low standards for government workers hides the actual cost of running the government, as workers paid poverty wages are more likely to rely on publicly funded safety net programs. The issue brief states that reliance on public assistance to offset poor pay is common among the lowest-paid government workers. However, when government workers earn decent wages and benefits, they are less likely to rely on public assistance, and they contribute more in state and local taxes. Research shows that prevailing wage laws decrease the number of construction workers in poverty by 30 percent and that states with such laws receive 17 percent higher income tax and property tax contributions from construction workers.

Attracting next generation of government workers. Competitive wage and benefits standards can attract qualified workers to fill the gaps when a record number of Americans reach retirement age between 2024 and 2027. According to the issue brief, public employee unions are increasingly partnering with state and local governments to create high-quality workforce training programs to train workers in sectors such as child care, information technology, nursing, and building management.

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