What Does EARN Recommend for the U.S. Worker Rights Crisis?

EARN's central 2025/2026 recommendation is a series of briefs titled Holding the Line: State solutions to the U.S. worker rights crisis. The series argues that states should respond to the current worker rights crisis, remedy longstanding gaps and exclusions in weak or outdated labor and employment laws, and advance new protections to build an economy that works for all. The briefs are available to read on the EARN website.

What the "Holding the Line" Series Covers

According to EARN's own description, the series is built around three connected goals:

• Respond to the current crisis. States are positioned as the actors that must react to what EARN calls the U.S. worker rights crisis.
• Fix old gaps and exclusions. The briefs address longstanding gaps and exclusions in labor and employment laws that EARN characterizes as weak or outdated.
• Advance new protections. Beyond repair, the series calls for new protections aimed at an economy that works for everyone.

This framing matters because it locates the action at the state level rather than waiting on federal change — consistent with EARN's identity as a network fighting "state by state."

Why the State Level Is the Focus

EARN describes itself as a nationwide network of research, policy, and advocacy organizations. That structure explains the strategy: with a presence across states, the network can push proposals through state legislatures and agencies even when federal protections stall or weaken.

The topics EARN tracks on its site show the scope of what "worker rights" covers in this context:

These are the issue areas the Holding the Line briefs are meant to address, so readers can use this list to find the brief most relevant to their state or policy interest.

Who Should Read the Briefs

The series is aimed at people who work on state-level labor policy — researchers, advocates, and policymakers in EARN's member organizations and beyond. If your question is "what should my state do about worker protections right now," the briefs are the direct answer EARN offers.

If instead you want to understand what EARN is as an organization, its network structure, and how it operates across states, that is a separate question covered elsewhere.

Where to Find the Briefs

The Holding the Line briefs are linked from EARN's homepage under "Key Resources for 2025/2026," with a "Read the briefs here" link. The site also lists recent publications from network partners, such as analyses from the Oregon Center for Public Policy, the Maryland Center for Economic Policy, and Kids Forward in Wisconsin — useful if you want state-specific examples of the same policy approach in practice.