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What is EARN?
EARN — the Economic Analysis and Research Network — is a nationwide network of research, policy, and advocacy organizations that work state by state on economic policy. Rather than a single think tank, it functions as a coalition: member groups produce state-level research and push policies on issues such as minimum wage, paid leave, paid sick days, overtime, wage theft, education, jobs, and racial justice. Its stated goal is "an economy that works for everyone."
What the network actually does
- State-focused research: Member organizations publish analyses of local conditions and proposed policies. Recent examples shown on the site include a Wisconsin piece on affordability questions raised at a governor candidate forum, an Oregon analysis challenging a prosperity council's assumptions, and a Maryland brief arguing that work requirements would worsen a housing crisis.
- Policy advocacy: The work is aimed at changing state law and practice, not just describing problems.
- Shared resources: EARN gathers briefs and toolkits for advocates. Its 2025/2026 resource series, "Holding the Line," addresses how states should respond to a worker rights crisis, close gaps in outdated labor law, and advance new protections.
- Convening: The site notes open registration for an event, suggesting it also connects researchers and advocates across states.
Who it is for
EARN is most useful to state legislators and their staff, policy analysts, labor and community advocates, journalists covering state economic policy, and local nonprofit researchers. If you need a national overview, a federal agency or a large national think tank may fit better; EARN's value is in state-specific evidence and the network of groups that produce it.
A practical next step
Start with the "Holding the Line" briefs for a current, cross-state view of worker rights policy, then browse recent publications by state to see the kind of analysis member groups produce. If you work in a particular state, identify the EARN member organization there and follow its output directly — that is usually more actionable than the national page. Related national resources on work and wages include the Economic Policy Institute and, for legal angles, the National Employment Law Project.
How can I find EARN's research on minimum wage and paid leave policies?
Start with the site's topic navigation: EARN organizes its material by issue, and Minimum Wage and Paid Leave are both listed as network topics, so those are the most direct routes to research on either subject. The site also groups work into Recent Publications and a Key Resources section, where a 2025/2026 series on state responses to the worker rights crisis is featured.
Practical paths to the research
- Use the topic links for Minimum Wage and Paid Leave to pull together briefs, reports, and state-level analysis rather than searching publication by publication.
- Browse Recent Publications, which credits the state organization and author for each item, so you can tell whether a piece is national analysis or a state-specific report.
- Check Key Resources for 2025/2026 for the current brief series on state labor law gaps and new protections, which is likely to cover wage and leave policy among other issues.
- If you want material from a particular state, note that EARN is a nationwide network of research, policy, and advocacy organizations; publications are often produced by state groups such as the Oregon Center for Public Policy or the Maryland Center for Economic Policy, so searching by state or by those organizations can be faster than a broad keyword search.
A useful next step
Decide first whether you need national framing or a state example. For a national overview of minimum wage and paid leave debates, the topic pages and the current brief series are the better starting point. For a concrete state model or a legislative argument you can reuse, go through Recent Publications and note the sponsoring state organization and author — that tells you the geographic scope before you open the document.
One caveat: EARN is a network of advocacy-oriented research organizations, so its publications argue a position rather than aiming for neutral summary. That is useful when you want policy recommendations and state examples, but for baseline statistics or opposing views you should pair it with a primary source such as a federal labor statistics agency or a state legislature's own fiscal analysis.
What does EARN do to address racial justice and wage theft in state economies?
EARN is a network rather than a single organization, so its work on racial justice and wage theft happens mainly through state-level research and advocacy groups that publish briefs, analysis and policy recommendations under the network umbrella. On the site, both topics appear as standing issue areas alongside wages, paid leave and minimum wage, and the network's framing ties them together: gaps and exclusions in labor law that leave some workers unprotected are treated as part of the same problem as outright violations like wage theft.
In practice, that means two kinds of output:
- Research and policy briefs that diagnose how state labor laws fall short, including exclusions that fall hardest on workers of color, and propose concrete state-level fixes.
- Cross-state coordination, so a policy idea tested or proposed in one state can be picked up by partner organizations elsewhere.
For racial justice specifically, the site's stated approach is to treat it as a lens across economic policy areas — wages, education, jobs, paid leave — rather than a separate track. For wage theft, the relevant work sits with the wages and worker-protections material, where the network argues states should close gaps in weak or outdated employment laws rather than wait on federal action. The "Holding the Line" brief series is the clearest current example of that state-solutions framing.
A practical next step: if you are researching a specific state, start from the issue pages (Racial Justice, Wage Theft, Wages) and then look for publications tagged to your state, since the substance lives with the state partner organizations rather than the national page. If you want a broader comparison point for how state labor policy is tracked, the Economic Policy Institute publishes related national analysis.
How can I register for EARN's upcoming events or conferences?
Register through EARN's own site rather than a third-party ticketing page. The site shows a "Registration is now open!" notice near its events area, so start at EARN and look for that link or the events/convenings section.
A practical path
- Open the EARN homepage and scan for "Registration is now open!" or an Events/Convening menu item.
- Follow the registration link and complete the form with your name, organization and role.
- If you don't see a form, use the site's contact option to ask which upcoming convenings are open and who qualifies to attend.
What to expect EARN is a network of state-level research, policy and advocacy groups, so its events tend to be working sessions for researchers, policy analysts, organizers and communications staff rather than large public conferences. Registration may be limited to network partners or may ask which state or organization you represent.
If registration isn't open Check the "Recent Publications" and "Key Resources" areas instead; EARN often releases briefs tied to its convenings, and those pages sometimes announce related webinars or calls. For state-specific gatherings, the individual member organizations listed in publications (for example, groups in Wisconsin, Oregon or Maryland) often host their own events — contact them directly if your interest is local.
What are EARN's key resources for 2025/2026 on state solutions to the U.S. worker rights crisis?
EARN's 2025/2026 resource on this topic is a series of briefs titled "Holding the Line: State solutions to the U.S. worker rights crisis." According to the page, the series explains how 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.
The briefs are aimed at state-level audiences: researchers, policy staff, advocates, and legislators who need arguments and models they can adapt to their own state's laws. Because the framing is explicitly state-by-state, the content is more useful for someone drafting or defending a bill than for someone seeking a single national overview.
EARN's own site groups related topic areas alongside the series: COVID-19, paid sick days, EARN in the South, education, jobs, minimum wage, overtime, paid leave, preemption, racial justice, wage theft, and wages. That grouping is a practical index — if your state's fight is about preemption or wage theft, those topic pages are the natural entry points before diving into the briefs.
A useful next step: start with the brief that matches your state's live legislative fight, then check the topic pages for background. If you want to see how the network applies this analysis in practice, EARN's recent publications include state-level work from member organizations such as the Oregon Center for Public Policy, the Maryland Center for Economic Policy, and Kids Forward in Wisconsin. The network itself is at EARN.
How does EARN support policy advocacy in Southern states and on issues like education and jobs?
EARN supports advocacy in Southern states and on education and jobs mainly by connecting state-level research and policy organizations rather than running its own national campaigns. Its site organizes work around topics such as EARN in the South, Education, Jobs, Minimum Wage, and Paid Leave, and publishes state-focused briefs and reports from member organizations. If you work for a state advocacy group, a legislative office, or a community organization, the practical use is to find research you can cite in testimony, coalition materials, or media work, and to see how similar issues are framed in other states.
H3 How the network model works EARN describes itself as a nationwide network of research, policy, and advocacy organizations fighting state by state. In practice, that means the Southern work is likely carried by state partners who understand local politics, with EARN providing a shared platform for publications and resources. The site's recent publications show this pattern: state groups publish on their own issues, such as affordability in Wisconsin, the Oregon Prosperity Council, and Maryland housing work requirements. For a reader in a Southern state, the value is finding a nearby partner organization and comparable state examples, not a single national policy blueprint.
H3 Where education and jobs fit Education and jobs appear as standing issue areas alongside wages, wage theft, paid leave, and racial justice. The current "Key Resources for 2025/2026" highlights a brief series, Holding the Line: State solutions to the U.S. worker rights crisis, which focuses on how states can respond to gaps in labor and employment law. That framing is useful if your advocacy goal is to advance a specific state bill: you can look for a brief that matches your issue, then adapt its arguments to your state's law and political context.
H3 A practical next step Start with the publications page, filter by your state or region, and identify which organization produced the research. If you need a broader national reference point, the Economic Policy Institute Economic Policy Institute publishes related labor research, and the National Employment Law Project National Employment Law Project covers worker rights and state preemption issues. For education and jobs specifically, compare how at least two states with similar economies have handled the same problem, then use the differences to shape your own proposal.
H3 Decision criterion Choose EARN as a starting point when you need state-level, advocacy-ready research and a partner network, especially in the South. Look elsewhere first if you need federal legislative analysis or original national data; EARN's strength is connecting state groups and surfacing their work, not replacing a national research institution.
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