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Massachusetts adopts the first minimum wage law, giving better pay to women and minors. Other states will pass similar laws beginning the same year.
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The United States Department of Labor is established as a cabinet level agency. Though established under President Taft, he signs the law after his defeat in the 1912 election. The Department will mostly emphasize the pro-labor stance of the incoming president, Woodrow Wilson.
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President Wilson, a friend of labor unions, signs the Clayton Act, which exempts unions from the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. In coming years, the new law will prove useless, as courts void many of its union protections.
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The Davis-Bacon Act requires that federal contractors pay their workers the wages and benefits in the local market when working on a public works project. The law keeps employers from importing cheaper workers from outside the region.
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Social security ensure that individuals are taken care of if a job cannot be found or their above a certain age.
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Congress passes the Smith-Connally Act to allow the government to take over critical industries hit by strikes. Enacted over President Roosevelt's veto, it is the first anti-union legislation to be implemented since the early 1930s. It also prevents unions from contributing to political campaigns.
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, also known as the Landrum-Griffith Act. The law addresses the union corruption uncovered by Senator John L. McClellan. It makes the labor leaders to a more strict standards in handling union funds and requires them to file annual reports.
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This is important in the workplace so that individuals from other races can work in factories and get the same amount of benefits as the next person.
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27 states have banned union-security agreements by passing "right to work" laws. In these states, it is up to each employee at a workplace to decide whether or not to join the union and pay dues, even though all workers are protected by the collective bargaining agreement negotiated the union.
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