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Policy Lab Explainers

What the Proposed Rule to End Subminimum Wage Means for Workers with Disabilities

On December 3rd, 2024, the United States Department of Labor proposed a new rule to end the 14c waiver program for people with disabilities. The Yang-Tan Institute's Ellice Switzer responds to a Q&A on the new proposed rule.
Photo of a hand selecting one person figure out of a line of figures, with a dollar sign over its head.
What the Proposed Rule to End Subminimum Wage Means for Workers with Disabilities

Domestic Workers Rising

Domestic workers perform the critical labor of caring for children and cleaning homes but face many forms of exploitation. Zoë West, Ketchel Carey, and Anne Marie Brady of ILR’s Worker Institute break down how an innovative peer training model is empowering domestic workers to demand more on the job.
Group of We Rise training participants raising fists in the air
Domestic Workers Rising

You Got a Social Security Overpayment Notice. Now What?

Social Security overpayments are often very costly, and they can be complex to address. Experts at the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability have prepared this fact sheet on how to navigate the issue if it happens to you.
Outstretched hand reaches out from a pile of papers to another hand
You Got a Social Security Overpayment Notice. Now What?

For Many Disabled People, Work Has a Price Tag

Discovering that you owe the government thousands of dollars in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) overpayments can be life-disrupting. These overpayments happen at no fault of the beneficiary. Jennifer Brooks, a researcher at the Cornell ILR School's Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, provides a personal account of this issue.
Photo of woman in a wheelchair at a table with laptop and letters beside her.
For Many Disabled People, Work Has a Price Tag

Why Are Direct Care Workers So Crucial and What Can Be Done to Improve their Working Conditions?

Guest contributor Kiran Abraham-Aggarwal, ILR '25, discusses direct care workers--the challenges they face, how their working conditions relate to patient outcomes, and possible ways forward.
Photo of a home healthcare worker administering medication to a woman who is seated and eating.
Why Are Direct Care Workers So Crucial and What Can Be Done to Improve their Working Conditions?

Understanding Child Care in New York State

In this explainer, Buffalo Co-lab's Steve Peraza breaks down the child care crisis in New York State and offers an innovative solution.
Steve Peraza holding a sign that says "Childcare is a right #universal."
Understanding Child Care in New York State

Subminimum Wages in New York State Prisons

Matt Saleh, Timothy McNutt and Alex Herazy from ILR's Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative examine the payment of sub-minimum wages to prisoners in New York State and beyond.
Sign by a road that says "State Prisoners Working"
Subminimum Wages in New York State Prisons

The Minimum Wage

In this post, Russell Weaver, Director of Research for the Buffalo Co-Lab, and Ian Greer, Director of the Ithaca Co-Lab, explain what a minimum wage is meant to do, where current policy falls short, and promising practices that can help ensure a living wage for workers.
Picture of a one-dollar bill
The Minimum Wage

Subminimum Wage for People with Disabilities

The Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability's Kaitlyn Jackson and Ellice Switzer discuss the practice of paying subminimum wages to people with disabilities.
Woman working in factory
Subminimum Wage for People with Disabilities

Know Your Wage: Prevailing Wage

Differences in wages and compensation are one of the primary sources of economic inequality. ILR's Anne Marie Brady and Russell Weaver explain prevailing wage, and why it matters.
silhouette of construction wokers at a jobsite
Know Your Wage: Prevailing Wage

Living Wage Deep Dive

As a companion to the living wage explainer, here we explore details about calculating meaningful living wages.
Modified map illustrating counties in New York State
Living Wage Deep Dive

What is a Living Wage?

We explain how you can figure out a meaningful living wage for an area. We help make sense of the kinds of data you need, and link to calculators for more exploration.
living-wage-map_NYS
What is a Living Wage?