Table 1

Characteristics of states with anti-racial and/or gender justice legislation

State State minimum wage 2021 Union density Voter suppression bill(s) enacted in 2021 RTW state? Anti-racial and/or gender justice legislation
Alabama No MW Required 9.2% AL H.B. 285, AL H.B. 538 Yes Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Alaska $10.34 19.1% N/A No N/A
Arizona $12.15 6.3% AZ S.B. 1003, AZ S.B. 1485, AZ S.B. 1819 Yes Signed
Arkansas $11.00 6.8% AR H.B. 1112, AR H.B. 1244, AR H.B. 1715, AR S.B. 643 Yes Signed
California $13.00 16.9% N/A No N/A
Colorado $12.32 10.3% N/A No N/A
Connecticut $13.00 18.1% N/A No N/A
Delaware $9.25 5.5% N/A No N/A
District of Columbia $15.20 10.9% N/A No N/A
Florida $8.65 5.3% FL S.B. 90 Yes School board ruling
Georgia $7.25 5.6% GA S.B. 202 Yes School board ruling
Hawaii $10.10 25.8% N/A No N/A
Idaho $7.25 6.5% ID H.B. 290 Yes Signed
Illinois $11.00 16.7% N/A No N/A
Indiana $7.25 8.8% IN S.B. 398* (*Bill has both restrictive and expansive voting effects.) Yes N/A
Iowa $7.25 5.6% IA S.F. 413, IA S.F. 568 Yes Signed
Kansas $7.25 8.4% KS H.B. 2183, KS H.B. 2332 Yes N/A
Kentucky $7.25 12.1% KY H.B. 574* (*Bill has both restrictive and expansive voting effects.) Yes Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Louisiana No MW Required 3.7% LA H.B. 167* (*Bill has both restrictive and expansive voting effects.) Yes Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Maine $12.15 23.5% N/A No Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Maryland $11.75 15.4% N/A No N/A
Massachusetts $13.50 13.4% N/A No N/A
Michigan $9.65 14.2% N/A Yes Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Minnesota $10.08 16.9% N/A No N/A
Mississippi No MW Required 5.9% N/A Yes N/A
Missouri $10.30 11.5% N/A No N/A
Montana $8.75 14.5% MT H.B. 176, MT S.B. 169, MT S.B. 196, MT S.B. 530 No Attorney General Opinion (AG Opinion carries weight of law in MT)
Nebraska $9.00 14.3% N/A Yes N/A
Nevada $9.75 16.1% NV S.B. 84 Yes N/A
New Hampshire $7.25 11.2% NH H.B. 523 No Signed
New Jersey $12.00 14.6% N/A No N/A
New Mexico $10.50 6.4% N/A No N/A
New York $12.50 25.8% N/A No N/A
North Carolina $7.25 3.0% N/A Yes Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
North Dakota $7.25 7.1% N/A Yes Signed
Ohio $8.80 13.9% N/A No Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Oklahoma $7.25 7.3% OK H.B. 2663* (*Bill has both restrictive and expansive voting effects.) Yes Signed
Oregon $12.75 17.0% N/A No N/A
Pennsylvania $7.25 16.9% N/A No Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Rhode Island $11.50 22.5% N/A No Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
South Carolina No MW Required 1.9% N/A Yes Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
South Dakota $9.45 6.1% N/A Yes N/A
Tennessee No MW Required 7.4% N/A Yes Signed
Texas $7.25 6.1% TX H.B. 3920, TX S.B. 1111 Yes Signed
Utah $7.25 1.5% UT H.B. 12 Yes School board ruling
Vermont $11.75 13.5% N/A No N/A
Virginia $9.50 5.1% N/A Yes N/A
Washington $13.69 18.2% N/A No N/A
West Virginia $8.75 12.1% N/A Yes Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Wisconsin $7.25 9.6% N/A Yes Pre-filed, in committee, or referred to committee
Wyoming $7.25 6.2% WY H.B. 75 Yes N/A

Notes: Right-to-work (RTW) laws do not confer any sort of right to a job. Rather, they make it illegal for a group of unionized workers to negotiate a collective bargaining contract (a contract governing workplace wages, benefits, and working conditions) that includes “fair share fees.” A contract with fair share fees requires all employees who enjoy the contract’s benefits to pay their share of the costs of negotiating and enforcing it (Cooper and Wolfe 2021).

Source: 2021 voter suppression bills: Brennan Center for Justice, Voting Laws Roundup: July 2021. Anti-racial and/or gender discourse legislations: Chalkbeat, Efforts to Restrict Teaching About Racism and Bias Have Multiplied Across the U.S.; AAFP.org, Truth Be Told; and EducationWeek, Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack. RTW states: National Conference of State Legislatures, Right-to-Work Resources. State minimum wages: U.S. Department of Labor, Consolidated Minimum Wage Table. Union density: Current Population Survey (CPS), Outgoing Rotation Group (ORG) 2021 microdata.

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