The Growing Divergence in U.S. Employee Relations: Individualism, Democracy, and Conflict

The growing divergence in U.S. employee relations is described through a review of national and state-level changes to employment protection laws. Major employment laws are reviewed, as are the significant exceptions to the laws, and exemptions to the exceptions. Major regulatory actions, as well as reversals of the regulations, and reversals of the reversals are also described. An analysis of changes to state employment policies since 2000 shows an increasing ideologically driven divergence within the country between left-leaning “equity and voice” states and right-leaning “individual rights and efficiency” states. Instability and divergence are major features of the U.S. system of employee relations that require additional scrutiny.