Oklahoma one of worst states for workers according to study

Last Updated on September 4, 2023, 12:29 AM | Published: September 3, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma may need to evaluate itself this Labor Day because, according to Oxfam America, Oklahoma ranks #44 out of 50 states in a best-place-to-work ranking with a score of 23.81.

It’s not all bad news. Last year, the 2022 report had Oklahoma as the forty-fifth best state to work in. Oklahoma moved up one full rank.

The minimum wage in Oklahoma is $7.25 which is 19.55% of the cost of living for a family of four ($37.08). The tipping minimum wage is only $2.13 – only 29.38% of the minimum wage. Average unemployment benefits cover 11.05% of wages needed to cover the cost of living. Localities in Oklahoma do not have the ability to set minimum wage above the state minimum.

Here are some of the worker protections lacking in the State of Oklahoma:

• Does not provide some form of paid family leave.
• Does not provide some form of paid sick leave.
• Does not provide flexible scheduling of worker shifts.
• Does not extend worker protections to domestic workers.
• Does not provide a heat safety standard for outdoor workers.

Some worker protections Oklahoma does have. For example, Oklahoma has child labor protections and mandates equal pay across gender and race.

Oklahoma is mostly unfriendly to labor unions, according to the report. Oklahoma is lacking in these areas in the right to organize:

• Does have a so-called “right-to-work” law (which suppresses unions).
• Does not fully legalize project labor agreements to ensure a fair wage to workers on contract.
• Does not protect workers against wage theft retaliation.

The Oxfam study

The study was first started in 2018 “to capture how states stepped into gaps left by federal inaction to support low-wage workers and working families”.

All data in this report is based on policies and laws effective as of July 1st, 2023. The candidates that were included were all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Localities were measured based on three factors – wages, worker protections, and rights to organize.

According to Oxfam, “Our ranking system is meant to inspire a race to the top for all states; it is an advocacy tool to help policymakers identify the spaces where there is room for improvement at the state level. There is no state with a perfect score; even those states at the very top of our ranking have room for improvement.”

The group also clarified what it tracks and why. It states, “Many of the policies tracked in our index are currently missing at the federal level, so while this index is meant as a tool for state policymakers and residents to advocate at the local level, it is also a tool for the federal government to identify the many policies that if implemented at the national level would benefit millions of workers and working families.”

Wage policies

Wages are the total take-home pay that workers are compensated with at the end of the day. The report measures these specific data points:

• The ratio of the state minimum wage in relation to the cost of living for a family of four with one wage earner. The goal wage is from the MIT Living Wage Calculator
• The ratio of a tipped minimum wage to the state minimum wage.
• Whether or not the state allows localities to implement their own minimum wage laws.
• Whether or not states include farmworkers in their minimum wages.
• How well average unemployment payments for minimum wage workers cover the cost of living for a family of four.

Regarding wages, Oklahoma comes in at #45 in the nation. The total score for wages is 11.60.

Worker protections

The report states, “This dimension considers the quality of life for workers, especially women and parents.” Some data points for worker protections include:

• Mandate that pumping breaks for breastfeeding workers be paid breaks.
• Mandates for equal pay, pay secrecy, and no salary history.
• Mandates for paid sick and family leave.
• Protections around flexible scheduling, reporting pay, split shift pay, and advance notice.
• Protections against sexual harassment.
• Protections for federally excluded workers, including extending workers’ compensation to farmworkers and extending workers’ rights and protections to domestic workers.
• Heat safety standard for outdoor workers.
• Maintained child labor protections.

How does Oklahoma fare on worker protections? Oklahoma landed at #27 on the list. The score for Oklahoma in this category is 33.33.

Rights to organize

This dimension has to do with whether state workers have the right to organize and form labor unions. This facet has a few points as well:

• State so-called “right-to-work” law (which suppresses union activity).
• Public employees’ rights to collective bargaining and wage negotiation (teachers used as a case study).
• Mandates for project labor agreements with the state government.
• Mandates for protection against retaliation.
• Statewide policies on collective bargaining for public workers.

In this category, Oklahoma came in at #39. The points scored by Oklahoma here is 30.00

Women in the workplace

The new Oxfam report also details how working in each state is for women, and ranks them accordingly. Its based on the same methodology. Oklahoma ranks as #32 out of the 52 localities competing. Last year Oklahoma was #37 for working women, dropping 5 spots in the ranking this year.

Correlation

The report also measures how the index correlates with well-being.

“Across our measures of well-being, we found a very strong correlation to BSWI scores. For every 10 points a state’s score increased, there was a correlation with”:

• $3,132 increase in median household income.
• 0.5% decrease in households in poverty (robust to multiple specifications).
• $5,150 increase in GDP per capita.
• 0.5% decrease in food scarcity (robust to multiple specifications)
• 1.6% increase in unionization rates (robust to multiple specifications)
• 0.336 reduction of infant deaths per 1,000 births (robust to multiple specifications)

This shows how improving certain facets of work life can affect workers and women everywhere. 

“The three dimensions of the index create the foundation for improving the lives of all workers and working families. Essentially all workers fare better with stronger wages, rights to organize and collectively bargain, and robust protections in the workplace, regardless of location”, the report explains.

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