Titled “Best and Worst States to Work in America in 2022,” the research evaluated wages, worker protections, union rights and new policies in the face of climate change.

Based on this, it concluded that the five worst states in the ranking are North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and Texas, all Republican-leaning, which have maintained a federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour since 2009.

By contrast, Oregon, California, Washington, the District of Columbia and New York, all Democrats, received the best terms.

While 30 states managed to raise their minimum wage above the federal base in recent years, none is high enough to cover the basic costs of living for a family, the report detailed.

To give just one example, in the District of Columbia, which has the highest minimum wage in the country ($16.10), the pay of a full-time worker only covers a mere 35.6 percent of the expenses of a nucleus.

The report also ranked states by workers’ rights to unionize: Texas ranked worst while California ranked highest.

According to the report’s author, Kaitlyn Henderson, one of the biggest obstacles encountered in evaluating labor policies in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico is low wages.

It is contradictory that, being the United States the richest nation in the world, many full-time workers cannot feed their families, added the also principal investigator of the National Policy Program of that country at Oxfam.

Based on this, the study recommended raising the federal minimum wage, extending it to agricultural workers – who in many cases are paid below that threshold – and modifying the laws for those who earn by tips.

It also called for stronger protection for workers at the state and federal levels, such as paid family or medical leave, stronger equal pay laws, and protections for pregnant women and domestic workers.

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