Programs

The Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) is a multidisciplinary research center dedicated to research, teaching, and service on labor and employment issues. Through the work of its units – UCLA Labor Center, Human Resources Roundtable and the Labor Occupational Safety and Health program – the Institute forms wide-ranging research agendas that carry UCLA into the Los Angeles community and beyond.

For over 70 years, the Institute has conducted timely and impactful research on labor markets and how work impacts workers and their families. As home to the UCLA Labor Center, our research on immigrants, young people, and low-wage workers has driven policy change, including minimum wage, paid sick leave, and wage theft.  Through UCLA Labor Studies Minor, every year we place over 300 students into internships in social justice and governmental organizations across the country.  The Institute’s Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH) has trained thousands of workers on health and safety measures that are sometimes the difference between life and death. And, the Human Resources Roundtable (HARRT) works with companies to recruit and retain diverse, skilled workforces nationwide.