Supreme Court Asked To Decide if Paid Diet Advice Is Protected by the First Amendment
A Florida woman has been threatened with fines for giving tips without the proper occupational licensing.
Occupational Licensing
Federal Court Upholds Washington, DC Regulation Requiring Child Care Workers to Have College Degrees
The decision may be in accordance with Supreme Court precedent. But if so, it underscores that precedent's flaws.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds College Degree Requirement for Child Care Staff
Plus: how voters respond to vague criticism, U.S. lawmakers still at war with TikTok, and more...
Which Is More Scandalous: The Training for Armed Teachers or the Training for Police Officers?
On average, the minimum requirement for cops is about 650 hours, compared to about 1,300 hours for barbers.
It's Becoming Easier To Get Permission To Work, But Not by Enough
Occupational licensing reform is a popular cause, but barriers remain too high.
Stephen Carter Makes the Case for Barring the Bar Exam
The famous columnist and Yale Law School professor points out that the case made against other standardized tests, such as the LSAT, also applies to bar exams.
July Brings a Mixed Bag of New State Alcohol Laws
California bartenders will need to be certified, while Virginians can now bring up to three gallons of booze across state lines.
A New Jersey Town Wants To Charge This Woman $5,000 To Sell Cookies
Somerville still has costly regulations on the books even though New Jersey has legalized the sale of home-baked items.
This Michigan Town Repealed a Ban on Fortunetellers, but Might Break State Law if It Tries To Regulate Them
Petoskey's draft ordinance would require both "legitimate" fortunetellers and people pretending to tell fortunes to be licensed, calling into question the sense of licensing at all.
NYC Mayor Defends Decision To Handcuff and Strip Search Woman Selling Mangos on a Subway Platform
Maria Falcon doesn't have a business license. So New York police officers detained her and confiscated all of her merchandise.
Occupational Licensing Hurts the Vulnerable Without Helping the Public
Hispanics get slammed the hardest by licensing requirements that regulators can’t justify.
These Hair Braiders Might Kill an Idaho Licensing Law That State Officials Admit Makes No Sense
They've been practicing African-style hair braiding for a combined 60 years. Now, these three women are suing for the right to make a living using their skills.
New York Restricts Free Legal Advice. Now It Faces a First Amendment Lawsuit
A pastor and a nonprofit challenge occupational licensing rules.
It's Time for New York City To Scrap Its Cap on Street-Food Permits
Despite shifting enforcement away from cops, NYC is still ticketing the dickens out of New York's street-food sellers.
The 'Build Back Better' Bill Will Spend a Lot of Money To Make Our Problems Worse
You can support pre-K education and affordable child care and worry about climate change while understanding that policymakers need to get out of the way.
FTC Drills Alabama Licensing Board for Anti-Competitive Scheme Targeting Teledentistry
The FTC challenged a licensing scheme that it says limited consumer choice and excluded new providers.
My National Affairs Article on "Voting With Our Feet"
The article explains how expanding opportunities for foot voting can enhance political choice, help the poor and disadvantaged, and reduce the dangers of political polarization.
This Private Eye Was Denied a License Because He Criticized Police
Free speech and occupational licensing collide.
Once a Communist Backwater, Georgia Discovered the Benefits of Free Markets. Now It Risks Abandoning Them.
"Government should be very small. It should just regulate the minimum."
Kansas Wants This Experienced Eyebrow Entrepreneur To Get 1,000 More Hours of Training
Jigisha Modi can't hire her own mother-in-law—who has decades of eyebrow-threading experience—because of Kansas' occupational licensing rules. Now she's suing.
Unlicensed Dog Grooming Alarms Local News Reporter
Do we really need the state to step in over an unfortunate tragedy?
Joe Biden's Executive Order on 'Promoting Competition' Covers Everything From Farmers Markets to Net Neutrality
Plus: Treating social media platforms as common carriers, Norway criminalizes sneaky influencer editing, and more...
Wisconsin Votes To Exempt Hair Braiders From Occupational Licensing Law
A measure awaiting the governor's signature would make it easier for natural hair braiders in Wisconsin to work.
Somehow, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard Is About Professional Licensing Requirements and EU Sanctions
A terrible movie about a bodyguard trying to regain an occupational certification.
Retired Engineer Offers Free Expert Testimony for Flood Victims. Licensing Officials Threaten Him With Criminal Charges.
Wayne Nutt worked as an engineer for decades. But because he's not licensed, North Carolina's engineering board says that he can't share his expertise in public.
In a Rush To Ban Vaccine Passports, Texas Is Violating Private Property Rights
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he stands for freedom. That doesn't apply to business owners.
Texas Will Revoke Licenses for Child Care Facilities That House Refugee Children
Plus: International Sex Workers' Day, vaccines and HIPAA, and more...
Minnesota Threatens To Fine This Engineer for Calling Himself an Engineer
Charles Marohn called himself an engineer in speeches and articles while his license was temporarily expired. The First Amendment protects his right to do that.
A Federal Paid Leave Program Would Be a Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem
The calls to implement such a plan are based on incorrect assumptions and a passive media.
How Congress Could Cement State-Level Progress on Occupational Licensing Reform
The Restoring Board Immunity Act would give states yet another reason to rein in overzealous licensing authorities.
Small Cracks in the Restrictive Wall of Occupational Licensing Across the Nation
With depressing job reports, why not eliminate more laws that keep people from doing jobs they want to do and people want to pay them to do?
Biden Wants To Resurrect Obama-Era Occupational Licensing Plan for Tax Preparers
Like all licensing schemes, this one will raise prices for consumers, hurt entrepreneurs, and protect the interests of the big guys in the market.
North Carolina Board Threatens Private Drone Mapmakers Because They Aren't Licensed 'Surveyors'
Technological innovation makes gathering visual land data easier and cheaper—and threatens an industry’s status quo.
Some Jobs Are More Equal Than Others
All professions deserve the same constitutional protections that speech-heavy industries get.
We Should Keep Expanding Telehealth, Even After the Pandemic
Senators and state officials are proposing ways to sweep aside nonsensical regulations that place geographic limits on telehealth.
Pandemic-Slammed Small Businesses Require Regulatory Relief
Entrepreneurs discouraged by red tape even before COVID-19 need officials to leave them alone.
Therapist Elizabeth Brokamp Fights for the Right To See Patients Virtually
"I hope my case can start removing senseless boundaries to teletherapy," said Brokamp, who is suing in federal court on First Amendment grounds.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Walter E. Williams, Free Market Scholar and Iconoclast, RIP
"I just do my own thing," said the George Mason University economist and author of The State Against Blacks.
Occupational Licensing Reform Is a Biden Policy We Can All Favor
Occupational licensing rules are more often arbitrary bureaucratic hurdles than they are protections for health or safety.
Florida Leads the Way on 2020 Occupational Licensing Reforms
House Bill 1193 loosened or abolished rules governing more than 30 different professions.
Neil Gorsuch on Expanding Access to Legal Services
In an op ed coauthored with former Colorado state supreme court justice Rebecca Love Kourlis, he outlines some ways to make legal services more affordable for the poor and lower middle class.
California's Inmate Firefighters May Soon Be Allowed To Continue Their Careers After Release
Harsh occupational license rules locked them out, except when they were locked up. A new bill just passed to change the rules.
Tennessee Court Snips High School Diploma Requirement From Barber Licensing
Tennessee's requirement that barbers have at least a high school education is "unconstitutional, unlawful, and unenforceable," ruled the state's Chancery Court.
Americans Are Growing Less Willing To Beg for Permission To Make a Living
Officials claim doing business is a revocable “privilege,” but many Americans see it as a right that they’ll exercise with or without licenses and permits.
Writer-Activist Hit With Licensing Complaint for Calling Himself an Engineer
Licensing laws can be weaponized to chill speech.
The Case for Replacing the Bar Exam With "Diploma Privilege"
The Covid pandemic strengthens the case for abolishing a requirement that should never have been imposed in the first place.
Sen. Josh Hawley Says He 'Took on an Asian Trafficking Ring' and 'Freed a Dozen Women in Sex Slavery.' That's Not True.
As a state attorney, the young GOP senator oversaw raids of more than a dozen massage parlors, but he didn’t secure a single sex trafficking conviction.
