Minimum Wages and Workplace Injuries

Authors

Michael Davies, University of California, Berkeley
R. Jisung Park, University of PennsylvaniaFollow
Anna Stansbury, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyFollow

Series

Upjohn Institute working paper ; 26-428

DOI

10.17848/wp26-428

Issue Date

March 2026

Abstract

How do minimum wage changes affect workplace amenities? Using the universe of claims from California, the US’ largest workers’ compensation system, over 2000-2019, we exploit geographic variation in state- and city-level minimum wages and local occupation-level variation in exposure to minimum wage changes to estimate whether minimum wage increases affect the rate of workplace injuries. We find a large adverse effect of raising minimum wages on injuries. A 10% increase in the minimum wage increases the injury rate by 7.2% in an occupation-metro area labor market which is fully exposed to the minimum wage increase. Our results imply an elasticity of workplace injury rates to minimum-wage-induced wage changes of 2.2. We find particularly large effects on injuries relating to cumulative physical strain, suggesting that employers may respond to minimum wage increases by intensifying the pace of work, which in turn increases injury risk. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the increase in injury risk offsets 19% of the welfare improvement workers see as a result of higher wages.

Sponsorship

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Early Career Research Award No. 24-58163-09

Subject Areas

LABOR MARKET ISSUES; Wages, health insurance and other benefits; Occupational health and safety