National Employment Law Project

What National Employment Law Project does

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1969 by students at Columbia Law School as a worker law clinic. Headquartered in New York City with approximately 50 staff, it operates as a "Think and Do Tank" combining legal advocacy, policy research, litigation support, and movement-building. NELP's core offerings include policy research publications (reports, briefs, fact sheets, model legislation), the UI Policy Hub resource portal for unemployment insurance advocates, congressional and state legislative testimony, technical assistance to legal aid attorneys as a backup center, and coalition campaign leadership across minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, worker misclassification, fair-chance hiring, and occupational segregation issues.

The organization serves multiple constituencies: low-wage workers, workers with criminal records, middle-class and blue-collar workers, home care and domestic workers, temp/contract/gig workers, unemployed and underemployed workers, workers of color, and immigrant workers. NELP does not sell products or services; its research, publications, and resources are provided free of charge. Revenue is generated through individual and institutional donations and grants, with transparency via published Form 990s and audited financial statements. It is unionized under UAW Local 2320 National Organization of Legal Service Workers.

NELP's strategic posture centers on influencing federal, state, and local policy through direct advocacy, litigation support, and coalition campaigns. Documented outcomes include $150 billion in raises for 26 million workers since the 2012 Fight for $15 launch, $700 billion in additional unemployment insurance support during the COVID-19 and Great Recession periods, and an estimated 100 million workers and families impacted over the last decade. Its distribution model relies on a national partner network of 186+ organizations, legal aid attorneys, worker centers, unions, and community-based groups, with materials disseminated freely through nelp.org.

Name

National Employment Law Project

Legal name

National Employment Law Project

Website

https://nelp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The National Employment Law Project is a 55-year-old nonprofit advocacy organization that conducts policy research, litigation support, and coalition campaigns to advance wages, workplace protections, and racial and economic justice for lower-wage, temp, gig, and other vulnerable U.S. workers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Labor Policy Advocacy

NAICS

Administration of Human Resource Programs (except Education, Public Health, and Veterans' Affairs Programs) (92313)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Labor & Employment Administration (Workforce Regulation & Programs) (BPAIAAAM), State/Provincial Labor, Employment Standards & Workforce Development Administration (BPAIABAN)

Keywords

• Employment law advocacy
• Labor policy research
• Workers rights policy
• Workforce policy analysis
• Wage policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual and institutional donations: NELP is a nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations from individuals and institutional donors. The organization actively solicits donations through its website and publishes financial statements (Form 990s and audited financial statements) for transparency.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) is a national nonprofit organization that advances employment rights for lower-wage, contingent, and historically marginalized workers through policy research, legal advocacy, coalition building, and direct technical assistance to legal aid and worker-side attorneys. It produces research and policy briefs, engages with federal and state regulators and legislatures, and supports litigation on issues such as unemployment insurance, wage theft, fair-chance hiring, and worker classification.

Product overview

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) is a non-profit advocacy organization, not a technology company. It does not offer a software product or platform. NELP provides research publications, policy analysis resources, and advocacy materials focused on labor and employment rights. Key offerings include research and policy publications, the UI Policy Hub resource portal for unemployment insurance policy advocates, and the organization's website for digital communications and public education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UI Policy Hub
• Policy Research and Reports
• Technical Assistance to Legal Aid and Worker-Side Attorneys
• Policy Briefs and Advocacy Materials
• Coalition Building and Convenings

Quantifiable outcome

• $150 billion in raises secured for 26 million workers since Fight for $15 launched in 2012
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Economic Policy InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2026NELP partnered with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) to lead a coalition of 40+ organizations calling on Congress to center workers in federal AI legislation. EPI and NELP co-developed policy recommendations for worker protections in AI adoption.
• We Build ProgresscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2026NELP participated in a coalition led by We Build Progress, EPI, AFL-CIO Tech Institute, and Workshop to deliver a letter to Congress urging worker-centered AI legislation.
• AFL-CIO Tech InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2026NELP participated in a coalition with the AFL-CIO Tech Institute to advocate for worker protections in federal AI legislation.
• WorkshopminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2026NELP participated in a coalition with Workshop to call on Congress to center workers in federal AI legislation.
• Legal aid attorneys and organizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNELP functions as a legal services backup center, providing technical support to legal services attorneys and taking on workers' rights class-action litigation. The organization has provided litigation assistance to legal aid attorneys nationwide since the 1970s.
• Local, state, and national advocacy partnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNELP advances its mission together with local, state, and national partners including worker centers, unions, and community-based groups organizing low-wage and unemployed workers. NELP provides rapid response legal, policy, and communications support for campaigns.
• Temp Worker Justice (TWJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNELP collaborates with Temp Worker Justice (TWJ), a national temp worker advocacy group, including through the National Temp Worker Council where advocates like Antonia Bannister work to raise awareness about temp worker rights.
• Project HustleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNELP teamed up with Project Hustle to document the working lives of Black women and femmes in New Orleans, focusing on the impacts of criminalization, care work, and occupational segregation.
• Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law (Economic Justice Project)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2008, NELP joined forces with the Brennan Center's Economic Justice Project, bringing attorneys, policy advocates, and researchers to NELP and launching a minimum wage advocacy program while deepening policy research capacity.
• UAW Local 2320 (National Organization of Legal Service Workers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNELP employees are unionized with UAW Local 2320 National Organization of Legal Service Workers. Staff voted to join in 1979 (then UAW District 65, Local 65). NELP describes itself as a unionized, pro-worker organization committed to anti-racism.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Economic Policy Institute: Labor-focused think tank producing economic research and policy analysis. Co-leads coalitions with NELP (e.g., 2026 AI worker protection letter) and addresses overlapping issues of wages, worker power, and economic inequality through research and policy advocacy.
• Demos: Progressive public policy organization conducting research and advocacy on economic justice, racial equity, and worker power — running similar policy campaigns, model legislation, and coalition work to NELP.
• Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: National legal organization mobilizing lawyers to use litigation, advocacy, and public education to advance civil rights, including economic justice for workers of color — sharing NELP's legal advocacy, coalition, and litigation support model.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Nonpartisan law and policy institute at NYU combining research, advocacy, and litigation. Its Economic Justice Project merged into NELP in 2008, and the organizations share a think-tank-plus-impact-litigation operating model.
• National Women's Law Center: Legal advocacy organization using impact litigation, policy analysis, and advocacy to advance economic security and workplace rights, with deep focus on issues like equal pay, paid leave, and workplace discrimination — overlapping closely with NELP's agenda.

Emerging players

• A Better Balance: Smaller nonprofit legal organization using advocacy and litigation to expand workplace protections around paid leave, fair scheduling, and caregiver rights — a direct subset of NELP's broader employment law agenda, but with narrower scope and smaller scale.

Broad incumbents

• Southern Poverty Law Center: Large civil rights legal organization using litigation, education, and advocacy across multiple issue areas including workers' rights and economic justice. Far larger scale than NELP, with employment as one of several focus areas.
• Public Citizen: National consumer advocacy organization using research, litigation, and lobbying to advance public-interest policy. Shares the policy advocacy, coalition-building, and Washington/litigation playbooks with NELP but operates across broader issue areas.
• Center for American Progress: Larger progressive policy think tank with broad coverage including labor and worker issues. Operates at greater scale than NELP across multiple domains, with employment law as one of many verticals.
• AFL-CIO: National labor federation representing unions and coordinating collective bargaining, organizing, and political advocacy. NELP partners with AFL-CIO Tech Institute on AI legislation and shares pro-worker policy goals, but AFL-CIO is a membership-based labor body rather than a legal advocacy nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NelpNews
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalEmploymentLawProject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-employment-law-project
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalemploymentlawproject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Employment Law Project