What is occupational licensing, how does it affect employment and consumer costs, and what options exist for reform?
Occupational licensing, or job licensing, is the system in which government-mandated credentials are required to work in certain jobs and professions. To obtain a license, an individual often will have to acquire a minimum level of education, experience and training, along with payment of initial and renewal fees. An occupational license is, in effect, a government permission slip to work in a particular field.
The occupational licensing system sprang from a desire to regulate certain professions to protect health and public safety. But what began as a way to ensure minimum training and professional standards for physicians, pharmacists and dentists has grown into a web of red tape for hundreds of professions, affecting millions of workers. Government credentials are needed in Wisconsin to be a dance therapist, a buttermaker, a bartender, an elevator helper and a soil erosion inspector.
