The worst 15 US states for workers

• Global anti-poverty nonprofit Oxfam released its 2019 index for the worst states to work in.
• The organization ranked states based on their minimum wage, policies that protect workers from discrimination, and how much they allow for unionization.
• Virginia ranked last. Mississippi, the second worst state to work in, does not mandate equal pay across gender and race.
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Some states protect workers more than others.

Oxfam, a global nonprofit group that aims to reduce poverty, recently released its 2019 index on the best and worst states to work in.

The organization ranked states based on three main criteria:

1. Wage policies: how close state minimum wages are close to the livable wage
2. Worker protection policies: how much the state protects employees from discrimination
3. "Right to organize" policies: whether workers have the right to organize and sustain a trade union

Read more: The 15 worst US states to be a teacher

Southern states - like Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi - ranked poorly, as the minimum wage cannot fully cover the cost of living and because state policies prohibit unionization, Oxfam reports.

Georgia, for instance, does not provide employees some sort of paid sick leave or paid family leave. Mississippi does not mandate equal pay across gender and race.

Here are the 15 worst states for workers: