UCLA Center for the Study of Women

India’s Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act of 2014 was created to regulate street-vending activities and to protect the rights of the vendors. The Act calls for the creation of free vending zones and Town Vending Committees for each locality. While the Act is still in the implementation phase, there are signs that progress toward change has been slow and uneven, requiring refocusing of legislation to apply pressure in areas where changes are not being implemented.

Across the United States, local laws and federal immigration policy combine to produce a situation where massage parlor workers, who are predominately female, are left unprotected, which can result in exploitation through a trifecta of wage theft, deportation threat, and sexual harassment. Failing to recognize the differences in the types of massage parlors and masseuses, the current broad-brush legislative approach to regulation is inadequate and does not properly address worker conditions. New legislation is needed to provide legal protection to masseuses.

Although the exact number of informal street vendors in Los Angeles is difficult to ascertain, the number appears to be growing, following the recent economic recession.While street vending is technically illegal, approximately 50,000 vendors may be seen throughout the city, selling goods ranging from bacon-wrapped hot dogs and pupusas, to clothing, flowers, and jewelry.