Misguided Wage Mandates are Hurting Employees and Small Businesses

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  • Union-Backed Researchers Miss The Mark On California’s $20 Fast Food Wage:

    Recent reports released by the University of California-Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Education (IRLE) and The Shift Project, a Berkeley IRLE-funded outfit run by Harvard Kennedy School’s Daniel Schneider and UC-San Francisco’s Kristen Harknett, claim California’s new $20 minimum wage for fast food restaurants has not hurt restaurant operators, employees, or consumers. Not only do these claims run…

  • Do Higher Tipped Minimum Wages Reduce Race, Ethnic, or Gender Earnings Gaps for Restaurant Workers?:

    In recent years, labor activists have invested considerable financial resources in campaigns to eliminate what’s known as the tip credit. The tip credit represents the difference between a set base hourly wage for restaurant employees who regularly earn substantial tips, and the regular minimum wage rate. This difference counts regular tip income toward the minimum wage requirement. Legally, the Fair…

  • Crisis in California: A Survey of Fast Food Employers' Responses to California's $20 Minimum Wage

    Effective April 1, 2024, many limited-service restaurant operators (also referred to as “fast food” or “quick-service” restaurants) in California are required to pay employees a minimum wage of at least $20 per hour. The law that increased this limit also allows for future increases to the quick service minimum wage based on recommendations of a Fast-Food Council. While those subject…

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Policy Briefs (See All)

    New Employer Data Provides Further Evidence of Newsom’s Minimum Wage Failures

    December 6, 2024•MinimumWage.com

    There are a lot of numbers swirling around describing the impact of Governor Gavin Newsom’s $20 fast food minimum wage law in California. On one hand, the Governor is claiming there haven’t been any job losses (in fact citing preliminary data not adjusted for seasonal hiring factors to say there have been job increases). On…

    New Data Shows Restaurant Workers Are Earning $18/Hr Or More Nationwide

    November 27, 2024•MinimumWage.com

    Point of sale platform Square releases new data quarterly on earnings and tips for workers across the country – and the latest results show restaurant workers are earning substantial tips and well above minimum wages across the country. Square finds that the median restaurant employee is earning a $14.20 per hour base wage – and…

    CA Rejects Statewide Wage Hike For the First Time in State Ballot Measure History

    November 22, 2024•MinimumWage.com

    After weeks of vote counting across the Golden State, the Associated Press finally called the race for Proposition 32 – which would raise the state’s minimum wage from $16 to $18 an hour. The measure was rejected by a 50.8% to 49.2% vote as of November 22. This is the first time California voters have…

    Since Chicago’s July Wage Hikes, Hospitality Jobs Plummet

    November 15, 2024•MinimumWage.com

    After the city council passed an ordinance to eliminate Chicago’s tip credit last year, the city experienced a one-two punch of wage hikes this summer. As a result, the number of jobs in the Chicago area’s leisure and hospitality sector plummeted – slashing 6,000 jobs as of September 2024. In fact, the Chicago metropolitan area’s…

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