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STATEMENT: Sen. Sanders’ Call to Raise the Minimum Wage to $17/hr Will Slash More Than 2M Jobs
May 2023
In a press conference outside the U.S. capitol this morning, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will announce his bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour. In a recent op-ed in The Guardian, Sanders suggested a $17 per hour minimum wage was “the right thing to do,” and discussed “address[ing] the scandal of the tipped wage.” The Employment Policies Institute stands with the vast majority of economists who oppose… -
New Data Shows Restaurants Are Bracing for Tipped Wage Hike in DC: Majority of D.C. Restaurants Say They Will be Forced to Lay off Staff, Close Locations, or Move Outside of DC
April 2023
Arlington, Va. – Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released new survey results that find District of Columbia restaurant operators are bracing for the negative consequences of the city’s tip credit elimination beginning May 1, including anticipated staff reductions, fewer raises, steep price increases, and restaurant closures. Key findings from the survey of more than 100 D.C. operators: Eighty-five percent of operators indicated tip credit elimination will force them to reduce the number of… -
New Analysis: California State Data Show A.B. 1228 Unfairly Targets Franchisee-Owned Restaurants: California’s franchisee-owned fast food restaurants represent less than one percent of all wage claims
April 2023
Arlington, VA – Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released an updated analysis of California wage claim data related to fast food restaurants and franchisee-owned establishments. The update includes California Department of Industrial Relations data on wage claims through 2022, and provides a breakdown of the fast food industry by franchisee ownership. The new update undermines the central argument to Assembly Bill 1228, which would create joint… -
STATEMENT: Governor Shapiro’s $15 wage could cost Pennsylvania 143k jobs
March 2023
In his inaugural budget address Tuesday, Governor Josh Shapiro proposed raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour as early as January 1, 2024 per his state budget. This would more than double Pennsylvania’s current minimum wage in less than a year, and small businesses have already expressed concerns about adapting to such a hike. The majority of economists oppose the $15 minimum wage target, arguing it… -
STATEMENT: Opposition to Tip Credit Elimination in Maryland
March 2023
This afternoon, the Maryland Senate Finance Committee will hear public testimony on S.B. 803 to eliminate the state’s tip credit and raise Maryland’s tipped minimum wage by more than 300 percent. Employment Policies Institute’s director of research Rebekah Paxton will testify to present data on the damaging consequences of this bill. Among the damage tip credit elimination has brought to other states, Rebekah’s testimony will cover: Three… -
STATEMENT: Senate Proposal to Cost Illinois Thousands of Tipped Restaurant Jobs
February 2023
State senators have introduced SB 293, which would eliminate the state’s tip credit that allows restaurant service employees to count tips toward the minimum wage requirement. The tip credit system not only allows servers and bartenders to earn well above the standard minimum wage through their tips, but has been championed by employees themselves across the country. At the federal and state level, bipartisan coalitions of legislators…