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Will your favorite Chicago bar survive July’s wage hikes?
June 2024
Arlington, VA – Your favorite haunt may be in danger after Chicago’s new minimum wage hikes on July 1. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides a glimpse into the employment decline that will result from the July 1 wage hikes. Some background: last fall, the City Council passed an ordinance that would begin eliminating the city’s tip credit by 2028. The effects are… -
California AG Handcuffs Restaurants, Bans Service Charges: California AG Rob Bonta labels restaurant service charges as ‘junk fees’, meddling into business operations
May 2024
California sit-down restaurants have been suffering the consequences of the state’s relentless wage hikes since 2017. The state has raised its minimum wage every year since and is the highest in the country. Local California cities have also been pushing their minimum rates even higher (see a full list here). Now the state attorney general has announced one of the inevitable adjustments to rising wage hikes will no… -
EPI Warns R.I. House: Tip Credit Elimination Will Turn Rhode Island into D.C. Disaster: Ending the Tip Credit Would Slash Over $10 Million in Tipped Worker Earnings
March 2024
On Wednesday, the Rhode Island House Labor Committee will hear public testimony on House Bill 7531, which would eliminate the state’s tip credit and more than triple the current required hourly wage for tipped employees. Rebekah Paxton, research director for the Employment Policies Institute (EPI), submitted written testimony ahead of the hearing, highlighting the adverse impacts this policy would have on Rhode Island’s servers, bartenders, and restaurants. Her testimony (available here)… -
EPI Warns Illinois House: Tip Credit Elimination Will Turn Illinois into D.C. Disaster: Tip Credit Elimination Could Kill Thousands of State Jobs and Restaurants
March 2024
Arlington, Va. – On Wednesday, the Illinois House Labor and Commerce Committee will hear public testimony on House Bill 5345, which would eliminate the state’s tip credit and nearly double the current required hourly wage for tipped employees. Rebekah Paxton, research director for the Employment Policies Institute (EPI), submitted written testimony ahead of the hearing, highlighting the adverse impacts this policy would have on Illinois’ servers, bartenders,… -
Virginia’s Proposed $15 Wage Could Cost over 12,000 Jobs: The Employment Policies Institute Slams SB 1 and HB1, “Nothing but feel-good politics endangering tens of thousands of Virginia jobs”
February 2024
Arlington, Va. – Today, the Virginia Senate advanced its bill (SB 1) proposing an increase in the state minimum wage from $12 to $15 per hour. Last week, the House referred its own identical bill (HB 1) to the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor for consideration. Tuesday was the deadline for each chamber to advance legislation in order to send it to colleagues in the opposite… -
Governor Shapiro’s $15 wage could cost Pennsylvania 86k jobs
February 2024
In his inaugural budget address Tuesday, Governor Josh Shapiro proposed raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour as early as January 1, 2025 per his state budget. This reflects House Bill 1500 (HB 1500) passed by House lawmakers last year, and would raise the base wage for tipped restaurant employees up to $9 per hour. This would more than double Pennsylvania’s current minimum wage in less than a year.…