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LAUNCHING: Website Documents Widespread Support for DOL Rule on Independent Contractors: Employment Policies Institute (EPI) launches WeSupportTheRule.com, highlighting hundreds of comments from Americans who support the DOL’s new rule on independent contractors.
January 2021
Washington, D.C. (January 6, 2020) — Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) is launching a new website, WeSupportTheRule.com, that documents hundreds of comments supporting the Department of Labor’s (DOL) newly finalized rule on independent contractor classification. The rule — which comes after California’s controversial AB 5 law destroyed the incomes of thousands of freelancers — outlines a classification method that prioritizes workers’ choices over the government’s. Unlike AB 5,… -
Employers to Face Rising Minimum Wages On January 1, Despite Continued COVID-19 Struggles: More than 80 jurisdictions are poised to raise their minimum wages in 2021.
December 2020
Washington, D.C. (Dec. 18, 2020)— Today, the Employment Policies Institute released a new comprehensive guide to state and local minimum wages. The chart shows 25 states and 56 cities and counties plan to raise their minimum wages in the new year, showing no mercy for businesses struggling to stay open during the pandemic. The highest state-level rates will be in California ($14 per hour), Washington ($13.69 per hour),… -
New Analysis Reveals Democrats’ $15 Minimum Wage Would Cost Millions of Jobs: Proposal would wipe out over one million jobs in hospitality industry, already hard-hit by COVID
October 2020
Washington, D.C. (Oct. 19, 2020)— Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released a new study highlighting the consequences of raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. This policy is a key component of House Democrats’ “Raise the Wage Act,” which passed the House last year. Now, the policy is part of Democrats’ national platform, and is backed by the party’s presidential candidate Joe Biden. In this study, economists Dr.… -
Bummer Summer: 26 States Have Youth Unemployment Rates That Top 30 Percent: Over 20 jurisdictions will raise minimum wages July 1, exacerbating historically bad youth job market
June 2020
Washington, D.C. —A new analysis of Census Bureau data shows that youth unemployment rates rose above 30 percent in 26 states as of May. The teen jobless rate spiked to above 40 percent in seven states—New Jersey, Delaware, Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, and Connecticut—and to 63 percent in Hawaii. The full list of state youth unemployment rates can be viewed here. The data is based on an analysis of… -
New Website Exposes Berkeley Labor Team for its Research Biases: Public records suggest Berkeley researchers are pursuing ideological goals rather than academic ones
September 2019
Washington D.C. – Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) launched Biased Berkeley, which highlights the biases and lack of independence of a team of labor researchers at the University of California-Berkeley. View the website here. This team of researchers–comprised of members of Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research & Education (Labor Center) and the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics (CWED)–are often treated as independent scholars providing a neutral… -
CBO Reports 3.7 Million Jobs Will Be Destroyed By $15 Minimum Wage: Nonpartisan Report Finds Reductions in Poverty Offset By Lost Jobs
July 2019
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) is highlighting the new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report which estimates that up to 3.7 million jobs would be lost should a federal $15 minimum wage be enacted. The CBO’s mid-point estimate of 1.3 million jobs lost offsets the 1.3 million worker reduction in poverty, and would mean a net reduction in real family income of $9 billion by 2025.…