EPI Research (Page 2 )

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  Policy Snapshot DC: District of Columbia Lost Nearly 1,000 Restaurant Jobs Under Initiative 82

  June 2024

  Tip-credit elimination activists have upheld Washington, D.C. as a paragon of anti-tipping measures for their nationwide minimum wage advocacy. However, these activists have skewed data and ignored the evidence that shows Initiative 82 has wreaked havoc on restaurants and their employees in the District. The latest jobs report shows full-service restaurant employment continues to decline because of the measure. After Initiative 82, a ballot measure…
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  A Preliminary Review of the Just.Safe.Food Training Program

  November 2023

  Food safety is a critical part of restaurant jobs, not just for the customer, but for employees as well. While local and state requirements for training employees who handle food vary, there are also various programs designed to equip food service employees on proper safety, hygiene, and other techniques while handling, preparing, serving, and storing food in restaurants. One widely used training course is called…
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  The Job Loss Impact of a $17 Minimum Wage: As Many As 1.2 Million Jobs Lost

  July 2023

  Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour, despite failing to receive support from members of his own party in 2021 for a nationwide $15 minimum wage bill. A large majority of economic research and American labor economists agree this proposal would have significant negative consequences for minimum wage employment. Using methodology developed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office,…
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  Policy Brief: A $15 Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania Would Cost Nearly 86,000 Jobs

  June 2023

  Lawmakers in Harrisburg are proposing drastic changes to the state minimum wage. One such proposal, HB 1500, would raise the regular minimum wage up to $15.00 per hour, while also raising the tipped minimum wage to $9.00 per hour, a more-than 200 percent increase. A large majority of economic research and American labor economists agree this proposal would have significant negative consequences for employment, particularly…
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  The Case for the Tip Credit: June 2023

  June 2023

  The tipping system provides substantial earning opportunities for workers across many industries, especially restaurant servers and bartenders – well beyond the current minimum wage, and even beyond the proposed $15 minimum wage. Saving the tip credit is an employee-organized, bipartisan issue. Thousands of tipped workers across the country have pushed to save the tip credit, against the infringement of outside interests and activists. Employees have…
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  The Impact of Initiative 82: Survey of Restaurants on the Impact of Tip Credit Elimination in the District of Columbia

  April 2023

  Initiative 82, also known the “District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act of 2022,” was passed in November 2022 and will go into effect beginning May 1, 2023. Initiative 82 will eliminate the tip credit by increasing the tipped minimum wage every year until 2027. Once finalized, the tipped minimum wage will match the standard minimum wage. To better understand the impact of increasing the…