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Election Day brought mixed results for minimum wage ballot measures across the country. In Olympia, WA, residents voted against a proposed $20 minimum wage hike, which came as part of a larger package of extensive labor mandates. The vote reflects a growing awareness of the strain wage increases have…

This isn’t the first time unions have tried to smear California’s fast food industry in an effort to push their broader organizing agenda. Each time, the claims make headlines, but the evidence quickly falls apart under scrutiny. The latest union-funded study – provocatively titled Rats, Roaches, & Rot: Worker…

With Virginia’s governor’s race heating up, the $15 minimum wage is getting some extra attention. But lawmakers interested in trying out this policy should look at the consequences of high-wage policies in neighboring Maryland and Virginia. Let’s rewind. Virginia lawmakers approved a series of wage hikes in 2020, spiking the…

Earlier this week, Florida’s minimum wage jumped to $14 an hour, the latest step in a law passed by voters that will bring the minimum wage to $15 by 2026. Supporters promised this steady climb would lift up workers and help families keep pace with rising costs. However, just a…

Earlier this year, state legislators proposed a bill to eliminate New Jersey’s current tip credit system, which would raise the base wage for tipped restaurant workers from $5.62 an hour plus tips up to $15 per hour. In a newly released survey, one thing is clear: New Jersey tipped workers…

Chicago’s “One Fair Wage” ordinance, which began eliminating the tip credit starting in July 2024, was painted as a win for restaurant workers. The latest data dropped by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this month shows instead of winning, many workers are losing their jobs. Just over a year into…

Despite nonstop media coverage, dismal jobs reports, and vocal concerns from local operators, California Governor Gavin Newsom is still claiming the $20 fast food wage mandate has been nothing but a success. But the latest jobs report, which brought retroactive revisions to Newsom’s preferred monthly employment estimates, is indisputably bad…

A recent report by a left-leaning think tank claims raising Oklahoma’s minimum wage would benefit public safety, predicting there would be 7,000  fewer crimes annually.  The proposed solution is a measure currently set to appear on the 2026 ballot that would more than double the state’s current minimum wage…

California’s skyrocketing state and local minimum wage, extensive state labor code, and “risky” business environment have taken a toll on workers and businesses across the state. Now Golden State economics has taken aim at another key group: teens trying to get summer jobs. Minimum wage jobs are a key…

Denver, CO’s minimum wage is hurtling toward the highest in the country – and businesses most affected by the hikes, including restaurants, are paying the price. Currently, the city’s regular minimum wage sits at $18.81 per hour (with a meager $3.02 tip credit for tipped restaurant employees). Next year, the…