May 6, 2022

Other states shouldn’t follow Hawaii’s $18 example

As state legislative sessions wrap up and ballot measures are shaping up for the fall, it’s becoming increasingly clear that a $15 per hour wage target is old news for unions and activists. Now, states are moving toward more extreme wage hikes: Hawaii’s legislature just approved an $18 per…
April 29, 2022

Survey: Majority of Economists Believe $15 Wage is Too High

A new survey by Carnegie Mellon University professor Lloyd Corder for the Employment Policies Institute found a significant majority of responding economists oppose raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. In fact, a plurality (43%) agreed the wage should be the current federal rate of $7.25 per hour…
April 22, 2022

New Data: Share of Hourly Workers Earning Federal Minimum Wage at Four-Decade Low

A new report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the share of hourly-paid workers earning the federal minimum wage or less dipped to 1.4% in 2021. This is the smallest proportion of hourly workers earning the federal minimum wage since 1980, when the share was more than…
April 15, 2022

WH Economic Report Cherry Picks Research to Support Minimum Wage Hike

This week, the White House released its annual economic report by the president’s Council of Economic Advisors – and supported raising the federal minimum wage as one of its solutions for boosting the economy. To argue this, the White House report hand picks a few sympathetic studies to make the case for raising the…
April 6, 2022

New Study: Tip Percentages are Higher In States with Larger Tip Credits

Cornell University professor Michael Lynn published a new study revealing a “cautionary, yellow flag” to activists trying to reduce or eliminate tip credits. Through a survey with nearly 900 responses, Lynn found consumers were more likely to tip higher (by percentage) in states with larger tip…
April 1, 2022

New Study: Three Quarters of Minimum Wage Earners Get a Raise Within 1-12 Months

A new study by economists Jeffrey Clemens (University of California, San Diego) and Michael Strain (American Enterprise Institute) finds time on the job, not wage mandates, drives increased earnings for employees. Proponents of a nation-wide minimum wage hike, up to $15 per hour or more, often argue in favor of…
March 25, 2022

Union-backed Activists Push $15 In New Report, But Restaurant Workers Still Don’t Agree

A recent report published by Oxfam America says that 31.9% of hourly-paid workers earn less than $15 per hour. Union-funded researchers and activists use statistics like these to argue for policies to eliminate the federal tip credit and raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, like the proposal…
District of Columbia March 18, 2022

Analysis: $15 Tipped Minimum Wage Would Cost DC Restaurant Workers Nearly $9M in Earnings; 2,300 Jobs

This isn’t the District of Columbia’s first rodeo attempting to hike the minimum wage required for restaurant employees earning tips. But new analysis shows how devastating the 200% increase would be for workers, explaining why DC’s City Council has rejected similar bids in the past. As is the…
Michigan March 8, 2022

Preview: A $15 Tipped Wage Could Cost MI Restaurant Workers $48 Million in Earnings, 21k Jobs

After failing once in 2018, anti-worker labor activists at One Fair Wage are back trying to eliminate Michigan’s tip credit, despite far-reaching employment and income consequences for employees. The Restaurant Opportunities Center’s activist arm One Fair Wage is supporting another movement in Michigan to raise the state minimum wage…
March 4, 2022

New Study Demonstrates Inflationary Effects of Rising Minimum Wages on Rent

As inflation soars higher than ever in the last forty years, consumers’ purchasing power is dropping steadily. But will proposed minimum wage hikes contribute to these inflated prices? When governments mandate steep minimum wage hikes, employers must alter their business model to account for the rising wage…