August 29, 2025

California Tops The Nation for Summer Teen Unemployment

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…
August 22, 2025

DATA: High Wages Lead to Rocky Year for Denver Restaurants

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…
August 15, 2025

LA’s History of Wage Hikes Has Already Stunted Hospitality Employment

Los Angeles is preparing for a high-profile stretch of events with the FIFA World Cup in 2026, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the Olympics in 2028. Yet behind the scenes, local unions are pushing for a slew of minimum wage hikes and other ballot measures that could force businesses…
August 8, 2025

A Friendly Reminder to Pennsylvania: $15 Still Isn’t the Answer

Pennsylvania lawmakers are renewing a decades-old battle to raise the state’s minimum wage. The latest proposal, House Bill 1549, recently passed the House and is awaiting vote in the Senate. It would increase the minimum wage in most counties depending on their population size, while Philadelphia’s would jump to $15…
August 1, 2025

DC Council Amendment Is Historic First Step Toward Relief for Local Restaurants and Workers

This week, DC City Councilmembers voted 7-5 to derail Initiative 82, a ballot measure passed in 2022 that was on its way to fully eliminating DC’s tip credit in 2027. This is a historic vote siding with local restaurants and local tipped workers who told Councilmembers the law was hurting…
July 25, 2025

Initiative 82 Is a Summer Bummer for DC Restaurant Workers

In a city known for its extensive brunch culture and endless cuisine options, spring and summer typically bring swells of foot traffic to restaurants across the District of Columbia. However, despite the seasonal crowds typically flocking to restaurants in the spring and summer, full-service restaurant job growth has slowed. Recent…
July 18, 2025

Even More Evidence California’s Fast Food $20 Wage is Hurting Restaurants

From the beginning of California’s fast food wage hike, EPI and others have been tracking the fallout from the state’s  “crappiest law”. While Governor Gavin Newsom has been claiming the law is “good for California,” government data has shown the opposite: the law has caused early job losses, as…
July 11, 2025

Chicago’s History Slashing the Tip Credit Has Stunted Restaurants’ Recovery and Survival

We’ve seen this movie before. Cities raise wages with good intentions, jobs quietly disappear, and workers are left with fewer opportunities. Now Chicago is following the same script and new EPI analysis shows that their ending may be just as bleak. In 2023, lawmakers passed a bill to phase out…
July 3, 2025

NEW ANALYSIS: High Teen Unemployment Tied to State Wage Hikes

The first week of July marks the height of summer, and it also brings a wave of minimum wage increases at the state and local level. For teenagers hoping to earn extra money before the school year begins, higher wages might seem appetizing. However, a new EPI analysis of Census…
June 27, 2025

Early Data Shows Chicago Tip Credit Elimination Is Not a Success

Earlier this week, anti-tip credit activists at One Fair Wage rallied with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to claim the city’s tip credit elimination law has been nothing but positive for the Windy City. Yet their claims – and report to match – use flawed and incomplete data to make that…