June 26, 2026

A $25 Minimum Wage Proposal Ignores the Evidence

This week, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour by 2031 for large businesses, more than tripling the current federal minimum wage. The legislation would also eliminate the federal tip credit, increasing the minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers by…
Oklahoma June 19, 2026

Oklahoma Voters Reject $15 Wage Mandate

Oklahoma voters rejected State Question 832 this week by a 10-point margin, striking down a proposal that would have increased the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. The language also would have raised the minimum wage every year based on inflation. The vote makes Oklahoma one of the…
June 12, 2026

Twenty-Six States and Cities See Higher Minimum Wages on July 1

Coming July 1, 26 states, counties, and cities will be raising minimum wage rates, according to EPI’s latest Minimum Wage Update Chart. Some will also increase additional minimum wage mandates for businesses of a certain size or industry, bringing the total number of increases up to 37. Among the…
June 4, 2026

L.A. Hotels See Largest Year-Over-Year Job Loss In a Decade

In May, the Los Angeles City Council voted to delay the city’s “Olympic” $30 minimum wage after hearing from local hotels that it was hurting employment and business operations. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows LA’s hotel minimum wage ordinance has been stunting hotel industry employment for…
May 29, 2026

DATA: Summer Jobs Are Vanishing for California Teens

It’s that time of year again – school is almost out and teens are looking for a summer job. But the latest data shows in states like California, nearly a quarter of teens hoping for a summer position may be unable to find one. Entry-level jobs, often starting out at…
May 22, 2026

The UK’s National Living Wage Failure Shouldn’t Be Exported to the U.S.

In a Boston Globe op-ed this week, Arindrajit Dube argued for a minimum wage model that would push wage floors substantially higher in many states. Dube, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst, is among a small group of economists who contend that large minimum wage…
New York May 15, 2026

Past Wage Hikes Hurt NYC’s Restaurants, Mamdani’s Will Too

Zohran Mamdani campaigned on a promise to raise the Big Apple’s minimum wage to $30 an hour. Now that he’s the mayor, a $30 proposal is currently before the City Council. Over a decade ago, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo pushed a $15 minimum wage in the city – and the law…
May 8, 2026

Economists Oppose Sky-High Local, State, and Federal Wage Hikes

Recent proposals at the federal, state, and local level are pushing for increasingly higher minimum wage rates. A majority of these efforts more than double the existing minimum wage, raising the mandate up to $15 in places like Oklahoma, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, while a bill in Congress proposes a $25…
May 1, 2026

Busting Myths about a $25 Federal Minimum Wage

This week, House progressives Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) unveiled a new proposal to raise the federal minimum wage up to $25 an hour. Proponents – including several unions and anti-tip credit organization One Fair Wage – say this hourly rate is intended to address the…
Ohio April 24, 2026

Ohio Workers Cannot Afford the Consequences of a $15 Wage

Lawmakers are once again pushing to raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $15. Proposals like this are nothing new to the state. A similar push in 2024 unraveled into what state officials called a “goat rodeo of a campaign,” reinforcing that a $15 wage mandate faces an uphill battle in…