September 20, 2024

Tipped Worker Teaches House Committee the Truths About Tipping

Last week, The Harris-Walz campaign officially added tip credit elimination to its platform last week, after weeks of pressure from activist organizations like One Fair Wage, which claim that doing so will end inequality and discrimination against women and minorities in the industry. This week, U.S. House Education…
September 13, 2024

New Study: Eliminating Tip Credits Will Increase Wage Gaps For Minorities

A new study conducted by University of California-Irvine economists Dr. David Neumark and Emma Wohl examines how increasing the tipped minimum wage affects earnings gaps for restaurant workers. While anti-tip credit activists claim eliminating the current tip credit system would reduce inequities faced by women and minority workers, the study…
September 6, 2024

Tracking State Wage Hike Proposals Heading into Election Season

Many states saw proposals in the legislature or filed as ballot measures to raise wage floors and/or eliminate the tip credit this year. While many have failed due to employee and small business opposition, there are still several that have qualified to go before voters on November 5. Learn more…
August 30, 2024

What Do Economists Really Say about Wage Hikes?

Recently, the Democratic National Committee released its party platform that included raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. Around the same time, Princeton economist Alan Blinder claimed a federal wage hike to $15 wouldn’t cost jobs, because “research has shown this isn’t the case.” EPI’s…
August 23, 2024

Federal Government Estimates Show $15 Federal Wage Would Kill Jobs

This week during the Democratic National Convention, the party unveiled its official platform, which included raising the minimum wage up to $15 an hour by 2026 across the country. Activists are also calling on Vice President Kamala Harris, if she wins in November, to eliminate the federal…
August 16, 2024

California’s Fast Food Industry Isn’t Keeping Up with Neighbors

It’s no secret that California’s fast food industry has taken a hit due to the recent $20 minimum wage law. National news headlines reveal restaurants have had to lay off employees or reduce their hours and raise menu prices to stay in operation. An EPI survey indicates these changes are…
August 9, 2024

Lawmakers Can Save MI Tipped Employees from One Flat Wage

Last week, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state legislature’s use of an ‘Adopt and Amend’ strategy on a 2018 wage hike ballot measure was unconstitutional. As a result, the Court reinstated the original measure with timing adjustments, which will trigger an increase in the regular minimum…
August 2, 2024

The Job Loss Crisis for California’s Fast Food Industry is Getting Worse

With a second meeting of the newly-formed California Fast Food Council this week, Governor Gavin Newsom yet again attempted to spin his $20 fast food industry minimum wage as a success. But the newest data show the crisis following the new law is worsening fast. Just last month,…
July 26, 2024

New Survey: 89% Of CA Fast Food Restaurants Have Slashed Employee Hours

This week, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released a new survey of nearly 200 restaurant owners who collectively employ tens of thousands of California employees at hundreds of locations. The first-of-its-kind survey asked about the impacts of a $20 minimum wage. Most have already resorted to price hikes,…
July 19, 2024

Survey: Tipped Employees Nationwide Prefer Keeping the Tip Credit

A new survey found that tipped restaurant employees in states around the country overwhelmingly prefer saving the tip credit, over higher flat wage alternatives. The survey was conducted by CorCom, Inc. of nearly 4,000 tipped employees in states facing tip credit elimination threats this year. These states included Massachusetts, Ohio,…