May 24, 2024

93% of Tipped Workers Say They Prefer Ohio’s Current Tipping System

Activists in Ohio are gathering signatures in support of a ballot measure proposing a $15 minimum wage with full tip credit elimination. Tipped workers are not pushing for this change, but if certified, could be on the ballot before voters in November. A new survey of nearly 1,000 tipped employees…
May 17, 2024

Preview: California’s Fast Food $20 Wage Has Already Cost Jobs

California’s ill-advised $20 fast food industry minimum wage has been in place for just over a month, and has already triggered negative consequences for small restaurant owners, employees, and customers. Labor economists largely agree that such a drastic wage increase (from $16 per hour on January 1 up to $20…
May 10, 2024

EPI Warns California: West Hollywood is A Cautionary Tale On Sky-High Minimum Wages

This week, One Fair Wage organizers called for California to make the $20 minimum wage currently just for fast food employees apply statewide. Yet the group’s demands don’t line up with the consequences restaurants, employees, and residents are feeling through job losses, price hikes, and closure of local eateries. This…
May 3, 2024

CA Service Charge Ban Will Only Exacerbate Existing Pain for Restaurants

This week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta appeared to settle a months-long debate over whether or not restaurants will be subject to a newly enacted law banning “junk fees.” Bonta’s office said automatic service charges on restaurant checks would not be permitted under the law in a statement to…
April 26, 2024

Oklahoma $15 Wage Ballot Measure Could Kill Over 12,000 Jobs

After a delay in the state courts, an Oklahoma ballot proposal for a statewide $15 minimum wage has received a green light to move forward. The measure requires roughly 92,000 signatures to qualify for November’s ballot. If it passes this mark, it will be up for voters to decide. If…
April 16, 2024

New England Data Suggests Rhode Island Should Maintain Its Current Tip Credit

Economic analysis spanning decades of data shows raising tipped minimum wage requirements (slashing tip credits) brings consequences for servers’ and bartenders’ jobs and income, and restaurants’ ability to keep their doors open. Recently, anti-tip credit activists have targeted various states across the country, including several neighboring states in New England.
April 12, 2024

D.C. Tipped Worker Warns New York, Other States Against Tip Credit Elimination

It’s no secret tip credit elimination has already wreaked havoc on the nation’s capital: employment is down in full-service restaurants, tips are disappearing, and restaurants are looking for ways to move out or change their operations. Yet the same activists are looking to bring the same bad policy around the…
April 5, 2024

In Just One Week, California’s $20 Minimum Wage Is Already a Disaster

State legislators and Governor Gavin Newsom have pushed California’s fast food industry into free fall, and it’s only been one week since the new $20 minimum wage mandate went into effect. Since April 1, headlines have flurried out of California documenting the bloodbath local franchisees are experiencing. The $20 minimum…
March 29, 2024

EPI Warns Rhode Island Lawmakers: Tip Credit Elimination is a Lose-Lose-Lose Situation

This week, the Rhode Island House Labor Committee heard public testimony on House Bill 7531, a bill that would eliminate Rhode Island’s tip credit and raise the base wage for tipped restaurant workers by over 300 percent by 2028. State lawmakers killed a similar bill last year after hearing…
Illinois March 22, 2024

Chicago Restaurants Are Already Bracing for Upcoming Wage Hikes

On July 1, Chicago will begin eliminating its tip credit, raising the minimum wage for tipped restaurant employees from $9.48 to $15.80 per hour (smaller businesses with less than 20 employees are currently subject to a $15 per hour regular minimum wage). Similar to the aftermath in the District…