June 2, 2023

Fact Checking Sen. Sanders’ $17 Announcement

In a press conference outside the U.S. capitol earlier in May, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced he would introduce a new bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour. In a recent op-ed in The Guardian, Sanders suggested a $17 per hour minimum wage was “the right…
May 25, 2023

Restaurant Worker Survey Refutes Attacks Against Franchisees

As part of its campaign to organize restaurant workers, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has taken direct aim at the franchise business model. This year, the union is endorsing AB1228, California legislation that would force countless franchisees in the state to close their doors or cut jobs. The…
May 19, 2023

New Research Finds Minimum Wages Are Still Costing Employees Jobs, Earnings

Pushes to raise minimum wages are popping up across the country – with inflationary increases as high as $19.08 per hour in West Hollywood, CA starting on July 1 and proposals for as much as $30 hourly minimum wages in places like Los Angeles. These efforts are capped by recent…
May 12, 2023

Setting the Record Straight on Bogus Claims Behind CA’s Anti-Franchisee Bill

In the California Assembly’s Appropriations Committee earlier this month, legislators heard testimony for and against AB 1228 – a bill entitled the Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act – which would target franchised fast food restaurants statewide by making small business owner franchisees and larger corporate brands jointly liable for…
May 5, 2023

New Survey Shows Devastating Impacts of D.C.’s Tip Credit Elimination

This week, Washington, D.C. implemented its first of several tipped minimum wage hikes that will eliminate the city’s tip credit entirely by 2027. The May 1 increase raised the tipped minimum wage from $5.35 per hour to $6 per hour, but will increase again on July 1 to $8 per…
April 28, 2023

CA Data Debunks Unions’ Claim Against Franchisees

Last year, voters submitted over a million signatures to delay the implementation of AB 257, the FAST Recovery Act, when data showed the state’s fast food industry was being unfairly targeted. The bill sought to install an unelected regulatory council to set workplace standards such as hours and wages for…
New York April 21, 2023

New York’s War Against Its Tip Credit Is Hurting Restaurants

As New York has diminished its tip credit and raised regular and tipped minimum wages over the last several years, the state’s full-service restaurant industry, which employs the majority of tipped workers, has experienced declines in both annual employment and annual establishment growth. New York has the smallest tip…

New Data: High-Wage States Top the List of State Teen Unemployment Rates

Economists agree that major minimum wage hikes cost employees their jobs – especially for teens. The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows this happening in real time: states with the largest minimum wages in the nation are also experiencing the highest unemployment rates for workers aged 16…
Pennsylvania April 7, 2023

The Fight for $15 Is Still a Bad Idea for Pennsylvania

After newly-elected Governor Josh Shapiro raised the issue in his budget address, some are renewing efforts to enact a $15 minimum wage in Pennsylvania. Activists and lawmakers have tried to push the Fight for $15 for years in the Commonwealth, but have been blocked by concerns over…
Rhode Island March 31, 2023

Rhode Island’s Anti-Tip Credit Bills Ignore the Realities of the State’s Restaurants

This week, the Rhode Island House Labor Committee heard public testimony regarding various minimum wage hike proposals. Two of the bills up for consideration, H 5590 and H 5928, which both seek to eliminate Rhode Island’s tip credit and raise the hourly base wage for tipped restaurant workers by nearly…