State AGs’ interest in the workplace is an outgrowth of their civil rights, labor, and consumer protection responsibilities and powers under state law. Urged on by groups such as the non-partisan think tank, the Economic Policy Institute, they have stepped in to interpret state executive orders and new legislative protections for workers, and provide guidance and resources to help employers address workplace safety and workers’ rights.
Bloomberg Law
February 16, 2021
On average, restaurant workers make just below $13 an hour, according to Labor Department data. Retail cashier pay is about the same. That’s less than half the economy-wide average of nearly $30 an hour.
“It tells the story of an economy that has really tanked for the most vulnerable,” said Elise Gould, an economist at the liberal Economic Policy Institute. “It’s shocking how small a dent that has made in the aggregate.”
Associated Press
February 16, 2021
What is more, the investment would pay dividends for school systems. The Economic Policy Institute found that for every $1 invested in capital improvements to education facilities, $1.50 in eventual economic development in the community is generated. A Quarterly Journal of Economics study found that educational advancement, housing prices and school enrollment increases follow suit.
Detroit Free Press
February 16, 2021
I’ll do the math for you: that’s 1.13 million out-of-work Americans seeking benefits for the first time. If you think that’s an okay number, consider this from the Economic Policy Institute: it’s “the 47th straight week total initial (traditional) claims were greater than the worst week of the Great Recession.” The weekly number before we fell off the earth a year or so ago? Around 215,000.
Newsweek
February 16, 2021
The state level isn’t much better — just as states differ, so do counties. In Minnesota, a two-adult, two-child household in Wadena County would need 40% more money to meet the same needs in Carver County, for example, as can be determined by using the Economic Policy Institute’s online Family Budget Calculator.
Duluth News Tribune
February 16, 2021
A 2019 study from the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank based in Washington, D.C., found that public school teachers in every state are paid less than their similarly educated peers. Arizona teachers faced the worst salary penalty: 32.6 percent.
AZ Mirror
February 16, 2021
Business Insider
February 16, 2021
Waiters and bartenders in states where the tipped minimum wage was still $2.13 per hour made almost 17% less than their counterparts in other states, according to a 2017 study from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
Washington Times
February 16, 2021
The Economic Policy Institute writes that there are 1.6 unemployed workers for every job opening.
Business Insider
February 16, 2021