The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) argues that the prospects for national reparations are currently weak, but there is movement at the local level. They list some 40 localities that had reparations initiatives as of December 2024.
EPI offers a reasonable set of criteria for what constitutes reparations at the state and local levels.
Roanoke Tribune
January 20, 2026
Not only are many gig workers earning less, they may not even be earning minimum wage. A study from the Economic Policy Institute found about one in seven workers (14%) earned less than the federal minimum wage on an hourly basis.
MoneyWise
January 20, 2026
The article leaves out Bureau of Labor Statistics data but quotes the aptly described “progressive think tank” Economic Policy Institute, known as EPI. The think tank states that raising the federal minimum wage is “critical for improving affordability.”
It’s simple enough to say, but it isn’t that easy.
San Antonio Express-News
January 20, 2026
Even entry-level workers have seen some progress. According to the Economic Policy Institute, real wages for young adults have grown 9.1% since 2020, faster than for older workers. However, those gains haven’t translated into stability.
GO Banking Rates
January 20, 2026
The teacher pay penalty — the relative gap between the weekly wages of teachers and other college graduates — grew to a record 26.9% in 2024, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
Las Cruces Sun News
January 20, 2026
Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, noted that as more workers grab more positions, it could become even more difficult for the unemployed to break into a labor market where the hiring rate is at its lowest since April 2020 and, absent the pandemic, at a level not seen since 2013.
Yahoo Finance
January 20, 2026
The job market is not great right now. Hiring has slowed. Artificial intelligence is replacing some knowledge workers. But Black women have been hit especially hard. The unemployment rate for Black women rose significantly from the start of 2025 to December, where it stood at 7.8 percent. That pattern of dramatic job loss was not seen for other groups.
“You don’t see that same loss with Black men, you don’t see that same loss with other groups of women,” said Valerie Wilson, a labor economist and director of the program on race, ethnicity and the economy at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “It was a sharp and unique decline in employment for Black women.”
New York Times
January 20, 2026
Some labor advocates and economists say the rule change would push wages downfor both U.S. and foreign farmworkers. The Economic Policy Institute estimates the revised wage methodology could reduce total farmworker pay by about $3 billion a year—roughly 9% of aggregate wages. In November, the United Farm Workers and 18 individual farmworkers sued the Department of Labor, arguing the rule violates federal law by failing to prevent an “adverse effect” on U.S. workers’ wages and working conditions.
Forbes
January 20, 2026
First, these programs drain money from public schools—institutions built to serve all children regardless of zip code, income, or background. When a student leaves a public school with a voucher, the district loses funding tied to that enrollment, often without a corresponding reduction in fixed costs like building maintenance and teacher salaries. This creates a fiscal burden that ultimately affects the students who remain in public schools. (Economic Policy Institute)
Granite State Report
January 20, 2026
Interview with Margaret Poydock, Senior Policy Analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.
Rick Smith Show
January 20, 2026