The program has attracted bipartisan attacks from critics who say it lets US companies hire foreign workers for less than they’d pay US workers of equal skill.
“I think there are better ways to fix the program,” said Daniel Costa, director of immigration at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington
Costa said that while the current law requires H-1B workers be paid the “prevailing wage,” it also allows four different tiers of pay for workers of varying skill levels. He said many employers assign even their best foreign workers to the lower pay tiers. That saves them thousands of dollars per worker, compared to what they’d have to pay US citizens of equal skill.
Rather than hike the visa fee, Costa favors requiring companies to pay all H-1B workers at the highest tier. Or, adjust the lottery system to include preferences for higher-paying jobs. Employers who promised to pay the top tier would get first crack at the visas.
Boston Globe
September 29, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute, in a 2021 report, found that thousands of visa holders working at one of the leading subcontracting firms, which provided visa workers to U.S. corporations such as Disney, FedEx, Google, and others, appear to have been underpaid by $95 million annually.
The Detroit News
September 29, 2025
Racine County Eye
September 29, 2025
When we look at the top 1%, it’s clear which group has profited the most. According to a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, the top 1% of U.S. wage earners took home 12.4% of all U.S. income as of 2023. While this inequality fell for that year thanks to a strong labor market, it remains a persistent issue: Wages for the top 1% have close to tripled since 1979, while those for the bottom 90% of earners have climbed by only 44%.
Investopedia
September 29, 2025
The gap between the weekly wages of US public school teachers and other college graduates not only continued to grow last year, but “reached a record high,” according to a report released Wednesday by a pair of think tanks.
Sylvia Allegretto, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and research associate at the Economic Policy Institute, found that this gap, known as the teacher pay penalty, grew to 26.9% in 2024, “a significant increase from 6.1% in 1996.”
Common Dreams
September 29, 2025
After federal mass layoffs and a rollback of equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives earlier this year, the Black unemployment rate has risen to 7.5 percent as of August, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Afro American Newspapers
September 29, 2025
Economic Policy Institute: The Education Department reduced its workforce by almost half this year
WWNY TV 7 News
September 29, 2025
A 2020 study by the Economic Policy Institute found most H-1B employers do pay international workers less than market rate salaries.
Wisconsin Public Radio
September 29, 2025
Still, about half of workers over 50 have a physically demanding job, according to a 2023 study from the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank affiliated with the labor movement. More than half are exposed to unhealthy or hazardous situations at work, such as having to operate machinery, enduring low or high temperatures, and breathing in dust, smoke or toxic vapors. These hazards also tend to have more serious repercussions for older workers.
Capital & Main
September 29, 2025
Analysts have also found that voucher programs redirect money out of public schools, which leaves remaining children in the system having to “bear the cost for educational choices that others make,” according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.
Assembly NC
September 29, 2025