A new joint report by Rutgers and Northwestern universities found that the staffing levels at the federal labor offices handling minimum wage and overtime laws are at their lowest levels in decades, which the authors of the study said open the door to wage theft and other workplace abuses.
The staffing decline is nothing new — the numbers have been declining since 2000 to reach their lowest levels since the 1970s, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, a think-tank based in Washington.
NorthJersey.com
June 4, 2025
A panel of expert judges – including respected leaders from across industries – will evaluate the submissions. Confirmed judges include…Dr. Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute.
U.S. News & World Report
June 4, 2025
According to data from the Economic Policy Institute, those with a bachelor’s degree earn roughly 20% more in hourly wages than those without, and master’s degree holders earn an additional 20% on average.
“Real hourly wages have grown both for workers with just a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree by about the same amount—about 35% over the last 33 years,” says Economic Policy Institute senior economist Elise Gould, explaining that her data set goes back to 1992.
Fast Company
June 2, 2025
San Francisco Chronicle
June 2, 2025
Cites EPI chart [paywall].
Paul Krugman Substack
June 2, 2025
…2001 to 2018, according to an analysis by the pro-union Economic Policy Institute. The hardest-hit were small cities and rural areas. Many…[paywall].
U.S. News & World Report
June 2, 2025
Although this legislation has achieved broad bipartisan popularity, economic policy experts and lobbyists disagree on its effectiveness and impact, particularly for employees who rely heavily on tips, like restaurant servers. A February report from the Economic Policy Institute argues that the legislation would help few lower-wage workers while “potentially undercutting pay for more.”
National Restaurant News
June 2, 2025
Now, a lot of that tariff revenue has been raised in just the last couple of months. The question is, will those taxes continue to float to the government, or will these tariffs be negotiated away by the president or perhaps struck down by the courts? You know, it’s hard for Congress to know, as policymakers try to craft a budget, and it’s hard for businesses, too. Adam Hersh of the Economic Policy Institute says that can be really paralyzing.
ADAM HERSH: Businesses don’t know what the tariff policy is going to be tomorrow, let alone two, three years from now, the way they have to be planning. It’s not giving businesses the confidence to make those investments, so they’re just sitting on their hands and wait for this to pass.
NPR All Things Considered
June 2, 2025
“Modern youth sub-minimum wages are a persistent relic of employers’ past and present interest in children as pool of exploitable, low-wage workers,” argued 2024 article from the Economic Policy Institute.
Maine Wire
June 2, 2025
Adam Hersh, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, called today’s print of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge “welcome news,” but other data showing a slowdown in consumer spending and a decline in manufacturing activity suggest tariffs are still a risk.
Bloomberg
June 2, 2025