The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute projects that 17 states pay at least $15 an hour this year, including $15.15 in Arizona and $17.13 in Washington.
The Washington Times
June 25, 2026
With a return to research reading, one of the latest issues to catch my attention is an April 27 report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The report details the real source of continuing affordability problems, and explains it’s not just prices rising — because prices have always been rising some.
The institute states the real root of affordability is continuing rising inequality — deliberately caused by big money investors and corporate managers.
The Park Record (Utah)
June 25, 2026
In a handful of states, however, teens who find jobs will find fewer protections under child labor laws. Four states — Indiana, Nebraska, Washington and West Virginia — enacted laws this year that weaken child labor protections, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. In all, 13 states had bills seeking to weaken those protections; some are still under consideration.
States Newsroom
June 25, 2026
In 30 states and Washington D.C., the minimum wage is higher than the federal floor of $7.25 per hour. While the federal minimum hasn’t gone up since 2009, 28 states and D.C. have increased theirs since 2014, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
USA Today
June 25, 2026
Like Oklahoma, the federal minimum wage hasn’t seen an increase since 2009, but 28 states and D.C. have increased theirs since 2014, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Most of those states are left-leaning, making them more likely to back minimum wage increases, but several red states, similar to Oklahoma, have passed higher minimum wages by ballot initiative.
The Oklahoman
June 25, 2026
More than 350,000 Oklahoma workers will not receive raises that would have totaled to over $783 million as a result of Question 832 failing, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Oklahomans last received a minimum wage increase when the federal floor was raised in 2009.
Bloomberg Law
June 25, 2026
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average annual cost of infant childcare in Nevada is $15,590, or roughly $1,300 per month. A minimum wage worker would need to work full time for 33 weeks just to cover the cost of childcare for one infant. Paid family medical leave would give many parents (including one of the authors of this column), the necessary breathing room to care for a newborn child without fear of financial ruin.
Nevada Current
June 25, 2026
According to the Economic Policy Institute, arbitration is worse for consumers than for companies. This is because customers tend to lose more often than the companies, and end up paying arbitration fees.
NerdWallet
June 25, 2026
In 2024, the Economic Policy Institute found that the pay gap between public school teachers and other college graduates had hit a record high.
Kansas City Beacon
June 25, 2026
The gender pay gap is narrower in Philadelphia than the national average, which is roughly the same as it was in 2010. Across the country, women earn on average 81 cents for every dollar made by men, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning nonprofit think tank.
Philadelphia Inquirer
June 25, 2026