Overtime pay: The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 requires all eligible salaried employees to receive no less than time and a half for every hour worked above 40 in a week. This amendment to the FLSA from Casar would expand that minimum to double time. The higher wages would put limits on overworking employees, and there are other provisions in the legislation to safeguard against that as well. The caucus estimates that over 13 million workers would feel this benefit, supported in polling by 69 percent of the public. “True affordability comes when working people earn enough to cover the costs of living with dignity and security,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute.
American Prospect
May 4, 2026
Cites EPI & AFL-CIO letter to Congress [paywall].
Law360
May 4, 2026
The average monthly cost of living in East Lansing is around $3,500 per month, according to the Economic Policy Institute, compared with $4,200 in Ann Arbor.
Detroit Free Press
May 4, 2026
Features interview with Elise Gould on Deloitte/Zoom cutting parental leave benefits.
NBC News NOW
May 4, 2026
Childcare has become unaffordable for families across nearly the entire United States, according to state‑by‑state data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) cited in a recent analysis by Realtor.com.
The findings show that not one single U.S. state meets the federal affordability benchmark for childcare, placing widespread financial strain on households with young children regardless of where they live.
Newsweek
May 4, 2026
Other studies show that immigrants, most of whom assimilate to the U.S., benefit the national economy and have little effect on crime rates. Researchers with the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank on economic inequality, determined in a 2025 review that immigration grows the demand for goods and services.
“Immigration does not make the job of ensuring that there is enough demand to keep the available labor supply fully employed much more difficult because new immigrants who join the labor force also create growth in demand, which, in turn, helps create jobs,” the researchers said. “In other words, immigrants are potential workers, but they are also consumers who increase the demand for goods and services, expanding the overall economy.”
Sinclair Broadcast Group
May 4, 2026
The letter was spearheaded by the progressive Economic Policy Institute, We Build Progress, the AFL-CIO Tech Institute and Workshop.
In it, the groups noted that nearly two years have passed since the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group released its roadmap for AI policy, “but the Senate has yet to consider comprehensive legislation.”
The groups called on the House Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy, which was formed in December, to ensure that federal reforms “center the impacts of AI on workers.”
Leaders from the Senate and House AI groups could not immediately be reached for comment before press time.
HR Dive
May 4, 2026
There are about 5 million people employed in North Carolina. On Monday Rep. Tim Longest, D-Wake, cited research from the pro-labor think tank Economic Policy Institute that found 1.2 million of them make less than $15 an hour.
WRAL.com
May 4, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute’s Productivity-Pay Tracker, updated through the third quarter of 2025, captures the split in hard terms. Economy-wide net productivity reached an index value of 412.3, meaning output per hour grew 312% since 1948. Typical worker compensation hit just 253.6, reflecting growth of only 154%. The 57-point divergence represents income that flowed to executives and capital owners rather than the professionals who produced it.
Tech Times
May 4, 2026