Nina Mast is a policy and economic analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C. Mast wrote a report on new research that found states that mandated work permit systems saw more than 15 percent fewer child labor violations and about 35 percent fewer minors involved in these violations compared with states lacking these protections.
Mast said Wisconsin’s youth work permit system improves enforcement against child labor violations.
“The unique thing about the Wisconsin system is that they’re actually using the small fees that employers have to pay for the work permit to actually fund their labor enforcement, specifically their child labor enforcement,” Mast said.
“It’s really a win-win,” she continued. “Because it’s a system that not only keeps kids safe, but also funds this enforcement priority that we know is underfunded in a lot of states and at the federal level.”
Wisconsin Public Radio
February 13, 2025
Daniel Perez, an analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C., said their research determined the bill would result in “minimal cost” for the state.
The median strike duration in Oregon in the last four years has been five days, according to Perez.
He added that based on strike action data, strike duration or frequency in New Jersey has not increased since 2023 when the governor reduced the waiting period for striking workers to qualify for unemployment.
Salem Statesman Journal
February 13, 2025
Unions and nonprofits seeking to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the U.S. Department of Labor’s data have enhanced their injunction request, looking also to shield the Consumer…[paywall].
Law360
February 13, 2025
Driving the news: The overall U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2% as of Q3 2024, but the rate among Black Americans was 6.5%, per the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank.
- Oregon matched the national rate, with a gap of 2.3%.
- Kentucky had the widest gap at 6.1% while Mississippi and Maryland were tied for the lowest at 0.8%.
Axios
February 13, 2025
Wage theft costs American workers as much as $50 billion a year, according to a 2014 estimate by the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor think tank.
Capital Times
February 13, 2025
This week, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) launched an updated and expanded version of its State of Working America data library, offering researchers, journalists and the public a user-friendly resource for tracking key labor market trends.
Corridor Business Journal
February 13, 2025
“Overcapacity in the global steel industry is plaguing U.S. steel and aluminum producers. China, as the world’s largest and fastest-growing steel producer, has had production capacity that has exceeded the rest of the world combined since 2000,” Adam Hersh, a senior fellow specializing in international trade and industrial policy at the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, said in an interview with this station.
Radio Free Asia
February 13, 2025
Margaret Poydock, senior policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute told Newsweek that unions offer several key benefits to workers, including “just cause” rights that protect against arbitrary and unfair dismissals. Union contracts often include legally binding layoff and recall protocols. In contrast, non-unionized workers, who lack these protections, can be fired for almost any reason without notice or severance pay.
Newsweek
February 13, 2025
Arizona State University ranked Ohio 35th in job growth last year. And when the Economic Policy Institute in 2023 looked at state unemployment rates by state since 2007 — the year the Great Recession struck — Ohio ranked near the bottom of states.
Ohio Capital Journal
February 12, 2025
Since 1979, net productivity has grown by 64%, while the hourly pay of typical workers has only increased by 17.3%, according to the Economic Policy Institute. This gap mirrors the economic disenfranchisement seen after the failure to provide land ownership to freed slaves.
Forbes
February 12, 2025