But according to a report published last week by the Economic Policy Institute, at least seven states have enacted laws to lower their alcohol service age since 2021, including West Virginia and Iowa, which lowered the minimum age to 16, and Michigan, which lowered it to 17. The bills are backed by restaurant lobbying groups as part of a broader effort to loosen child labor laws “to cut labor costs and deregulate employment”, the report writes – at a time when child labor violations are on the rise across the country.
The Guardian
August 4, 2023
A report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) last year showed the average weekly wages of teachers went up only $29 from 1996 to 2021.
The Hill
August 4, 2023
Twenty-four states have increased their minimum wages by legislation or ballot measure since 2016, according to the Economic Policy Institute. These include red states like Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas. The most recent statewide increases are going into effect this summer in Connecticut, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington D.C.
24/7 Wall St.
August 4, 2023
Daniel Costa, who is the author of the report and the director of Immigration Law and Policy Research at the EPI, noted that “an employer may select an entire workforce composed of a single nationality, gender, or age group” under the program.
Further, “employers and recruiters can also weed out workers who might dare to speak out against unlawful employment practices, assert their legal rights, or organize for better working conditions by joining or forming a union … by firing them and effectively forcing them to leave the country, or by threatening to blacklist them … ,” Costa said.
LA Progressive
August 4, 2023
At least nine states have introduced laws that would allow children as young as 14 to serve alcohol, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
These changes come amid a tight labor market across much of the U.S., with some employers still struggling to fill positions. But children working in factories or serving alcohol encounter safety risks, with the EPI noting that the latter puts kids at risk of sexual harassment and increases the chances that those child workers will consume alcohol.
CBS Moneywatch
August 4, 2023
“The lack of compliance with the limited [disclosures] that the law does require is just so shameful,” said Celine McNicholas, policy director at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.
…
McNicholas, of the Economic Policy Institute, noted that large companies like Amazon have gotten attention for their big anti-union expenditures, but many smaller firms still spend “$200,000 as a matter of course.” She believes most people aren’t aware of the resources corporations pump into these campaigns.
“If there were greater transparency,” she said, “there would be greater outrage at how employers respond to union organizing.”
Huffpost
August 4, 2023
And the Economic Policy Institute says over 120,000 workers were involved in major work stoppages last year.
Newsy
August 4, 2023
The Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor economic think tank, estimated it would raise wages for close to 28 million workers, or nearly one-fifth of the American workforce, by about $3,100 a year. Focusing in on the restaurant industry, the Economic Policy Institute estimated the bill would raise wages for nearly 3.6 million restaurant workers directly, and drive up pay for some 2.3 million more, or what it estimated as 58% of the restaurant workforce.
Restaurant Dive
August 4, 2023
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“I am optimistic that we are getting a soft landing — that we are already seeing inflation moderate dramatically and we will continue to see inflation moderate and not see a big rise in unemployment,” said Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist at the Department of Labor who is now director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute. “If we do have a recession, it will have been a policy failure. It will have been because the Fed raised rates too much,” she added.
Financial Times
August 4, 2023
The report also found that workers in lower-wage jobs are up to 14 times more likely to need to change occupations than those in highest-wage positions — another factor that doesn’t bode well for women. According to the Economic Policy Institute, women are paid roughly 22% less than men.
Entrepreneur
August 4, 2023