According to the Economic Policy Institute, a worker paid the $7.25 federal minimum wage earns 27.4% less in inflation-adjusted terms than what their counterpart was paid in July 2009 when the minimum wage was last increased, and 40.2% less than a minimum wage worker in February 1968, the historical high point of the minimum wage’s value.
The Guardian
July 27, 2023
Unemployment is hovering around 3.6%, meaning it’s relatively easy for people to find a job. Inflation has fallen significantly from its peak in June of 2022, making prices more reasonable at the grocery store. And the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank based in Washington, estimates that wages are up 4.7% over the past year.
Kansas City Star
July 27, 2023
Others counter that the disparities in racial and ethnic achievement in the workplace remain so large that they need to remain a focus for employers. For example, the typical Black worker earned 24% less than their white counterpart in 2019, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank based in Washington. And that gap was larger than the 16% gap in 1979, even though African Americans have narrowed the Black-white gap in high school and college completion during that time.
Christian Science Monitor
July 27, 2023
Since 2021, seven states have passed laws to lower the minimum age for serving alcohol in restaurants. Some of those laws decrease the threshold to 16, 17 or 18. There’s now a proposal in Wisconsin to lower the age all the way to 14. So where is this coming from?
“The restaurant industry was hit pretty hard during the pandemic,” said Nina Mast, an analyst at the liberal Economic Policy Institute. She recently authored a report about states lowering age limits for alcohol service positions.
“And employers are really looking for ways to fill these positions in the industry with younger workers and workers they can pay lower wages,” she said.
Mast means teens. Her organization has tracked ways the food service industry has already violated child labor laws — from overly long hours to hazardous working conditions. Millions of young people are already working in the industry.
Marketplace
July 27, 2023
The Economic Policy Institute published data that suggests these aberrations to employees’ scheduled times aren’t just inconvenient for workers, but that they may just lead to higher levels of burnout, stress, and at-home strife.
“Employees who work irregular shift times, in contrast with those with more standard, regular shift times, experience greater work-family conflict, and sometimes experience greater work stress,” the article states.
The Daily Dot
July 21, 2023
CEOs earned 399 times as much as a typical worker in 2021, the Economic Policy Institute reported in October.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
July 21, 2023
Public educators have long complained about stagnant wages. Adjusted for inflation, teachers’ average weekly pay has increased by only $29 between 1996 and 2021, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The wage problem has contributed to a public-school teacher shortage in some parts of the country.
The Wall Street Journal
July 21, 2023
The number of minors employed in violation of child labor laws has increased by 37% within the last year, according to a March report by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute in Washington. The report identified 10 states that have introduced or passed bills within the last two years that would weaken child labor standards.
Huffpost
July 21, 2023
The Economic Policy Institute reports the number of workers involved in major strikes increased by nearly 50% last year, and that doesn’t include smaller-scale work stoppages.
NBC Boston
July 21, 2023