An analysis published by the Economic Policy Institute in 2021 suggests that while earners in all income levels experience wage theft, most are independent contractors and hourly workers.
Business Insider
July 21, 2023
But even as the number of platform gig workers soared, wages did not: A 2022 analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, found that one in seven gig workers earned less than the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25 an hour; just 38% made between $10 and $14.99 an hour, compared to over half of W-2 service workers. And 29% of gig workers made less than their state’s minimum wage.
Business Insider
July 21, 2023
State legislatures across the South are weakening child labor protections even as the number of minors employed in violation of child labor laws is increasing. Violations were up in 2022 by 37% since 2021 and 283% since 2015, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis of Department of Labor data
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The DLL is required to investigate employers only if they receive a complaint of a violation. And Act 687 is only effective if the state agency demonstrates its willingness to “proactively” use its enforcement authority, especially in industries where child labor is most prevalent, said Jennifer Sherer, senior state policy coordinator at the Economic Policy Institute.
“Passing the law itself gives them a new tool, but we don’t know yet whether they will actually use it,” Sherer said.
Facing South
July 21, 2023
The AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America, National Employment Law Project and the Economic Policy Institute also have endorsed both bills, Casey’s office said.
NBC News
July 21, 2023
Employers struggled to attract and retain warehouse workers early in the pandemic, which caused a shift in spending from services to goods, said Monique Morrissey, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
Non-college-educated workers had found new leverage by quitting and moving to better-paying or easier jobs, forcing Amazon and its competitors to respond with sign-on bonuses and wage increases. White saw ads from Walmart and Target last year advertising warehouse jobs that started in the $20 to $24 range.
Jacobin
July 21, 2023
Income for low-wage workers — those in the 10th percentile of hourly earners — grew 9% from 2019 to 2022 despite inflation, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute.
The Economic Policy Institute attributes that growth to pandemic-era policy initiatives like enhanced unemployment insurance, child tax credits and protection from eviction. The labor shortage, especially in low-paid jobs, also forced employers to raise wages.
Minnesota Reformer
July 21, 2023
According to two Economic Policy Institute researchers, in 1979, the top 1 percent of wage earners received 7.3 percent of income, compared to 13.2 percent in 2019. Meanwhile, the bottom 90 percent of wage earners saw their share fall from 69.8 percent to 60.9 percent—a nearly nine-percentage-point decline in earnings.9
Nonprofit Quarterly
July 21, 2023
Numerous studies published by liberal-leaning Washington think tanks have determined that, despite Chamber of Commerce and other corporate lobbyists’ insistence, the U.S. doesn’t have a labor shortage. After studying the top 15 H-2B occupations that include the leisure industry, the Economic Policy Institute concluded that persistently flat wages undermine the claim that labor shortages exist.
Highland County Press
July 21, 2023