The move drew sharp criticism from labor advocates. The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning labor think tank, called the bill “one of the most dangerous rollbacks of child labor laws in the country” and asserted that much of the law violates federal labor law.
Over the past two years, lawmakers in at least 10 states — most recently in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Missouri — have passed or introduced legislation to weaken child labor protections.
…
“There is a focus for them right now, particularly on the state level, on policies that erode investments in public education, increase the desperation of the poorest families by restricting access to Medicaid or food assistance, while also, of course, taking down guardrails on excessive hours or hazardous work for children,” said Jennifer Sherer, the senior state policy coordinator at the Economic Policy Institute.
The American Independent
June 27, 2023
According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, the median hourly wage for servers in the United States, including tips, was $11.42 in 2019, while the median hourly wage for non-tipped workers was $18.58. However, the report notes that the tipped minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation, resulting in a decline in purchasing power for tipped workers.
The Georgia Sun
June 26, 2023
State legislatures including Iowa and Arkansas are rolling back child labor law protections. Ultra conservative groups, including the National Restaurant Association, are pushing bills that allow 14-year-olds to work the night shift cleaning meat packing plants and 15-year-olds to work on assembly lines. We’ll ask guests from the Economic Policy Institute why, what can be done, and ask how weakening child labor laws impacts and exploits some of our most vulnerable children, immigrants.
KKFI
June 26, 2023
Deutsch, campaign director for the California Coalition for Worker Power
and Gerstein, director for the State and Local Enforcement Project at the
Harvard Law School Center for Labor and a Just Economy, detail the
importance of community enforcement programs in holding employers
accountable for wage violations. It’s detailed in their report “Power in
partnership,” which was published on June 8 by the Economic Policy
Institute and Harvard Law School’s CLJE.
Law360
June 26, 2023
Some H-1B visa holders in the U.S. have been among the thousands of tech workers laid off this year, sending them scrambling to find new employers within a 60-day “grace period” or return to their home country.
Reuters
June 26, 2023
Additionally, new data from the Economic Policy Institute reaffirms the current strength of the job market for young workers. The study found the youth unemployment rate for workers between 16 and 24 tumbled to 7.5 percent in March. While that is nearly double the national rate of 3.7 percent, it also marks the lowest level since 1953.
Bank Rate
June 26, 2023
According to a report from the Economic Policy Institute, overtime work can increase the likelihood of having an irregular schedule and working split shifts. The food website Mashed reported that McDonald’s has been flagged for not paying workers overtime pay. In 2016, McDonald’s agreed to pay $1.75 million in backpay and $2 million in lawyer fees to settle a lawsuit where 800 workers alleged the food chain giant violated California law by not paying overtime.
The Daily Dot
June 26, 2023
On June 21, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee voted to advance the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Healthy Families Act on June 21. All three pieces of legislation have companion bills in the U.S. House.
Democrats mostly hailed the bills as beneficial for average workers, while Republicans mostly criticized the bills as being too pro-union.
The bills garnered support from the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Government Employees, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Postal Workers Union, Communication Workers of America, the Economic Policy Institute, the National Urban League, and Oxfam America, according to Committee chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
SHRM
June 26, 2023
That strike is only the most recent and widely reported strike among public employees. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that there was a 50 percent increase in strike activity in 2022 over the previous year.
Jacobin
June 26, 2023
The grocery giant’s planned merger with rival Albertsons, which is still in the works, exacerbated concerns. A May report from the Economic Policy Institute…[paywall].
Bloomberg Law
June 26, 2023