Areas of expertise
Poverty • State labor markets • Economic inequality and social mobility • Minimum wage • Wage theft
Biography
David Cooper conducts both national and state-level research, with a focus on the minimum wage, wage theft, employment and unemployment, poverty, and wage and income trends. He also coordinates and provides technical support to the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN), a national network of over 60 state-level policy research and advocacy organizations.
David’s analyses on the impact of minimum wage laws have been used by policymakers and advocates in city halls and statehouses across the country, as well as in Congress and the White House. He has testified in many states and cities on the challenges facing low-wage workers and their families, and has been interviewed and cited by numerous local and national media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and NPR.
Education
Master of Public Policy, Georgetown University
Bachelor of Arts, English and Government, Georgetown University
By Content:
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Strong wage standards are especially important for heightened-security job sites: Testimony in support of SB62, the Secure Maryland Wage Act
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EPI comments on Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards Order (COMPS) Order #36
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Nearly 7 million workers will start the new year with higher wages
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Workers will lose more than $700 million annually under proposed DOL rule
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Household income growth was slower and less widespread in 2018 than in 2017
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Poverty continues to fall in most states, though progress appears to be slowing
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EPI comments on proposed changes to Washington states’s overtime rules
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Updating Colorado’s overtime salary threshold: Raising the Colorado salary threshold for exemption from overtime to 2.5 times the minimum wage would restore vital protections against excessive work hours for hundreds of thousands of Colorado workers
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Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would lift wages for over 33 million workers
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Modernizing Massachusetts overtime law is critical to strengthening pay and protecting work-life balance for hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts workers: Testimony of David Cooper before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development in support of H. 1609 and S. 1092
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Congress has never let the federal minimum wage erode for this long
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Congress could help nearly 8 million working moms this Mother’s Day if it raised the federal minimum wage
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Don’t be fooled by calls for a ‘regional’ minimum wage
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Millions of workers are paid less than the ‘average’ minimum wage
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Wage standards are especially important for heightened-security job sites: Testimony in support of SB794, the Secure Maryland Wage Act
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Raising the Connecticut minimum wage to $15 by 2022 would be good for workers, businesses, and the Connecticut economy: Testimony in support of H.B. 5004 and S.B. 2 before the Labor and Public Employees Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly
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Fact sheet on regional minimum wage proposals: Millions of workers would lose out on billions of dollars under a regionally adjusted federal minimum wage
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Narrowing the white-collar exemption to minimum wage and overtime for low-wage workers in Maryland is a critical protection for hundreds of thousands of Maryland workers: Testimony of David Cooper before the Maryland House of Delegates Economic Matters Committee in support of HB 1040
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Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would lift pay for nearly 40 million workers
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Over 5 million workers will have higher pay on January 1 thanks to state minimum wage increases
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Voters in Missouri and Arkansas just lifted pay for 1 million workers
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Testimony of David Cooper before the D.C. Council in opposition to B22-0913 and for making D.C. a ‘one-fair-wage’ city
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Poverty declined in most states in 2017
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Household incomes in 2017 stayed on existing trends in most states; incomes in 21 states are still below their pre-recession levels
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Why D.C. should implement Initiative 77: Tipped workers do better in ‘one-fair-wage’ cities; restaurants continue to thrive
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‘Fair workweek’ laws help more than 1.8 million workers: Laws promote workplace flexibility and protect against unfair scheduling practices
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Gradually eliminating the two-tiered wage system for tipped workers in New York will improve working conditions and wages for tipped workers across the state
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Workers of color are far more likely to be paid poverty-level wages than white workers
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One in nine U.S. workers are paid wages that can leave them in poverty, even when working full time