New York April 21, 2023

New York’s War Against Its Tip Credit Is Hurting Restaurants

As New York has diminished its tip credit and raised regular and tipped minimum wages over the last several years, the state’s full-service restaurant industry, which employs the majority of tipped workers, has experienced declines in both annual employment and annual establishment growth. New York has the smallest tip…
Pennsylvania April 7, 2023

The Fight for $15 Is Still a Bad Idea for Pennsylvania

After newly-elected Governor Josh Shapiro raised the issue in his budget address, some are renewing efforts to enact a $15 minimum wage in Pennsylvania. Activists and lawmakers have tried to push the Fight for $15 for years in the Commonwealth, but have been blocked by concerns over…
March 24, 2023

$15 Wage States Are Already More than Doubling Inflation

As the debate over how high minimum wages should reach continues, eyes are on New York as progressive lawmakers push for a forty percent statutory increase to $20 per hour before tying the rate to inflation. Proponents of the bill argue that New York’s minimum wage has fallen behind inflation…
March 17, 2023

The Fight Against Tip Credit Elimination Across the Country

As state legislatures spring into action, several bills across the country are targeting tip credits that allow restaurant employers to count tips toward the regular minimum wage requirement. This is part of a larger campaign by union activists at Restaurant Opportunities Center-affiliated One Fair Wage – pledging a $25 million…
March 10, 2023

New Data: One Flat Wage States See Lower Tips

Proponents of eliminating state tip credits mislead workers and lawmakers by arguing that doing so won’t hurt their tips. New data from point-of-sale tech giant Toast tells a different story. Seven states, as well as the District of Columbia, have enacted no-tip credit laws, meaning restaurants and bars are…
February 10, 2023

After pushing for tip credit elimination, Biden wants to increase taxes on tipped workers

In his state of the union address this week, President Joe Biden doubled down on a mantra that no one earning less than $400,000 a year would pay new taxes. But the administration’s Internal Revenue Service quietly rolled out a new program to single out tipped restaurant workers to pay…
January 27, 2023

Tracking Minimum Wage Bills in 2023

Dozens of states and cities implemented scheduled minimum wage hikes on January 1st, and several more approved increases on the ballot last November. Now, lawmakers are pushing the boundaries again with even higher target minimum wage rates and adding automatic inflationary increases to existing minimum wage laws. Here is a…
January 20, 2023

Push and Pull: While Some States Seek Further Min Wage Hikes, Others Pull Back

In 2022, record-breaking inflation drilled minimum wages beyond expectations in many states and cities, as seen by new wage rates taking effect January 1 and throughout this new year. Even still, many activists and progressive lawmakers are calling for even higher rates – pushing the boundary on how high minimum…
January 6, 2023

New Evidence Suggests “Fair Workweek” Laws Aren’t Helping Workers

Predictive scheduling laws are nothing new – Chicago, New York City, Oregon state, San Francisco, and Seattle have all tried them. In 2023, California cities of Berkeley and Los Angeles will join them. In general, predictive scheduling laws, often referred to as “fair workweek” laws, seek to penalize…
December 23, 2022

What’s on the Docket for Minimum Wages in 2023?

A record number of states are raising their minimum wages in the new year, with more proposals to push for even higher rates. Here’s a rundown of what minimum wage events and proposals to expect in the New Year. In 2023, nearly 90 states and localities are scheduled to…