September 2, 2022

Tips Are Under Attack, But Servers Aren’t Asking For It

Two ballot measures this fall seek to eliminate tip credits in Washington, DC and Portland, ME. The measures are part of a larger, nationwide campaign by Big Labor advocates such as the Restaurant Opportunities Center’s (ROC) sister nonprofit One Fair Wage. While union activists argue eliminating tip credits will raise…
August 26, 2022

83 Percent of Surveyed Economists Oppose FAST Recovery Act

This week, the Employment Policies Institute released a survey of labor economists on the potential impacts of California’s Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (AB 257). Conducted by Dr. Lloyd Corder of CorCom, Inc., Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, the online survey was completed by…
California August 17, 2022

FAST Recovery Act “Research” Conducted By Union Organizers

Email records recently acquired by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) show that researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have been seemingly more interested in partnering with labor activists than doing objective research. UCLA’s Labor Center boasts about producing quality research that “lifts industry standards.” In…
August 12, 2022

Study: FAST Recovery Act Unfairly Targets CA’s Fast-Food Industry

Last week, the Employment Policies Institute released a report analyzing nearly a decade of California Department of Industrial Relations data on alleged labor law violations. The report’s findings show California’s fast-food restaurant industry accounts for far fewer wage claims than other industries. This directly refutes headlines based on an unscientific…
July 29, 2022

Consumer Price Index Data Reveals High Wage Areas Are Experiencing Higher Inflation

Inflation continues to rise to historic heights, and rapidly rising state minimum wages appear to be adding fuel to the fire. As employers feel the pinch of operating costs rising on many fronts, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows areas with steeper minimum wage mandates have higher inflation rates…
July 22, 2022

Michigan’s One-Two Punch on Minimum Wage Hikes

Michigan employees may still be affected by a minimum wage hike this year. This week, a Court of Claims judge ruled the state legislature did not have the authority to “adopt and amend” a ballot measure proposal in 2018, which would have raised the state’s minimum wage to $12 by…
July 8, 2022

Nebraska’s $15 Wage Ballot Measure Would Cost 18,600 Jobs, $787M

Since Congress has heeded the warnings of the job-killing effects of a federal $15 minimum wage, unions and other activists are pushing the “Fight for $15” agenda at the state level. The latest target is Nebraska, where activists have submitted signatures to certify a measure that would raise the…
June 24, 2022

Preview: New Study Shows Raising Tipped Wages Causes Jobs, Earnings Decline

The Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC)’s nonprofit One Fair Wage has ramped up activity pressuring restaurants and lawmakers across the country to stop using tip credits and instead push for a flat minimum wage for traditionally-tipped restaurant employees. Nationwide, the full-service restaurant industry has already been battered as states and…
June 17, 2022

July 1 Will Bring Another Wave of Wage Hikes Across the Country

While many states institute minimum wage increases in the beginning of the year, many introduce hikes mid-year too, many of them adjustments according to inflation. Looking ahead, November could also usher in several new state and local minimum wage mandates as ballot measures ask voters about higher wages. On July…
June 10, 2022

Misleading NY Wage Study Omits Job Loss Consequences from Wage Hike Bill

Rallies and events led by union-backed One Fair Wage, a subsidiary of the anti-tip credit advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Center, have recently ramped up to try to convince lawmakers to end the tip credit in New York state. Even with proposals to raise tipped wages…