Washington D.C. – Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released a new analysis showing that at least 95 percent of U.S. House and Senate cosponsors of recently introduced $15 federal minimum wage legislation hire interns who earn no wage at all. In total, 174 of the 184 “Raise the Wage Act” cosponsors and primary sponsors hire unpaid interns. In the Senate, Senators Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, […]

  Washington D.C. – Today, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) relaunched its Faces of $15 website, which documents the real victims of dramatic minimum wage increases. The new site features over 100 stories of affected businesses, which can be sorted by location and consequence type (business closure, job loss, etc). The site also features video documentaries and an interactive map of affected businesses. Business owners are encouraged to write […]

EPI Supports Rhode Island Proposal to Expand Youth Minimum Wage Points to research showing value of training wages that keep career pathways open for young jobseekers Washington D.C. – Today the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) announced support for legislation that would greatly-expand the training wage in Rhode Island, to keep career pathways open for young jobseekers. Rhode Island State Representative Kenneth J. Mendonça is testifying before the […]

Washington, D.C. – Today the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) is releasing a new study from economists Dr. Christopher Ruhm and Dr. Charles Baum from University of Virginia and Middle Tennessee State University that quantifies the long-lasting benefits of having a part-time job as a teen. The study comes of the heels of newly released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showing that the […]

Wage Hike Proposed by President Obama Will Only Worsen Ongoing Teen Employment Crisis WASHINGTON, D.C. – In preparation for summer 2013, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released a new analysis highlighting the nation's staggeringly high 24.1 percent teen unemployment rate. Teen unemployment has exceeded 20 percent for over four and a half years—a fact that calls into question the wisdom of passing additional minimum wage increases […]

WASHINGTON – Following a new report on summer employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) released an analysis of Census Bureau data which finds that teen unemployment remained above 25 percent in 19 states and the District of Columbia through the summer of 2012. Nationally, the teen unemployment rate is 23.8 percent and has been above 20 percent for 45 […]