What is the minimum wage?
The minimum wage is the starting hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for work. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act). Some states and cities have raised their minimum wage higher than that. In most instances, the higher of the prevailing minimum wage requirements is binding for employers.
April 3, 2026
New UC Berkeley Study Misleads on CA $20 Wage
March 27, 2026
Efforts to Raise Wages Fail Across the Country
This week, several attempts to eliminate tip credits and spike minimum wage requirements were scrapped. In Maryland, One Fair Wage supported a pair of companion bills that would have created…
March 20, 2026
Chicago Halts Its Tip Credit Elimination Experiment
Chicago’s tipped workers received a lifeline this week, as officials voted to permanently freeze the phase-out of the city’s tip credit for restaurants, capping the credit at 24% of the…
March 13, 2026
EPI Debunks One Fair Wage In Maryland Hearing
This week, EPI testified on the harmful economic impacts of Maryland’s proposed $25 minimum wage bill – which would also end the current tip credit system for tipped restaurant workers.
March 6, 2026
New Study: Minimum Wage Increases Drive Automation
Automation is no longer a “someday” story. It’s already reshaping how businesses hire, schedule, and produce across industries, and restaurants are no exception. The question isn’t whether technology will change…