EPI Report Shows MD Offers Better Climate for Workers than Many States, But Challenges Remain

Today, the Economic Policy Institute released a report describing actions in state legislatures across the country that have been detrimental to the ability of residents with moderate and low incomes to earn a decent living. EPI describes how this policy agenda has been financed by corporate interests and serves to drag down wages, lower labor standards, and erode employee protections for union and nonunion workers alike.

Fortunately, many of the most harmful developments outlined in the report - including laws restricting the minimum wage, removing regulations on child labor, and imposing new limits on benefits for the unemployed – have not taken place here. Rather, Maryland has enacted policies that improve the economic security of residents. These efforts include protecting Marylanders from catastrophic health expenses by implementing the Affordable Care Act and expanding Medicaid as well as providing tax credits and job training for workers through the state’s EITC and EARN Program.

However, Maryland needs to continue to enact policies that provide economic opportunity and overcome challenges to doing so. For example, EPI’s report notes that corporate lobbies have successfully defeated efforts to establish paid sick leave in cities and states across the country, including Maryland. In the coming legislative session, state lawmakers have the opportunity to enact paid sick leave as well as join other states across the country in raising the minimum wage. In this regard, EPI’s report serves as a useful reminder that the policies that provide security and opportunity for Maryland’s workers must be protected from those that seek to undermine them and that citizens and policymakers must continue to push for measures that help raise the living standards of all Marylanders.