The Standard was cited in research and testimony in support of the SeaTac living wage ordinance (raising wages to $15/hour for covered employees) and in the successful campaign to raise the minimum wage in Seattle to $15/hour (over several years, depending on establishment size).
The report Poverty Doesn’t Fly, performed by the Harry Bridges Labor Center at the University of Washington, analyzed the economic impact of a proposed $15 minimum wage on workers at the Portland International Airport.
The Real Living Wage NYC Campaign uses the Standard to advocate in support of a $20 per hour “living wage.” They promote economic justice measures and policy change.
The Raise the Wage Oregon Campaign performed an analysis called Lifting the Floor: Self-Sufficiency Wages in Oregon uses the Standard to argue for a $13.50 statewide minimum wage.
Monroe Community College, located in the Finger Lakes Region in New York, used the Self-Sufficiency Standard as a benchmark to measure occupational wage outcomes in their report Measuring Middle-Skills Occupational Gaps.
The Fiscal Policy Center in New York City frequently cites the Self-Sufficiency Standard as the basis for identifying a real living wage level for NYC, including in a 2014 post in support of increasing the minimum wage.
Researchers with the American University Washington College of Law analyze how states determine eligibility for assigned counsel. They argue that the Federal Poverty Guideline excludes many people from needed legal representation and eligibility should be based on the Self-Sufficiency Standard coupled with the costs to retain an attorney.
In 2012, the United Way of Erie County challenged their community to reduce the number of families who cannot meet their basic needs by 10,000 before the year 2025.
In Virginia, Voices for Virginia’s Children successfully advocated for the state’s TANF Authorization Committee to use the Virginia Self-Sufficiency Standard as a tool for setting eligibility guidelines.
The Wyoming Women’s Foundation funds programs that help women advance their ability to live at or above the Wyoming Self Sufficiency Standard for their family composition and county of residence.