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What I've Been Reading This Week


For those readers working from home at this time (whether by choice or by mandate), I hope this What I've Been Reading This Week provides all readers with a respite from the cabin fever that might be setting in.  While there are a few relevant coronavirus related articles, I think there is enough here to give readers a broad overview beyond repeated coronavirus related topics that have likely been coming up on your Twitter feed, FaceBook page, preferred news site, etc. over the past few days.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Joe Biden Receives Endorsement From Nation's Largest Labor Union

Late last weekend, former Vice President Joe Biden received the endorsement of the National Education Association, in his bid to become the Democratic nominee for President.  Biden, locked in a somewhat contentious two way battle for the nomination with Senator Bernie Sanders (following Representative Tulsi Gabbard suspending her campaign yesterday), has slowly but surely been locking up victories in states during the primary cycle.  Part of Biden's pitch to the Democratic primary voters is that he can bring out organized labor, a traditionally strong voting bloc for Democrats.  This endorsement is likely to boost his credibility among some union members and perhaps serve as a catalyst to Biden's attempts to secure the nomination.


OSHA Offers Guidance in Regard to Coronavirus

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") has created a resource on its website to provide guidance on prevention of the coronavirus in the workplace.  Notably, while there is no direct OSHA standard to address the coronavirus, this guidance does provide general standards in regard to protecting workers from coming into contact with (and preventing catching) the coronavirus.


In Many U.S. Cities, Minimum Wage Does Not Even Cover Median Cost of Rent

Anna Hecht at CNBC wrote an article a few weeks ago which took a look at how workers earning the minimum wage rate (for that state or city), cannot cover the median cost for rent based upon their wages.  As the article notes, it is assumed Social Security, FICA, Medicare, and federal income taxes were being deducted from the wages.  In addition, it is assumed that a worker in any given city is only earning that city or state's hourly minimum wage rate.  Of the 16 cities on this list, some should not come as much of a surprise.  For instance, the hourly minimum wage rate in San Francisco (#16 on the list) is $15.59, which amounts to a rent as a percentage of take home pay of 103%.  Denver (#15 on the list), with a $11.10/hour minimum wage rate sees a rent as a percentage of take home pay also at 103%.  Other cities come as a bit of a surprise though.  Tampa (#12 on the list), has an $8.46/hour minimum wage rate that sees a rent as a percentage of take home pay at 106%.  Philadelphia (#5 on the list), has a $7.25/hour minimum wage rate that sees a rent as a percentage of take home pay at 124%.  Unceremoniously topping this list at #1 is Austin, with an hourly minimum wage rate of $7.25 that sees a rent as a percentage of take home pay at a whopping 143%.  With rents rising on average of 2 - 4%/year since 2011, many wages unfortunately have not kept up, which has put many workers in a difficult, and untenable, situation.


Guarding Against Cybersecurity Threats When Employees Work From Home

The National Law Review has a timely post that reminds employers and employees alike to watch out for (and take steps to prevent) cybersecurity threats when an employee is allowed to work from home.  As the article notes, there are increased risks that often arise when an employee uses a personal device to conduct work related matters away from the office.  It is suggested that multifactor authentication be required to access a company's portal (including a company e-mail server), allowing employees access only through a virtual private network ("VPN"), require employees not conduct work in public places where sensitive information could easily be seen by others, as well as setting up a protocol for employees to report phishing attempts or other related security incidents so that the matter can be addressed at the outset.

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