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What I've Been Reading This Week


What a week it was on both sides of the country.  First, New York and California implemented minimum wage increases at the start of the week.  Then New York and San Francisco approved measures to provide paid leave to workers.  This was one of the bigger weeks that I can think of in recent memory in regard to new laws being passed which will impact a wide range of workers in both states.

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


A Potential List of States That Could Enact New Paid Leave Laws Next

Forbes has an in depth look at the next states that could follow New York and San Francisco's lead and offer paid leave to workers in the state.  Readers might be interested to note that of the 20 states that Forbes identifies, legislation has either been introduced or is being advocated for that mirrors what was recently approved in New York and San Francisco.  Stay tuned...the next few states to follow might happen sooner than expected.


A Closer Look at the Impact of New York's Paid Leave Law

Emily Peck over at the Huffington Post has a well written note on the impact of New York's new paid leave law.  I highlight this article to point readers to the efforts that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took to get this measure passed (along with the minimum wage hike as well) along with the comments by President Obama in support of the new law.  It goes without saying that this was a big development for supporters of paid leave in the state, as it had been a hard fought battle to implement this measure statewide.



The Dallas Morning News has a short note on the potential impact that Texas could experience as a result of New York and California implementing higher minimum wages earlier this week.  While workers in those states might benefit from higher wages, employers could potentially look at moving these minimum wage jobs to a state like Texas which has not increased its minimum wage rates to such a high level.  With a Republican controlled state legislature, it appears unlikely that the minimum wage rate would increase in Texas in the near future.  As a result, some employers might be drawn to a state like Texas...but whether this results in a significant increase in new jobs in the state is hard to predict for now.  This is a development to keep an eye on over the coming months.

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