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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


Having finished up in court in Dallas for the morning, I find myself at Whole Foods for a late breakfast, watching the Uruguay v. France World Cup quarterfinal, and finishing up this post.  Given that July 1st was only a few days ago, I thought it appropriate to lead off this post with a reminder of several recent minimum wage increases that went into effect earlier this week.

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


Reminder! July 1st Marked the Start of Minimum Wage Increases For Many Employees

For those not aware, Sunday was the day that minimum wage increases went into effect for many workers across the country.  For those unfamiliar with where hourly minimum wage rates went up earlier this week, I refer you to the attached chart for reference.


Most Age Discrimination Goes Unreported

MarketWatch published an article recently that reported that approximately only 3% of age discrimination claims are actually reported.  That number is somewhat surprising as the report indicates that 60% of workers age 45 or older have seen or experienced age discrimination themselves.  This low percentage of actual reporting of age discrimination should be cause for concern, given the rampant number of employers that are apparently getting away with this practice.  While the MarketWatch report does not give a ‘fix’ for the low reporting numbers, it is worth a read for additional background on the matter.


A Critical Look At the Proposed Department of Education & Department of Labor Merger

Richard Reddick, an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, recently wrote an article that offered some pointed criticism of President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion that the Department of Education and the Department of Labor should merge.  This proposal is intended, among other things, to streamline government and eliminate some of the bureaucracy among agencies.  However, as Reddick notes, there is little historical association between the two Departments and Reddick characterizes this proposal as an attempt to actually diminish federal oversight in education.  Regardless of your position on President Trump’s proposal, Reddick offers some intriguing arguments in opposition.

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