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What I’ve Been Reading This Week: President Joe Biden Edition

 

Apologies to those expecting a post talking about more nuanced labor & employment law topics without a touch of politics.  With this week being the inauguration and the incoming administration already taking action with the termination of the National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel Wednesday evening, there are a couple related topics that are highly relevant to close out the week.  While the last article is not necessarily “President Biden” specific, I wanted to highlight the article to provide readers a bit of food for thought.

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


Biden Administration’s Potential $15/Hour Minimum Wage Hike & the Ramifications

On the heels of Joe Biden getting sworn in on Wednesday, there are already talks over a potential federal minimum wage hike to $15/hour.  With Democrats controlling both the House and Senate, it is likely (if not probable) that we will see a minimum wage bill headed to President Biden’s desk sooner rather than later.  In anticipation of that, the Congressional Budget Office has released a report in which it speculates that approximately 3.7 million jobs would be lost if the federal minimum wage rate got raised to $15/hour.  Whether that figure is too conservative (or too liberal) is up for debate.  Should the federal minimum wage rate be increased during President Biden’s term, however, we might see whether this 3.7 million job loss forecast is on the money.


What A Paid Leave Policy Might Look Like Under a President Biden Administration

The New York Times made note earlier this week of a paid leave proposal being floated by the Biden administration.  Under the proposal, full and part time workers would be paid up to $1,400/week (to replace their wages) to take fourteen weeks (or more) of paid leave.  The grounds for using the paid leave would include:  an employee being sick with coronavirus symptoms, quarantine because of coronavirus exposure, needing time off to get a vaccine, caring for family members who are sick with coronavirus symptoms, caring for children whose school or day care center was closed because of the pandemic, and caring for older relatives or adult dependents whose long term care facilities were closed because of the pandemic.  As many readers are likely wondering, how would the paid leave be funded?  Employers with less than 500 employees would be reimbursed in the form of a payroll tax credit.  Larger employers would be required to cover the cost themselves.  Will this proposal make it across the finish line?  With the prior paid leave lapsing and Congress intent to do something, while this proposal might be a starting point, I think it is likely we will see something in the coming months.


Would You Give Up Your Vacation Time In Exchange For Remote Work?

According to a recent study, approximately 50% of those polled said they would give up their vacation time in exchange for being allowed to work remotely.  As we have seen over the past ten or so months, while allowing employees to work remotely might have been untenable at first, it has quickly become commonplace (and successful) for many.  That is not to say there will not continue to be hiccups for many that choose to work remotely.  However, with many employees still being given latitude to determine when they feel comfortable returning to the workplace (kudos to those employers that remain flexible...while I refrain from too harshly chastising those employers that demand employees return to the workplace), perhaps a trade off of (some) vacation time for remote work is not out of the question.

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