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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


What a week, am I right?   In between a lockout in Major League Baseball yesterday, a new coronavirus variant, and West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announcing he is cosponsoring a bill to end vaccine mandates for private employers, there was a lot to review.  With that being said, I refer readers to the below articles which are worth a read.

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


$15/Hour Minimum Wage Rate in Florida? Yes, But Maybe Not For All Workers

Readers might recall that last year, voters in Florida approved a ballot measure that will raise the hourly minimum wage rate in the state to $15/hour by 2026.  However, at least one Florida Legislator is seeking to curtail the reach of that wage hike.  Legislator Jeff Brandes wants to amend the wage hike to prevent workers under the age of 21 and low skilled workers to earn less.  Now just because the Florida Legislature might approve the proposal from Brandes does not make it law.  Rather, it would need to be approved by 60% of voters next November.  Stay tuned.


Senate Democrats Have the Votes to Approve Paid Leave…Or Do They?

I had recently made note of the fact that the Build Back Better piece of legislation working through Congress has hit several snags, to say the least, namely with paid leave being on the table, off, then back on the table.  After the House approved the legislation which included paid leave, the bill moved to the Senate.  However, before the legislation even made it to the upper chamber, Senator Manchin had expressed his desire to not include paid leave in the Build Back Better legislation and instead pursue it via another, independent bill.  It appears from this article from Politico on Wednesday that some Democrats think Senator Manchin will eventually support the Build Back Better legislation with paid leave included…while others think Senator Manchin will manage to keep it out of the legislation.  As readers likely know, with the Senate split 50 - 50 (and Vice President Kamala Harris having the tie breaking vote), Democrats need every vote they can get to get the legislation to President Joe Biden’s desk.


Pinterest Settles Discrimination Claim Brought By Shareholders

Recently, Pinterest agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by shareholders over claims that top executives at the company fostered a culture of discriminatory behavior at the company.  As NBC News reported, there had been widespread claims of racism and discrimination at the company for several years.  While the details of the settlement were not made public, Pinterest is committing $50 million to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion at the company.  As well, perhaps most notably, Pinterest has also agreed to release former employees from non disclosure agreements in cases of racial or gender based discrimination.

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