Fifteen Dollars an Hour
On August 9, 2021, The Washington Post reported: “Lower-paying fields reach a milestone: $15 an hour.” According to the article by Andrew Van Dam and Heather Long, grocery and restaurant workers are seeing an average pay of $15 an hour. This is the result of the economy reopening after the pandemic and businesses struggling to hire workers.
Fifteen dollars an hour is the new baseline. It is not, however, the federal minimum wage. Despite 80 percent of U.S. workers now earning at least $15 an hour according to the article, the federal minimum wage still remains at $7.25 an hour. That’s an annual salary of $15,080.
We’ve been following developments regarding the federal minimum wage with eagle eyes over the past 18 months. Why? The answer is twofold. We strongly believe that every worker is entitled to receive a living wage, and $15,080 a year falls far short. The other reason is The Big Book of HR, 10th Anniversary Edition is scheduled to be released in January 2022. The manuscript is being prepared for production, so there’s no opportunity to make any adjustments now.
It’s the challenge about writing a book containing many dynamic issues—issues awash in constant change. That is the reason we point our readers to credible sources—in this case, the U.S. Department of Labor—to stay informed of changes.
Another public policy issue that was brought to light by the pandemic—the lack of paid sick leave, especially for low-wage workers. In our upcoming book, we have a new section on State and Local Leave Laws. We also talk about the dilemma of workers having to choose between a paycheck and economic security or their health and the health of those around them when they go to work sick. The pandemic exacerbated this problem.
The lack of paid sick leave has been a factor cited for deterring low-wage workers from getting vaccinated. They fear retaliation or job loss if they take time off to get vaccinated or deal with potential side effects.
Pandemic aside, don’t employers want their workers to be healthy? Isn’t it just common sense? Isn’t there an associated economic benefit? Do employers want to risk one sick worker infecting staff and perhaps customers? Isn’t there a cost to having an unhealthy workforce?
The social contract made with workers has changed over time, often through legislation, litigation, and union organizing. However, the social contract could change organically by addressing the needs of the workforce today.
State and local leave and minimum wage laws, benefits for a changing workforce, and the new social contract—these are just some of the NEW discussions that are included in The Big Book of HR, 10th Anniversary Edition. And it’s now available for pre-order at https://tinyurl.com/ejjbkp69.
We’ll be keeping everyone up to date about the book through our social posts, so stay tuned.
Cornelia & Barbara