Chicago, IL – May 15, 2015 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ”Buy” stock recommendations.
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Facebook Raises Contractual Workers Wages to $15 an Hour
Striving to attain equality among workers in the tech sector, Facebook, Inc. has finally come up with higher pay and improved benefits for contractual workers like janitors, cooks and others who support its employees. The social networking giant has raised its contract workers’ wages to a minimum of $15 per hour along with minimum 15 paid vacation days and $4,000 new child benefit for parents who do not receive parental leave.
The announcement was made by the company’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg amid rising compensation discrepancies between employees and contractual workers. While there has been a nationwide movement in the U.S. for pushing workers’ wage to a minimum of $15 per hour, Silicon Valley has been hard hit by the rising tension between the elite tech workers and those who serve them. Apart from Facebook, the recent wage hike movement primarily targets big companies like Apple Inc., and Google Inc.
Though the actual number of its contractual workers who would be impacted by the recent change has not been disclosed, Facebook expects kitchen staff, janitors, security guards and other workers employed by contractors and vendors at its headquarters in Menlo Park and California and other offices in the U.S. to be benefited.
Sandberg reportedly stated that these initiatives are for contract workers at large. However, since the majority of such workers are women, these benefits largely address their contribution at work and aims to increase their productivity through a better compensation structure.
The new minimum wage standards have already been made effective on May 1 for select support teams. The company plans to implement its new strategy nationwide by this year.
Apart from Facebook, Google initiated the minimum $15 per hour wage rates across its Northern California campuses on Apr 1. In addition, the company is working toward increasing drivers’ pay to at least $24 per hour and offering a 15% premium for those who work split shifts.
Further, Microsoft Corporation is planning to hike wages for those workers working for a minimum 15 days of paid time off each year. The changes are expected to be made effective beginning next year.
Facebook currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ”Buy” stock recommendations.
