Dive Brief:

• Facebook is raising minimum pay for some outside contractors to $15, among other new benefits including sick time and vacation, the company announced. And for those workers who don’t receive paid parental leave, the company is introducting a $4,000 new child benefit for new parents. 
• In a blog post, COO Sheryl Sandberg wrote that Facebook is “implementing a new set of standards on benefits for contractors and vendors who support Facebook in the US and do a substantial amount of work with us.”
• The new standards went into effect May 1 in Menlo Park. Within the year, they will be ported out to a “broader group” across the nation. 

Dive Insight:

Facebook is now part of the living wage trend. In Sandberg’s words on her blog: “Taking these steps is the right thing to do for our business and our community. Women, because they comprise about two-thirds of minimum wage workers nationally, are particularly affected by wage adjustments. Research also shows that providing adequate benefits contributes to a happier and ultimately more productive workforce.”

There are some observers who have mixed feelings about the trend in boosting minimum wages—mainly that the people getting that boost are not actually employees and don't have the range of benefits that FTEs enjoy.