Business Highlights

Roundup of top economy stories

LAKELAND, Fla. — The Publix grocery store chain will start offering paid parental leave to employees who are new parents, company officials announced Wednesday.

Eligible full-time and part-time workers will be able to take off the time during the first year of the birth or adoption of a child, starting with the new year, the Florida-based company said.

The change in benefits was first reported by Florida Politics.

The new benefits come as retailers across the U.S. are facing a worker shortage, and some are offering new benefits to attract or retain workers. St. Louis-based Schnucks recently gave its grocery store workers a one-time retention bonus of $600.

The email didn’t offer details on how much paid time off new parents would get.

The privately held, employee-owned company has 225,000 workers at almost 1,300 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

••• Arizona minimum wage going up to $12.80 an hour on Jan. 1

Arizona’s minimum wage will increase from $12.15 an hour to $12.80 an hour on Jan. 1 under a law approved by the state’s voters in 2016 that gradually increases the bottom rate employers are allowed to pay.

This year’s increase is the second since the phased-in wage boosts hit $12 an hour and automatic increases based on cost of living increases kicked in.

The state’ minimum wage was just $8.05 an hour when groups that advocate for low-income workers collected enough signatures to put a ballot measure boosting the lowest wages on the ballot. The measure was opposed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and business groups like the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They argued it would hurt the state’s economy but that that did not happen. Instead, Arizona’s economy has soared.

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NEW YORK — Tesla is recalling certain Model 3s because a coaxial cable for its backup camera can become worn and fail to transmit images to the dashboard console. All Model 3s from model years 2017 to 2020 are included in the recall, with as many as 356,309 cars affected, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Tesla is not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths caused by the defect. Tesla discontinued the problematic trunk harness at the end of the 2020 model year. All 2021 Model 3 vehicles have a different harness design.

••• TAIPEI, Taiwan — Chinese officials promised steady deliveries of groceries to residents of Xi’an, an ancient capital with 13 million people that is under the strictest lockdown of a major Chinese city since Wuhan was shut early last year at the start of the pandemic. China’s Commerce Ministry has contacted nearby provinces to help ensure adequate supplies of everyday necessities, a ministry spokesperson said Thursday. State broadcaster CCTV aired a story Thursday showing building staff assembling free grocery deliveries for the residents of an apartment complex in Xi’an.