A recent temporary disruption to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) served as a reminder of how many Americans rely on these governmental supports to keep themselves and their families fed. This is true even for Americans who are earning an income.

More than half of all US households classified as “food-insecure” had at least one adult working full-time between 2017 and 2023, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

People who rely on food banks are “not the people that you think that they are,” said Dilip Rao, CEO and co-founder of Sharebite, a meal benefits platform. “They have at least one job, they qualify as gainfully employed. They might also be on SNAP.”

Recognizing that a paycheck doesn’t always go far enough to pay for groceries, some employers are exploring ways to make up the difference through their total rewards programs.

For more on how employers are addressing food insecurity, keep reading here.—CV

South African Sign Language (SASL) has been the 12th official language in South Africa since 2023. Now, one company claims it’s the first to bring it into the workplace.

Where in the world? On International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Dec. 3), Vodacom, a South Africa-based telecoms company, announced a new partnership with the National Institute for the Deaf to make the company more accessible. The company claims the initiative is the first in the country to embed SASL throughout the business. Beginning in January, workers will have access to a visual SASL dictionary in the employee app and a 12-module SASL course.

Approximately 600,000 people in South Africa use sign language, according to a 2021 page from the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities, but many are unemployed, in part, because of structural barriers: Job interviews are frequently inaccessible and recruiters often don’t have proper training to accommodate disabled job applicants in South Africa, according to TechNation News.

Satellite view. Deaf workers in the US can face similar barriers, according to Cal Matters. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodations.

For more on sign language training in workplaces around the world, keep reading here.—KP

An effort to block states from regulating AI seems to be emerging from the dead. As states pass more rules around the burgeoning technology, AI industry boosters are once again pushing the federal government to stymie them.

Congressional Republican leaders are reportedly mulling a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would override state AI laws. And the Trump administration floated a draft executive order that pressures states to forgo AI regulation through lawsuits and withholding federal funds, though the White House has reportedly put it on ice for now.

Over the summer, the Senate shut down a similar moratorium, which would have blocked AI-related laws at the state level for a decade, in a resounding 99–1 vote.

The defeat hasn’t stopped factions of the AI industry from pushing for a revived effort as industry-backed lobbies step up spending in individual states. They argue that a patchwork of state requirements would hobble innovation.

For more on what’s at stake, keep reading on Tech Brew.—PK