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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Dallas. Written by Tasha Tsiaperas and Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi.

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Kyte Baby, a popular baby clothing company based in Tarrant County, is facing intense public backlash after denying a new mother's request to work from home while her adopted baby was in neonatal intensive care.

Why it matters: The public relations disaster at the woman-owned company exemplifies how the lack of paid leave policies in the U.S. leaves mothers scrambling, Emily Peck of Axios Markets reports.

Many parents have posted on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram that they regret buying from Kyte Baby and will boycott the company.

The big picture: Southlake resident Ying Liu, who grew up in China and has a doctoral degree in economics, founded Kyte Baby in 2014 after seeing that clothing made of bamboo fabric helped alleviate her baby daughter's chronic eczema.

"The name is very purposeful. It symbolizes the whimsical activity of flying a kite, which is meant to evoke a feeling of innocence, freedom and a return to nature," Liu told DFW Child in 2021.

The irony: Kyte Baby is now being criticized for not supporting one of its own employees who was going through a tough time as a parent.

What happened: Marissa Hughes of Haslet worked in marketing at Kyte Baby for less than a year when she and her husband adopted a baby boy, born prematurely, at 22 weeks.

Hughes could've taken two weeks for maternity leave if she committed to a six-month contract upon her return, according to the statement Kyte sent to Axios.

Given her son's situation, Hughes said she didn't know if she could come back in person, and proposed a remote option. She was denied.

What they're saying: "This was a terrible decision," Liu said in her second apology video last week, where she acknowledged the first one "wasn't sincere."

Liu said she was the one who vetoed Hughes' request. "I was insensitive, selfish, and only focused on the fact that her job had always been done on-site."

The company would review its policy and procedures and come up with something better, she said. "We need to set the example because we are in the baby business."

State of play: The U.S. requires an unpaid parental leave option — not paid leave — only after an employee has worked at a company of a large enough size for more than a year. Hughes wasn't eligible.

In Texas, paid parental leave is left up to the employer — and leave plans in the private sector vary widely in terms of what they cover, if they exist at all.

Kyte said it offers two weeks of paid leave to those at the company for less than a year, and four weeks for employees with a year or more under their belt — provided they agree to come back for at least six months.

Zoom out: In most developed countries, Hughes would've had paid leave as a government benefit instead of fighting to work from home just two weeks after adopting a child.

Canada, for example, offers standard leave for up to 35 weeks and extended leave for up to 61 weeks for eligible parents.

Backlash hits North Texas-based Kyte Baby

Company founder and Southlake resident Ying Liu has apologized in two videos.

Children

Kyte Baby, a popular baby clothing company based in Tarrant County, is facing intense public backlash after denying a new mother&#x27;s request to work from home while her adopted baby was in neonatal intensive care.Why it matters: The public relations disaster at the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="woman-owned" data-vars-click-url="https://www.linkedin.com/company/kyte-baby/" data-vars-content-id="11da583f-103d-4282-b9d4-0d33975a8e5a" data-vars-headline="Backlash hits North Texas-based Kyte Baby" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/kyte-baby/" target="_blank">woman-owned</a> company exemplifies how the lack of paid leave policies in the U.S. leaves mothers scrambling, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Emily Peck of Axios Markets reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/24/kyte-baby-tik-tok-ceo-video-boycott-why" data-vars-content-id="11da583f-103d-4282-b9d4-0d33975a8e5a" data-vars-headline="Backlash hits North Texas-based Kyte Baby" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/24/kyte-baby-tik-tok-ceo-video-boycott-why" target="_self">Emily Peck of Axios Markets reports</a>.

News

Data: Council of Economic Advisers analysis of data from American Housing Survey, American Community Survey, RealPage, Calder-Wang and Kim (2024), Zillow Multifamily Rent Index; Chart: Axios Visuals

Dallas-area renters spent $132 more a month in 2023 if their apartment landlords used software developed by Richardson-based RealPage, according to a new analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers first shared with Axios. 

Why it matters: U.S. renters spent an extra $3.8 billion last year because of pricing algorithms used by landlords, the analysis found.

RealPage controls 80% of the market for rent-setting software. The Department of Justice has filed an antitrust suit against the company, alleging its pricing algorithm allows landlords to collectively push rents higher.

What they found: The researchers evaluated two scenarios: property managers using RealPage software to set prices and landlords setting prices individually. 

U.S. renters who lived in a building that used a price-setting algorithm spent an average of $70 more a month. 

Renters in metro areas where RealPage use is more common spent even more in 2023. 

Zoom in: Atlanta had the highest use of the software among landlords of multifamily housing, with nearly 70% using RealPage products. Renters in those buildings spent an average of $181 more a month, per the CEA's analysis. 

The Dallas metro had the second highest usage of the software, with more than half of landlords using it. 

What they're saying: The company hasn't yet seen the CEA analysis, which specifically looked at the purported impacts of RealPage's software. But when told about the report, company spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock said:

"This Administration should stop scapegoating RealPage's legally compliant technology for housing policy failures and take care to not stifle the innovation that will strengthen America's economy, now and in the future."

Reality check: Earlier this month, the company filed a motion seeking to dismiss the DOJ's claims in the antitrust suit, arguing that the agency hasn't shown any real anticompetitive effects of its product.

The White House report notes that a long-term shortage of affordable housing is the main reason rents are increasing. 

What we're watching: Whether the incoming Trump administration will pursue the suit against RealPage. The analysis looks like the White House's last push to draw attention to the issue.

RealPage software raises Dallas-area rents, report finds

Richardson-based company says its technology is "legally compliant."

Dallas-area renters spent $132 more a month in 2023 if their apartment landlords used software developed by <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Richardson-based RealPage" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2022/10/18/texas-company-raising-rents" data-vars-content-id="658391d7-cc28-43bf-9aa8-d0c5b297e000" data-vars-headline="RealPage software raises Dallas-area rents, report finds" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2022/10/18/texas-company-raising-rents" target="_self">Richardson-based RealPage</a>, according to a new <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="analysis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2024/12/17/the-cost-of-anticompetitive-pricing-algorithms-in-rental-housing/" data-vars-content-id="658391d7-cc28-43bf-9aa8-d0c5b297e000" data-vars-headline="RealPage software raises Dallas-area rents, report finds" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2024/12/17/the-cost-of-anticompetitive-pricing-algorithms-in-rental-housing/" target="_blank">analysis</a> from the White House Council of Economic Advisers first shared with Axios. Why it matters: U.S. renters spent an extra $3.8 billion last year because of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="pricing algorithms" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2024/08/29/realpage-doj-lawsuit" data-vars-content-id="658391d7-cc28-43bf-9aa8-d0c5b297e000" data-vars-headline="RealPage software raises Dallas-area rents, report finds" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/08/29/realpage-doj-lawsuit" target="_self">pricing algorithms</a> used by landlords, the analysis found.

Real Estate

Latest news on Wall Street, Corporate America and financial regulation.

Business

Data: USDA Economic Research Service; Chart: Axios Visuals

Texas is one of six states with a higher percentage of households that are food insecure than the national average.

Why it matters: The economy might've looked great in 2022 by some metrics, like the low unemployment rate, but not this one.

Food insecurity spiked to a level not seen since the U.S. economy was slowly recovering from the financial crisis, Axios' Emily Peck and Kavya Beheraj report.

Details: Food insecurity means that at times during the year, a given household couldn't get enough food for one or more of its members because they didn't have enough money or resources.

People with "very low" food security eat less food or skip meals. In a house with children, the adults might go without so the kids can eat.

Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina are the other states with a higher percentage of households that are food insecure than the national average.

By the numbers: 15.5% of Texas households were food insecure between 2020 and 2022, per a recent federal report.

That's compared to 11.2% of American households over the same period.

In Texas, 5.8% of households on average had low food security, compared to 4.3% nationally.

Threat level: Food insecurity is ticking up after years of declines after the Great Recession. Texas had 18.8% of households experiencing food insecurity between 2008 and 2010.

The number dropped to 13.1% between 2017 and 2019. The federal report on food insecurity called the current increase in the state "statistically significant."

What they're saying: When times are tight, it can often be "easiest" to cut back on food, Lisa Davis, a senior vice president at the anti-poverty nonprofit Share Our Strength, tells Axios.

"If you don't pay the rent or your mortgage, you don't have a place to live. If you don't put gas in the car, you can't get to work," Davis says.

"Food is the place that folks turn to when they have to tighten the belt even more."

How to help: You can donate food to or volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank, Tarrant Area Food Bank or Minnie's Food Pantry.

Texans face above-average food insecurity

Food insecurity nationally spiked to a level not seen since the Great Recession.

Poverty

Texas is one of six states with a higher percentage of households that are food insecure than the national average.Why it matters: The economy might&#x27;ve looked great in 2022 by some metrics, like the low unemployment rate, but not this one.

The overlooked private credit risk is in life insurance

National

Office vacancies hit record high

A line chart that tracks the U.S. office vacancy rate quarterly from Q1 2016 to Q1 2026. Vacancy held near 16.2% to 16.8% through 2019, then climbed from 17% in Q1 2020 to 21% in Q1 2026, the series high.

U.S. office vacancy rate

Data: Moody's Analytics REIS; Note: Based on rates in 79 markets; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios

Emily Peck

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