For months, workers' advocates had decried the city's practice of giving tax breaks to huge companies like Walmart and Landry's without requiring them to pay a living wage, which resulted in workers' still needing to lean on the government for help. In March, though, City Council passed new guidelines that now encourage companies applying for millions in tax breaks to pay better wages to workers, offer affordable or workforce housing assistance, provide paid internships to low-income students and jobs to ex-cons, and create midskilled jobs that don't require a college degree. While the criteria aren't required, Mayor Sylvester Turner said this would give companies an idea of what the city was looking for. Advocates considered it a victory for workers' rights and a step closer to mandatory tax-break rules.