Notwithstanding the big news in today’s papers that the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decided in the King v. Burwell decision to uphold the funding mechanisms for the Affordable Care Act, Internal Revenue Service rules next week officially end the transitional exemption from the excise penalty for a small employer (generally less than 50 employees or…
Read More »You knew it was coming anyway, now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized their plan to remove poly-hydrogenated oils (phos) or artificial trans fats from the list of ingredients on the Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) listing for use in human food products. Commonly used phos have been on the GRAS list since…
Read More »The public hearing before the Business & Professions Committee in the California Senate on AB525, the California Franchise Act, was pushed off one week and the next hearing is now slated to take place on Monday, June 29. It is believed that negotiations seeking compromises between opposing sides of the legislation prompted the one week…
Read More »In the seemingly endless weekly drumbeat of minimum wage issues around the country, we see some quick movement in the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City in Missouri. The drive stems from a pending bill that ironically prohibits cities/towns from establishing their own minimum wage and from banning plastic bags. HB722, which passed the…
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Registration for the 2015 DDIFO National Conference at Caesar’s Palace in the heart of the Las Vegas strip is now open and members are encouraged to register early to take advantage of our early bird registration discount, which will expire on July 31. You can visit the DDIFO National Conference web page for more information…
Read More »As one would expect, Americans have the greatest confidence in our military men and women, but small business this year actually came in a (relatively) close second. Gallup reported earlier this month that some 72% of Americans were confident in the Armed Forces as an institution, while 67% had “a great deal” or “quite a…
Read More »If this keeps up much longer, I’m going to have to give McDonalds their own regular paragraph in SRNS, but we noted last week that the Golden Arches announced they will be reducing the number of US stores, the first time the company has done so since at least 1970. The reduction is the latest…
Read More »In one of its more recent rulings, a three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board found against an employer (Boch Imports, Inc.) who maintained employee handbook provisions the NLRB said were too broad. The case, which was initially filed in 2012, centered on the employer’s dress code, which prohibited employees from wearing any pins,…
Read More »At least in the Pelican State, an employee of the franchise owner will be an employee of the franchise owner – and not of the franchisor! The Louisiana legislature last week passed HB 464 and sent the bill to Governor Bobby Jindal for his approval. Jindal, who is contemplating a run for the GOP Presidential…
Read More »When the Connecticut legislative session ended on June 3, so too did chances for legislation that would have expanded the joint-employer definition (with penalties) to new, dizzying heights! Identical bills (House bill 6791and S1044 in the Senate) in both branches would have required a franchisor to pay the state a penalty of $1/hour for every…
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