We realize we have been reporting quite regularly on the National Labor Relations Board lately, but the agency continues to generate news of import to small businesses – and this week is no exception. The agency is pursuing settlement of the high profile lawsuit it initiated against McDonalds back in 2015 over the joint-employer allegation.…
Those interested in the Department of Labor’s proposed new rule governing tip pooling have just over one more week to submit comments to DOL. The comment period, originally set to expire on January 3, was extended for another month and now expires one week from next Monday, on February 5, 2018. The changes overturn the…
In the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act being signed into law by President Trump just before Christmas, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recalculated the amounts that employers should withhold from employee paychecks for tax obligations. The IRS guidance on the new withholdings was issued the week before last and employers should use…
Notwithstanding that a number of companies have announced bonus payments and increased minimum wages as a result of the aforementioned Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there are a host of minimum wage bills being proposed in different and states. First, the Cleveland City Council approved public service contracts with a minimum wage of $15/hour for…
Not really, but I didn’t want this item lost in the above paragraph! Maine, which raised the state minimum wage this month to $10/hour on its way to $12 by 2020, is now considering legislation, LD1757, that would drop the 2018 wage to $9.50/hour in July. The increase was mandated after a voter initiative was…
The on-again, off-again right-to-work law in the state of Kentucky is back in play after a state court judge tossed out the latest challenge brought by the state AFL-CIO and Teamsters Union. The law prohibits the collection of mandatory fees from non-union members under the guise of the unions representing the interests of members and…
We are very pleased to announce that the 2018 DDIFO National Conference has been scheduled and will be held in the Big Easy – New Orleans, Louisiana – at the Harrahs New Orleans Hotel and Casino from June 10 – 12, 2018. We moved this premier event up in the calendar from its usual date…
If you did that at Foxwoods during the DDIFO National Conference, we want to remind you that the photos from the 2017 National Conference are available on the DDIFO webpage. Anyone interested in downloading a picture, whether it be with Eric Trump, Steve Grogan or perhaps visiting with some of our exhibiting business members, you…
Starbucks had a very difficult reception on Wall Street to its sales and earnings narrative released yesterday. Q1 US same store sales was plus 2, all average ticket, and zero traffic gains from last year. They repeated a now familiar story of weak afternoon and evening business, and declining foot traffic of units inside some…
There is always a certain amount of fear and trepidation about the unknown. Think back to 1999 as we approached the turn of the millennium and the catastrophes that were forecast to accompany Y2K, as it was then known. To hear some tell it back then, computers were going to think the year was 1900,…
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