The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this week issued two new guidance clarifying employer and employee obligations regarding religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace, allows for employees to request an exception from certain employer requirements when that requirement conflicts…
Read More »As we await the formal regulations and full implementation of President Biden’s vaccine mandate, the challenge it will likely present to employers around the country is already becoming painfully obvious. In a survey released recently by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a full 89 percent of affected businesses believe a number of their…
Read More »New York Governor Kathy Hochul last week signed AO3213A into law thereby mandating that private employers with 10 or more employees who do not provide a retirement savings plan must automatically enroll their workers in the New York State Secure Choice Savings Plan. The Secure Choice Savings Plan was first filed in 2015 and ultimately…
Read More »The addition of a mandatory retirement plan for private employers in New York state as well as New York City represents just the latest in this growing trend of retirement plan dictates. The idea took seed back in 2012 with California taking the lead (of course!) and first exploring the notion of enacting a state…
Read More »Massachusetts lawmakers are now considering legislation that would phase out the state tipped minimum wage and mandate one uniform minimum wage by 2028. Under the legislation filed by Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier (Pittsfield), the current tipped worker wage of $5.55 (and slated to rise to $6.75 by 2023) would be phased out as the tipped wage…
Read More »With much fanfare last week, McDonalds announced that it had reached gender pay equity for its employees at its corporate US stores. In an emailed statement, the company declared that women in were currently paid 99.16% as much as men for comparable work and that in 2022 the company expects that globally, women will receive…
Read More »Speaking of the Golden Arches, McDonalds held its Q3 earnings call this week and reported strong Q3 sales and earnings, especially in the US. US same store sales were up 14.9% vs. 2019, and 9.4% against 2020. All dayparts–breakfast, lunch and dinner were positive in same store sales with breakfast and dinner up plus 10%.…
Read More »And still more on Starbucks, it reported Q4 earnings yesterday, reporting that it continued to show improvement in North America while China is recovering from another COVID cycle. In the US, same store sales (sss) were up 22% against 2020 numbers with traffic up 19% and average ticket up 3%. On a 2-year basis, sss…
Read More »Just about a month ago, Mammoth Holdings announced that it had hired former Dunkin’ President and CEO David Hoffmann as the new Chairman and CEO of Mammoth Holding, LLC, the Atlanta-based conveyor car wash operator. Mammoth has a portfolio of brands across 10 states for which Hoffmann, who joined the Mammoth Board in August, will…
Read More »As President Obama said to the Republican Congressional leadership back in the wake of his 2012 reelection, “Elections Matter!” As the labor shortage worsens and inflation is again rearing its ugly head, it is important for us all to remember that reality. Elections do matter, and even though this race or that campaign may not…
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