Just before Thanksgiving, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it was releasing an additional $83 million in unused Restaurant Revitalization funds, some 18 months after the program officially closed. The monies have been earmarked for 169 restaurant operators in the order that their applications were received back when the program was operable. The US…
Read More »Earlier this month, the state of Connecticut launched the application process for its new Hero Pay program for essential workers. The program, funded with a $30 million appropriation in the state budget, may provide up to $1,000 in a pandemic pay premium for eligible, private-sector essential workers. To qualify, employees must be deemed essential workers…
Read More »Last week, as the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it would be releasing the remaining $180 Million in the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), the Small Business Committee in the US Senate was reiterating a call for the SBA to also release the remaining $800 Million still available in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.…
Read More »A few weeks ago, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of a new toll-free confidential hotline for reporting sexual harassment at the workplace. The hotline, which will be administered by the New York State Department of Human Rights (NYSDHR), was authorized by legislation signed into law back in March. The hotline (1-800-HARASS-3) went…
Read More »We don’t too often cover a lot of what is happening out in the far Pacific Northwest, but two recent issues are and/or may become more relevant as time passes. First, Seattle just last week became the latest city to impose a permanent cap on delivery fees. Mayor Bruce Harrell signed an ordinance into law…
Read More »The U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) confirmed this week that there remains approximately $180 Million in the closed Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and it will soon begin distributing those funds to qualified restaurants. The RRF, launched in 2021 to counter the devastation that the pandemic heaped upon the restaurant industry, was initially funded to…
Read More »In the wake of issuing new guidance on algorithmic decision-making and validating a third gender for purposes of employment discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has also updated its guidance regarding COVID-19 workplace viral screening testing. Originally, the agency claimed its position was governed by compliance with the standard for conducting medical examinations…
Read More »For a period of three months that began on July 1, restaurants, bars and other food establishments in the state of Colorado will benefit from a novel assistance program – a complete reprieve of state sales taxes through the end of September. The program, passed by the legislature as HB22-1406 and signed into law by…
Read More »There are a couple of upcoming deadlines relating to employer obligations to post different notices of which we want you to be aware. The first is for a new law in Minnesota that we advised you of just about one month ago. The Minnesota Frontline Workers Payment Program requires employers in The Land of 10,000…
Read More »Just at the end of last month, on April 29, 2022, Governor Tim Watz signed into law SB 2677, which replenished the unemployment trust fund, and among other things, created the Frontline Workers Payment Program. The program, which became effective immediately upon the governor’s signature, provides for payments to eligible employees in a very broadly…
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