Tuesday evening, President Biden gave his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress and therein laid out his plans to address many of the issues facing the nation – not all of which are going to be helpful to struggling small businesses. He specifically endorsed 4 steps that we highlight…
Right in time for President Biden’s State of the Union (SOTU) address this week, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a new guidance recommending that face masks need be worn only by individuals in high-risk areas on the country or by those who may have a high risk of serious infection. The latest CDC…
As businesses all around the country and in just about every industry wrestle with high inflation, the ongoing pandemic and its struggles, supply chain issues, escalating labor cost, and other issues, the state of California continues to pile additional burdens on business. Currently, there’s a trifecta of trouble brewing for businesses in the Golden State.…
A host of interesting restaurant statistics came to light just over a week ago at the United States Department of Agriculture Outlook Forum, where NRA Senior VP Hudson Riehle presented some enlightening data on consumer trends over the course of the pandemic. Drive-thru sales accounted for 42% of traffic in November 2021 up from 26%…
Many business interests from around the country are applauding bipartisan legislation filed in Congress this week that would restore the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) retroactive to September 30, 2021. You will recall the ERTC was passed as part of the CARES Act back in 2020 to help businesses retain workers during the shutdowns of…
As we advised you last week, the state of New York is just one of several state and local governments that have recently dropped masking mandates as COVID infections from the omicron variant decline across the country. At the same time however, New York has extended the application of the so-called HEROES Act for another…
As infections from the highly contagious omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus drop around the nation, many states and cities – a number of which have been staunch mandate proponents throughout the pandemic – are finally abandoning COVID mask requirements despite White House suggestions to maintain indoor mask requirements for businesses and schools. New York…
Notwithstanding increased vaccination rates and greatly reduced COVID infections, California continues to swim upstream as relates helping businesses recover from pandemic restrictions and survive the challenging economy. Early this week, the California legislature caved in to union leader demands and passed legislation mandating that businesses with 26 or more employees provide workers with up to…
It’s been a bit of a roller coaster over the past few weeks for the New York statewide mask mandate imposed by Governor Kathy Hochul back on December 13, 2021, but the mandate will now remain in place at least through next Thursday, February 10. Originally set to expire on January 15, then extended to…
After having the OSHA ETS rejected by the SCOTUS last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) this week announced that it was officially withdrawing its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that would have required that all employers with 100 or more employees require either their vaccination or a weekly negative COVID test. It also formally published…
Small Regular - No Sugar Newsletter is weekly email with news and updates - it is like a virtual cup of coffee with DDIFO Executive Director Ed Shanahan