In the wake of a federal court ruling that found the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) priorities (women, veterans and economically/socially disadvantaged individuals) unconstitutional, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has withheld almost 3,000 additional RRF approved payments to priority recipients. The SBA essentially revoked the priority approvals already given and halted consideration of other priority applications…
Read More »A panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the 21-day exclusive priority for businesses owned by a “woman, veteran and/or socially or economically disadvantaged individual” to apply for and access funds from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) is unconstitutional. The Small Business Administration (SBA) officially opened the $29 billion RRF…
Read More »Virginia employers have more negative hits on their horizon. The minimum wage, which jumped $2.25 per hour to $9.50 on May 1, 2021, is slated to rise by another $1.50 to $11/hour on January 1, 2022; and then another $1 in 2023 to $12/hour. However, if the General Assembly chooses to reenact these rate increases…
Read More »A few weeks ago, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released its much-anticipated guidance on an individuals premium costs and an employers tax breaks for continuation of COBRA coverage. Among the provisions in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) is a temporary 100% reduction in an individual’s COBRA health coverage premium following either…
Read More »Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has filed a set of ordinances with the City Council, that would dramatically change the landscape for businesses within the Windy City. The Mayor’s package, which she has dubbed the “Chi Biz Strong Initiative”, defines a business as guilty of wage theft if it fails to timely pay a covered employee…
Read More »If you weren’t aware of Maine trying to end at-will employment, or that House Bill 3702 was signed into Massachusetts law last week or you don’t know what its passage may mean for your Dunkin’, then you would be well-advised to register now for the June 23 Northeast Regional Meeting at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel…
Read More »As the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program and Restaurant Revitalization Funds expire or run out of funds, New York will begin accepting applications on June 10 for what the state is calling the Small Business Recovery Grant Program. The grant program, proceeds from which must go to reimbursable pandemic related expenses incurred between March 1, 2020…
Read More »We’re safely getting back into the swing of member meetings and following all CDC protocols when our first meeting since before the pandemic is held at the Hilton Rosemont/Chicago O’Hare Hotel on Wednesday, June 16. The program, Thriving as a Franchise Employer in the New Normal, will begin at 11:30 AM and feature Chicago-based labor…
Read More »We’ll be following up our Chicago meeting with the Northeast Regional Meeting just one week later on Wednesday, June 23 at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center. Again beginning at 11:30 AM, we’ll focus on the myriad changes to labor and employment law that directly impact you as a franchisee and an employer in…
Read More »With no indications from Washington DC that the President or Congressional leaders recognize how the $300 unemployment premium is exacerbating the labor shortage, a number of governors around the country are taking action on their own to help get their citizens back to work. As of this writing, no fewer than 12 governors – coincidentally…
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