Although certainly not a silver bullet, legislation was filed late last month to help franchisees address the current labor shortage. The Essential Worker for Economic Advancement Act (EWEA) was filed by Representative Lloyd Smucker (R-PA-11) on March 28. EWEA would create a three-year H-2C visa program for nonimmigrant service workers who would fill nonagricultural jobs…
Read More »The filing of the aforementioned Essential Worker for Economic Advancement Act (EWEA) is another prime example of why you should attend the Coalition of Franchisee Associations (CFA) Lobby Day in Washington, DC on June 22, 2022. The CFA Lobby Day gives franchisees across the country a great opportunity to explain to our elected leaders how…
Read More »Speaking of California, the latest proposal from the Golden State, looks to redefine what constitutes a “workweek”. AB 2932, filed by Los Angeles County Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, would change the definition of a workweek from the current 40 hours to 32 hours for companies with more than 500 employees. In addition, it would require overtime…
Read More »Last week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a law making some significant changes to the overtime exemption rules in the Buckeye State. SB47, which the legislature passed last month, exempts certain activities from overtime pay if they are preliminary or postliminary to the principal word activities. For example, traveling to or from the actual place…
Read More »In the ‘never say never category’, the US House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation replenishing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) with an additional appropriation of $42 billion. But, before we get too excited about the extra round of funding to help restaurants recover from the coronavirus pandemic, realize that it still must pass the Senate,…
Read More »Contrary to the union-favoring anti-business provisions of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), there is finally a viable alternative floating around in the United States Senate. Republican Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the Employee Rights Act (ERA) of 2022 into the Senate just over a week ago. The legislation seeks to bring…
Read More »It seems that imposing salary range disclosure requirements on the employer community is the new minimum wage fight for this year. New York City was one of the first to lead that parade and the New York City Human Rights Commission, which will enforce the requirement, has finally released its guidance on the mandate. Any…
Read More »On Wednesday of this week, the Senate effectively ended the nomination of Dr. David Weil for another stretch as the administrator of the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. On a procedural motion to advance consideration of the Weil nomination, the Senate voted 53-47 against consideration, with three democrats – Senators Manchin (WV),…
Read More »Potentially significant changes are on tap for the tip credit rules in a number of jurisdictions around the country. Pennsylvania has already adopted a significant change that will quadruple the tip income requirement necessary for an employer to use the tip credit. Currently, the Pennsylvania minimum wage law requires employers paying the tipped minimum ($2.83…
Read More »As we have advised in the past, there is a dangerous legislative proposal advancing in California, AB 257, the co-called FAST Act (the Fast-Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act). This bill has already passed the Assembly and is currently pending in the State Senate, where it will likely have an easier time winning support. As…
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