This week, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Paycheck Fairness Act by a vote of 49 – 50. The legislation, which required 60 votes to clear the upper chamber, did not come close to reaching that threshold, without any Senate Republicans voting in favor. A declared priority of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer (D-NY),…
Read More »Despite the fact that tax receipts have been well above expectations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Massachusetts legislature this week cleared the so-called Millionaires tax to appear on the state ballot in 2022. The measure, which required approval by two consecutive legislative sessions in order to advance, was passed Wednesday on a…
Read More »In a final vote last week, California Assembly defeated the FastFood Accountability and Standards Recovery Act or FAST Act, as it became known. The legislation (AB.257) came within only 3 votes of clearing the Assembly and making its way to the Governor’s desk. With 41 votes required for passage, the final vote tally was 38…
Read More »Notwithstanding that the current labor shortage is driving wages up without any kind of government mandate being necessary, efforts continue to impose a $15/hour minimum wage. While there’s still no movement in Congress on the national minimum (currently $7.25), Delaware – the home state of President Biden – is moving towards setting a $15 state…
Read More »The Illinois General Assembly gave final approval to a bill (HB 117) that broadens the applicability of the Secure Choice Savings Program, dropping the threshold at which employers must register to allow their employees to enroll in the retirement plan. House Bill 117 as amended provides that the program applies to all employers with at…
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 »Efforts continue in the Maine legislature to eliminate the notion of at-will employment. Although it may be considered a long-shot, work sessions have continued around advancing L.D. 553, An Act to End At-will Employment. The proposal, which has been favorably voted on by the Committee on Labor and Housing (7-3 vote), would require the employer…
Read More »The state of Connecticut has moved closer to joining Oregon as the only states that mandate so-called predictive scheduling on retail and fast-food employers. The state senate last week by a vote of 20-16 passed Senate bill 668, which requires covered employers to post a weekly work schedule no less than 7 days in advance…
Read More »Republicans have introduced a counter-measure to the joint employer expansion contained in the PRO Act, which as we’ve reported previously, has already passed the House. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Representative James Comer (R-KY) introduced the Save Local Business Act, which seeks to amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and Fair Labor Standards Act…
Read More »We advised just a couple of weeks ago about the provisions and prospects of AB 257 being considered by the California legislature in Sacramento. Well, in view of the severity of this legislative proposal and the significant negative impact it would have on QSRs across the Golden State, the International Franchise Association has been working…
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