Staying out west for the moment, on January 25, the Seattle City Council voted – unanimously – to pass an ordinance mandating that certain grocery store employees receive hazard pay during the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Seattle minimum wage is currently $16.69 per hour and the hazard pay mandate will add $4 for each hour worked by an eligible employee. Mayor Jenny Durkin, who during the height of the riots this past summer when protesters had taken over an entire section of the city completely – the CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest), described the riots as “a summer of love”, signed the ordinance on January 29 and it became effective immediately upon her signature. What’s in the Starbucks out there, anyway? Moving back east, the Pennsylvania State Senate has passed legislation creating a $145 million pandemic relief fund for state restaurants. The Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, as it is known, will offer bars and restaurants that have not received a federal or state loan and can demonstrate a 50 percent revenue decline may be eligible for grants up to $50,000. The legislation now moves to the House for consideration. And finally, as expected, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that he had approved the Final Permanent Standard for preventing COVID-19 in the workplace. As we advised a few weeks ago when the state Safety and Health Codes Board approved the permanent standard, the governor’s approval makes Virginia the first state in the nation to implement a permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health standard.