One unanticipated repercussion of the ongoing 40-year high level of inflation is the impact it is having on automatic minimum wage rates in a number of states. Most recently, three states announced that new minimum wage rates for 2023 will be higher than they had previously anticipated. With minimum wage rates tied to the Consumer…
Read More »For a period of three months that began on July 1, restaurants, bars and other food establishments in the state of Colorado will benefit from a novel assistance program – a complete reprieve of state sales taxes through the end of September. The program, passed by the legislature as HB22-1406 and signed into law by…
Read More »There are a couple of upcoming deadlines relating to employer obligations to post different notices of which we want you to be aware. The first is for a new law in Minnesota that we advised you of just about one month ago. The Minnesota Frontline Workers Payment Program requires employers in The Land of 10,000…
Read More »As expected, Delaware Governor John Carney signed the Healthy Delaware Families Act into law last week. The law creates the Delaware Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, of which we advised you last month. The program will be funded by both employee and employer contributions and when fully operational, will provide up to 80% of…
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Every day, every week, every month seems to pose new challenges for Dunkin’ franchisees, thanks largely to the pandemic and economic turmoil of late. The latest challenge: increased union-organizing activity within the food-service industry. In this edition of “What’s Brewing,” we explain why Dunkin’ franchisees should be concerned, though not alarmed, about the unionization trend,…
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For Army veteran George Hart, a second career as a Dunkin’ franchisee began as a joke. “I’m from New Jersey originally, and I grew up on Dunkin’. To me, that’s what coffee tastes like, but when I was in the Army, I couldn’t get a good cup of coffee anywhere,” laughs Hart. “I would joke…
Read More »The Colorado Supreme Court a week ago placed an employee’s earned vacation time beyond the reach of the employer in the event that the employee is terminated. In the case of Nieto v. Clark’s Market, the state’s highest court overturned a lower court decision from 2019 and ruled that earned vacation time cannot be forfeited…
Read More »That lyric from a timeless Christmas classic shouldn’t only apply to Santa at this time of year, but also to every small businessman and woman across the country. Your list however, should be of what legal and regulatory changes will be taking effect on January 1, rather than who’s been naughty or nice! In that…
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Presidents and presidential candidates come and go, with this year’s election no different than many others in our country’s history in that regard. But many of the issues Dunkin’ franchise owners care about are not solely or even principally determined in Washington, D.C. Rather, state lawmakers and their counterparts on the local level – city…
Read More »Colorado voters had several issues before them in this year’s election that will have an impact on small business interests in the Rocky Mountain State. First, voters made Colorado the 9th state in the nation to adopt a Paid Family and Medical Leave Law when they approved Proposition 118 which creates a state-run insurance program…
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