The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) released new model notice forms last week and at the same time, updated its mandatory workplace poster. Fortunately, the PFML contribution rate for most employers has decreased with the new rates taking effect on January 1, 2023. That said, Massachusetts employers must provide a new PFML…
Read More »Without diminishing the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis that is causing such suffering and hardship, one must worry about Liberty when it is deemed illegal for residents of San Bernardino County in California to step out in public without covering their face with a mask. All religious services in the county must take place virtually…
Read More »Just one week ago, the city of Philadelphia passed the so-called Fair Workweek legislation along with an ordinance raising the minimum wage for all city workers, contractors and subcontractors to $15/hour. Over the strong objections of business interests – read the Restaurant Association opposition letter – the city council voted 14-3 to pass the predictive…
Read More »Last week, we advised of a research team from Oxford advocating new hefty taxes on meat as a way to force people to cut down on eating meat. This week from across the pond, it gets even more bizarre as a UK-based group, Action on Sugar, wants the government to ban high-calorie milkshakes! Associated with…
Read More »It’s been over six years since the 2700-page Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) was rammed down the throats of Americans (over 60% of whom were opposed to its passage), so what to do for an encore? President Obama now wants to mandate that small business next provide retirement plans for all employees – full and part-time. …
Read More »Notwithstanding the big news in today’s papers that the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decided in the King v. Burwell decision to uphold the funding mechanisms for the Affordable Care Act, Internal Revenue Service rules next week officially end the transitional exemption from the excise penalty for a small employer (generally less than 50 employees or…
Read More »You knew it was coming anyway, now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized their plan to remove poly-hydrogenated oils (phos) or artificial trans fats from the list of ingredients on the Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) listing for use in human food products. Commonly used phos have been on the GRAS list since…
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Last August, Independent Joe interviewed Yuwen Chen, owner of three Dunkin’ Donuts shops in New York’s Hudson Valley, about paid sick leave legislation that was being considered in New York City and how its passage could affect his businesses 80 miles away. “The costs can really hurt the business owner,” he said, “because not only…
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While Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owners keep a close eye on the status of various pieces of state legislation, including the minimum wage increase and the paid sick leave act, there are new important items on the docket at the federal level that deserve some close attention too. “One of those items is permanent 15-year depreciation,”…
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I believe it was President Ronald Reagan who described this phrase as the scariest 9 words anyone could here, and I think he was right. We’ve tried to keep you abreast of the long string of changes to the Affordable Care Act implemented by the President unilaterally. He did it again with the latest change…
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