As more municipalities get involved in mandating what have historically fallen within the purview of the state or federal government, the notion of passing state preemptions becomes more important. On the matter of salary history bans, the state of Michigan recently took precisely that action, sending Senate bill 353 to Governor Rick Snyder for his…
Read More »The Cook County soda tax is going the way of 1917 national predecessor, repealed! The effort first got its real momentum a few weeks ago and then a budget deal was reached last week that cut the tax from the county budget. Tuesday, the County Finance Committee endorsed the repeal effort by a vote of…
Read More »Labor unions in Kentucky have filed suit formally challenging the legality of Kentucky’s new right-to-work law. In January, the Bluegrass State became the 27th state in the union to adopt right to work when the governor signed the bill into law. (There are now 28 right to work states in the country after Missouri law…
Read More »The issue of minimum wages was all over the lot this past week with the Supreme Court in Missouri ruling that the state local wage preemption bill doesn’t affect a wage bill in St. Louis, restoring the city’s minimum wage ordinance. The St. Louis ordinance was passed just hours before the state preemption bill became…
Read More »One approach to clarifying the issue and clearing up any confusion it may have caused is legislation at the individual state level that unmistakably defines who is and is not a joint employer. As we’ve advised in past issues, 3 states (Tennessee, Louisiana & Texas) had passed into law clarifying legislation that effectively exempts franchising…
Read More »As the individual state legislatures begin new sessions, efforts to address the new NLRB definition of a joint employer at the state level are front and center in Wisconsin, Michigan and Virginia. Senate Bill 422 in Wisconsin prohibits a franchisor being considered a joint employer with the franchisee unless the former agrees to the role…
Read More »US Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) filed two important bills this week aimed at protecting franchisees. The Fair Franchise Act of 2015 (H.3196) would prevent misleading or false information in the franchise agreement, prohibit mandatory arbitration provisions and would provide franchisees with the right to discuss their experiences with the franchisor and to join an independent…
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Any members who aren’t too worried about whether or how the President’s overtime order should pay special attention to the fact that McDonalds was sued this week by a number of employees in California, Michigan and New York. The class action lawsuits filed in both federal and state courts claimed that the “Golden Arches” were…
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Those who derive some pleasure from disrupting American commerce and business seem to have set their sights recently on the QSR industry. QSRweb.com reported last week (along with a number of outlets) that QSR workers in seven different major cities around the country were planning to protest their wages with coordinated employee walkouts this past…
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The ins and outs of keeping your Dunkin’ Donuts afloat are enough to fill your days and maybe even your nights, but the government likes to add to your challenges. With laws and regulations involving paid sick leave, higher payroll taxes and added meals taxes, Uncle Sam is putting his two cents into your business.…
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