On January 28, the CEO and administrator of the Ohio Workers Compensation Commission, Stephanie McCloud, submitted a proposal reducing employer premiums for Workers Compensation insurance by an aggregate $132 million for Fiscal Year 2021. The Commission Board of Directors will decide upon the rate reduction proposal at its February 28 meeting. The 13% rate reduction…
Read More »A constitutional amendment pending in Ohio moved two notches closer to the ballot this week as Attorney General David Yost approved the summary language of the proposal and state election officials certified the initial 1,000 voter signatures. As we advised just last week, the “Raise the Wage Ohio Amendment” would increase the current $8.70 state…
Read More »Union advocates in Ohio are focusing on increasing the state minimum wage of $8.70 per hour through a ballot initiative this fall. Ohioans for Raising the Wage, a group comprised of SEIU members along with others from the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Unity Coalition and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, have filed a petition with…
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We don’t need to tell you about the labor shortage in QSR restaurants. It’s probably one of the things that keeps you up at night. It’s definitely an issue for Alex Fernandez, who owns one Dunkin’ shop in St. John’s County, Florida, and five other locations in neighboring counties. With an unemployment rate of 2.8…
Read More »Legislation has passed the Ohio state senate that exempts franchisors from joint employer status. Still subject to one final concurrence vote in the House before it is sent to the Governor for his signature, House bill 494 specifically exempts franchisors from any liability as a joint employer unless the franchisor specifically adopts joint employer status…
Read More »They haven’t completely gone after straws yet, but the push to ban single use plastic bags kicks into high gear in Boston this week with the city plastic bag ban becoming effective one week from today, on December 14. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh signed the measure back in December of last year after the city…
Read More »We knew it was going to happen at some point, but now the state of Ohio has become the first state in the nation to officially offer businesses the option of paying their taxes using Bitcoin. Starting Monday, businesses in Ohio can make their sales and withholding tax payments through OhioCrypto.com, a state-controlled site that…
Read More »The legal arm of the National Right to Work Committee (NRWC) filed a couple of class action lawsuits in Ohio earlier this week. One of the cases seeks refunds of “fair share fees” taken by local affiliates of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Union (AFSCME), while the other seeks to strike…
Read More »On the positive side of the ledger from the perspective of the business community at least, the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation has adopted the Policy Activity Rebate (PAR) program allowing businesses the opportunity to possibly lower their premiums over time. Under this particular rebate program, which will become effective on July 1 of this…
Read More »Concerted efforts to increase minimum wages across the country began with President Obama’s call for a national minimum wage of $9.00 in his 2013 State of the Union message but 5 plus years later, the mantra for still more increases continues in many states. Democratic lawmakers in Ohio are currently pushing legislation that would increase…
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