Congress Boosts SBA Loans

Portfolio.com reports that after weeks of talk about the credit crunch facing small businesses, Washington finally is doing something about it.

Read More »

Time to Ditch the Donuts?

Linda Tischler in Fast Company asks the question: Can an old New England pastry purveyor find new life as a hip coffee shop? Dunkin’ Donuts plans to give Starbucks a run for its latte. This article was posted on the Fast Company website on Wed Dec 19, 2007 at 7:48 AM. The article is from Issue 89 which was published in December 2004.

Read More »

Immigration Reform Bill Introduced

Paul Frumkin of Nation’s Restaurant News reports that the battle over immigration reform got off to an earlier start than anticipated when a group of lawmakers introduced a comprehensive bill into the U.S. House of Representatives this week.

Read More »

DDIFO Members: Attend the Second Annual CFA Day Forum in Washington DC

As the year comes to a close and the New Year is almost upon us, it’s a good time to reflect on the challenges we face as small business owners. Legislatively, 2009 has been a difficult year for business owners. There is more to come, legislators in Washington DC are preparing to enact new laws that will have a dramatic impact on your bottom line. As the Legislative Affairs Coordinator for DDIFO, I can assure you that DDIFO is not sitting idly by as legislators continue to pry into your business. As a founding member of the Coalition of Franchisee Associations (CFA) we have been working together with other franchisee associations to make sure that all of our voices are heard on Capital Hill.

Read More »

Joblessness Plan Revamps Rules on Bank Bailouts

David Cho writes in the Washington Post that the Obama administration plans to channel money from the government’s massive financial bailout program to small businesses as part of an effort to limit the political and economic damage of high unemployment. One plan under consideration involves spinning off a new entity from the Troubled Assets Relief Program that would give banks access to federal funds without restrictions, including limits on executive pay, as long as the money was used to support loans to small businesses. But officials are not yet certain whether carving the program out of TARP would be the best way to encourage banks to boost small-business lending, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans are not final.

Read More »

Subway to Launch Major Bay State Expansion

Officials at the Subway sandwich chain said yesterday that they plan to open 130 new stores in Massachusetts over the next five years. There are already 175, according to Bob Hurley, a Subway development agent. “As far as Subway is concerned, it’s just underdeveloped,’’ Hurley said yesterday of the Massachusetts sandwich market. “There’s only one store for every 25,000 people. If you look at surrounding areas, states like Rhode Island and Maine, there’s one store for every 12,000.’’

Read More »

Bank’s Pullout Idles Dunkin’ Donuts Construction

The construction of a Dunkin’ Donuts in the LaGrange town center remains at a standstill due to lack of capital. “The bank pulled the financing,” said Nick Palumbo, co-developer of the project on Route 55, next to Arlington High School. After receiving town Planning Board approval in June to build the Dunkin’ Donuts, Palumbo and co-developer Joe Deangelis made rapid progress in constructing the foundation and frame of the two-story structure.

Read More »

Restaurants at the Crossroads: A State-by-State Summary of Key Wage-and-Hour Provisions

A new Roundtable Retrospective from Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) seeks to unravel the remarkable tangle of wage-and-hour regulations throughout the United States. Based on an investigation that began with the center’s Labor and Employment Law Roundtables, authors Carolyn Richmond, Martha Lomanno, and David Sherwyn developed this guide to wage-and-hour regulations in all fifty U.S. states, as well as other jurisdictions, such as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. They were assisted in this research by Darren Rumack and Jason Shapiro.

Read More »

2009 Top Ten List of Federal (FLSA) Wage and Hour Violations

From time time DDIFO is pleased to present Guest Commentary from valued contributors. The following is an article written and submitted by Attorney Jim Reidy, Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA, 1000 Elm Street, Manchester, New Hampshire 03105, 603-627-8217, jreidy@sheehan.com. Each year we review the Top Ten FLSA (federal) wage and hour violations. The stakes for noncompliance with these wage laws are higher than ever before, so with each outline we have provided some guidance on how to avoid being on these DOL “naughty” lists.

Read More »