At the state level, states have been actively considering changes in state-mandated minimum wages over the past several weeks with mixed results. Over the course of the past two weeks or so, an Arizona state senate committee advanced legislation amending a voter-approved initiative ($12 minimum wage) by reducing that minimum to $10 if the amendment…
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Most everyone within the Dunkin’ Donuts system knows that Vermont is among the most challenging markets. The Green Mountain state has the second smallest population in the U.S. and is far-removed from major urban centers along the East Coast. In 2015, Forbes Magazine ranked Vermont as the 42nd best state in which to do business.…
Read More »It’s possible to next become law in Maryland as Governor Larry Hogan seems to be considering signing a paid sick leave mandate into law. That fact is worth noting given that Hogan had previously announced the proposal “dead on arrival”. The Governor had previously proposed his own paid sick leave bill that applied to 50…
Read More »Hard to believe, but some states that have seen sick leave laws passed dictating that employers (those who actually create jobs!) provide additional benefits to employees are now taking a 2nd look at the question. Specifically, the Pennsylvania state senate is considering legislation that would preempt the city of Philadelphia from continuing to enforce its…
Read More »The battle, at long last, is effectively over now as President Obama signed federal GMO labeling legislation into law one week ago today. The law, which has been working its way through Congress for the past few years, requires food manufacturers to notify consumers of the presence of GMOs in packaged foods by one of…
Read More »It has languished for quite some time since the state of Vermont passed what was effectively the first mandatory GMO labeling law in the country back in 2014, but a federal voluntary version has finally been approved by Congress. The Senate passed the bipartisan Roberts-Stabenow bill on a 63-30 vote last week and sent the…
Read More »The Vermont law mandating the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) becomes effective today. The law, which originally passed back in 2014 and has since survived a number of legal and political challenges, requires that any food product that contains at least 75% bioengineered content have a label specifying that the product is…
Read More »There are two dates every year when we have to be especially conscious of changes in government laws and/or regulations – one is January 1 and the other is today, July 1, the start of many government fiscal years. With so much new regulation being piled on to the business community, we thought it might…
Read More »They haven’t focused on sugary drinks yet, but Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed ban the box legislation into law at the beginning of this month. Signing HB5237 into law makes the Nutmeg State the 19th state to restrict employers’ inquiries into an employment applicant’s criminal history and the 2nd to do so this year (Vermont…
Read More »In a little over one month, Vermont will become the first state in the nation actually requiring the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMO). The Vermont mandate was signed into law just over 2 years ago and immediately challenged by the Grocery Manufacturers Association along with the Snack Food Association, International Dairy Foods…
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