Wages

South Dakota – The state labor department announced that effective Jan.1, the new minimum wage in the state will be $11.85/hr, up from the current $11.50/hr. The cash wage for tipped employees will increase to $5.93/hr. The wage is tied to inflation and adjusted annually as a result of a 2014 ballot measure approved by voters. More details. 

Boulder County, CO – The county appears poised to abandon their current minimum wage law in favor of a less aggressive ordinance. In 2023, the county adopted a wage schedule that would see the wage for unincorporated parts of the county rise to $25/hr by 2030. Citing significant pushback from the business community, local officials have held numerous hearings in an effort to modify the law. This week, the county commission voted to order staff to draft a new wage ordinance that would mirror the city of Boulder’s current ordinance which calls for an $18.93/hr rate by 2030 and then ties the wage to inflation thereafter – a difference of more than $6/hr. The tip credit would remain at the statewide standard of $3.02/hr thereby establishing a server wage of $15.91/hr by 2030 for the county. Another public hearing on the matter is scheduled for Nov. 20. More details.

Tucson, AZ – The city announced that effective Jan.1, the new minimum wage will be $15.45/hr and the tip credit will remain at $3/hr making the new server wage $12.45/hr. The wage in the city is tied to inflation per a ballot measure passed by the voters in 2021. More details.

Washington, D.C. – Last week, the D.C. Board of Elections allowed the proposed referendum to overturn the current tip credit law to proceed. The official language for the measure was posted Oct. 24 which opened a 10-day challenge period under which citizens can object to various components of the language. That challenge period ends this coming Monday, Nov. 3 at which time a lawsuit opposing the measure will likely be filed. Timing is fluid but if that legal effort is unsuccessful, proponents will have until mid-Dec. to gather roughly 35,000 legal signatures to qualify for the ballot. If the process goes that far, we can expect those signatures to be challenged as well. More details.

Labor Policy

EEOC – Republican Brittany Panuccio was sworn in as the newest member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), formally creating the quorum of three necessary to vote on official business. Panuccio fills the seat vacated in Dec. by Keith Sonderling, who was named deputy labor secretary in March, and gives Republicans a majority. Her term expires July 1, 2029. Pres. Trump nominated Panuccio in May to serve as a commissioner. She previously worked as an attorney advisor in the civil rights office of the Department of Education, as well as a special counselor in the agency’s general counsel office during the first Trump Administration. The new Commission is expected to shift focus by scrutinizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, religious liberty, and discrimination, narrowing disparate impact enforcement, revisiting LGBTQ+ guidance, and scaling back algorithmic bias initiatives.

Labor Activism

One Fair Wage – In conjunction with the UC Berkeley Food Research Center, the group released a new report that finds the Trump Administration’s immigration policies are decimating the restaurant industry. According to the report, between March and July of this year, the U.S. workforce shrank by 800,000 workers as millions of foreign-born workers fled the country. For the restaurant industry, that loss translates into approximately 137,000 fewer immigrant restaurant workers in just four months, with projections showing the industry could lose as many as 310,000 by the end of the year. The report concludes that the restaurant industry cannot recover – and the U.S. economy cannot grow – without the “labor, creativity, and entrepreneurship” of immigrant workers. It calls on restaurant owners, policymakers, and worker advocates to unite in raising wages, ending deportations, and ensuring basic rights and protections for all workers. More details.

Starbucks – Unionized workers across the country are casting their votes on whether to hold a strike amid anger over pay and conditions and allegations the company breached labor laws by engaging in bad faith bargaining. Starbucks Workers United, the union representing baristas at the chain, has won elections at more than 650 of its locations in 45 states and the District of Columbia, representing more than 12,000 workers but has yet to obtain a contract. The union claims company management has been stonewalling the bargaining process while Starbucks claims the union walked away from the bargaining table. A strike authorization vote was called last Friday, Oct. 24 and will continue until Nov. 2. About 70 pickets have been planned in 60 cities across the U.S. More details.

Food Policy

Circle K – Following quickly growing consumer demand – and corresponding regulatory uncertainty – national convenience store chain Circle K announced that beginning next year, it will sell hemp-based beverages in its over 3,000 stores where it is legal to do so. The company joins Target and Total Wine & Spirits as the first major retailers to jump into the segment. While no large restaurant chain has embraced the product category, numerous independent operators across the country are now offering hemp and other THC-infused products. More details.

Key Takeaway

• Next week, voters in New Jersey, Virginia, and numerous localities throughout the country will go to the polls. Neither state has a general statute requiring employers to give their workers time off to vote. Employers should take a reasonable approach to the issue against the backdrop that activists on either side of the partisan divide may target brands for their policies. Additionally, some – but not many – localities have their own election day paid leave laws and it’s important to note that the employee is covered by their local law regardless of where the company is domiciled. Employers should review applicable local laws and reaffirm their election day policies with their employees.