Wages
Federal – Seven Republican state attorneys general sued the Biden Administration over its new requirement that contractors pay their employees a $15/hr minimum wage. President Biden issued an executive order in April that required contractors to pay their employees a $15/hr minimum wage starting in 2022, which commenced the rulemaking process for a final rule that took effect on Jan 30. The rule also eliminates the tipped minimum wage for contractors by 2024. While the lawsuit is unlikely to be successful, brands with operations on federal property including airports and military bases should pay close attention. More details.
California – Signature gathering has begun for an $18/hr minimum wage ballot initiative. To appear on the Nov. ballot, advocates must collect 700,000 valid signatures. The measure would gradually raise the minimum wage in California to $18/hr by 2025. This would apply only to businesses with more than 25 employees. Those with fewer than 25 employees would reach $17/hr in 2025. More details.
Hawaii – A house committee advanced senate-approved legislation that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $12/hr by Oct., and to $18/hr by 2026. The senate’s proposal may meet resistance in later house committees, which could package an increase in the minimum wage with tax relief for low-income families. More details.
Vermont – Today, a senate committee will consider legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2025. While the legislation has strong Democratic support, the Republican governor has shown resistance to high minimum wage increases in the past. Vermont’s current minimum wage is $12.55/hr and tied to inflation. More details.
One Fair Wage – The labor-allied group announced a $25 million campaign to end “subminimum” wages – i.e., the tip credit – in half of all U.S. states by 2026. The coalition is focusing their attention on New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, California (which has no tip credit), Illinois, and Washington, D.C. One Fair Wage is headed by Saru Jayaraman, the founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center. More details.
Labor Policy
New York City – A federal judge rejected the restaurant industry’s challenge to the city’s “just cause” law. In effect, this ends “at-will” employment for fast food workers. Last year, the city passed the “just cause” law making it illegal for fast food employers to fire or lay off workers, or reduce their hours by more than 15 percent, without just cause or a legitimate economic reason. Employers can only fire underperforming workers after giving them multiple disciplinary warnings in a year or for egregious conduct. The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Law Center sued saying the law violated both the state and federal constitutions but the judge found that the city was within its rights. More details.
Labor Activism
Seattle, WA – Workers at DoorDash, Instacart, Shipt, and other delivery platforms held a large protest this week at city hall. The protest included 400 to-go bags dropped off by gig workers who tagged the bags with receipts that show the actual amount a driver was paid for a delivery. Some receipts showed negative amounts, indicating that the driver lost money taking the gig. The gig workers are seeking a number of protections but their first priority is a minimum payment ordinance, which would ensure minimum wage plus expenses with a per-minute and per-mile floor for the “engaged time” needed to perform each service. More details.
Amazon – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced this week that Amazon and a group of New York workers have tentatively agreed on terms for a union election and that the vote would take place late next month. The agreement lays out both the timing and method of voting for the election, without providing details. According to local labor organizers, workers at Amazon’s “JFK8” warehouse in Staten Island will vote in person Mar 25-30. That same week, the NLRB plans to start counting ballots from Alabama workers who are deciding whether to unionize in a rerun of last year’s failed organizing campaign. More details.
Starbucks – This week, the Starbucks Workers United’s campaign reached 101 stores in 26 states, meaning about one in every 100 corporate-owned U.S. Starbucks cafes are in the midst of an organizing campaign. The company, in response, launched a landing page, explaining the company’s position on unionization and directly responding to many of the SEIU’s claims through an FAQ section. More details.
Delivery
Iowa – A house committee unanimously advanced third-party delivery legislation. The bill, if passed, mandates that third-party delivery services must enter into agreements with restaurants to take orders and deliver meals. And, that platforms could not use restaurants’ names or logos without consent unless the use is already permitted under state law or is accompanied by a disclaimer that the service is not an authorized delivery service for the restaurant. The committee chairwoman is a restaurant owner. The bill now heads to the house floor. More details.
Sustainability
Hawaii – A house committee advanced legislation that would establish an extended producer responsibility program in the state. The bill would require certain producers of consumer goods to register with the state health department and pay an annual fee based on the amount of packaging volume the covered producer places on the market each calendar year. Additionally, the bill provides for the deposit of fees into a special extended producer responsibility fund and some of those monies be allocated toward the creation of a report that assesses the resources needed to reduce the volume of packaging waste sent to landfills. More details.
Key Takeaways
- Last week, both Walmart and Amazon significantly relaxed their masking and paid leave policies. Walmart is suspending their mask requirements for vaccinated workers and will end their COVID-related paid leave benefit by the end of March. Amazon announced that it will also drop the mask policy for vaccinated workers but will continue its supplemental paid leave policy for vaccinated workers only. As the nation’s two largest employers, they have essentially reset both the labor and political markets with regard to these issues and restaurant owners and other retailers are, from a public perception perspective, now “safe” to adjust their policies accordingly if they haven’t already done so.
- This week, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the senate’s longtime thought leader on the gig economy and portable benefits, introduced bi-partisan legislation to test innovative portable benefit designs for the growing independent workforce. A companion bill in the house was announced as well. The legislation seeks to provide gig workers with access to social insurance protections typically provided through traditional full-time employment. This legislation would establish a $20 million grant fund within the Labor Department to incentivize states, localities and nonprofit organizations to experiment with portable benefits models for the independent workforce. For operators and brands, it provides yet another opportunity for the industry to engage and help shape the parameters of a benefits system that is a growing reality in cities and states across the country. Some type of portable benefits regime in the country is inevitable – brands should seize the opportunity to shape it in a way that protects their business models.
Podcast
Check out our Working Lunch podcast each week that includes further analysis into these legislative issues, policy, politics and much more. You can find Working Lunch on the Restaurant Business online website, SoundCloud, iTunes and Spotify.