Minimum Wage
Hawaii – Legislation is on its way to the governor that mandates an increase in the minimum wage to $18/hr by 2028 and an increase in the tip credit to $1.50. The senate had been pushing for a more aggressive timetable and the ultimate elimination of the tip credit. Hawaii’s current minimum wage is $10.10/hr. The first step increase will come this Oct. when the wage will rise to $12/hr. More details.
Louisiana – Five different bills to establish a state minimum wage at various levels were defeated in a house committee. Louisiana is one of five states that does not have a minimum wage and instead relies on the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr. More details.
Paid Leave
Amazon – The company announced it is scaling back its offering of paid time off for frontline U.S. workers who test positive for COVID-19. Effective immediately, all U.S.-based Amazon workers who test positive for COVID-19 will now get up to five days of excused, unpaid leave, and that workers waiting for COVID test results will no longer have time off excused since rapid tests are now widely available. Many companies have slowly pulled back their COVID policies as vaccines have also become more widely available and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidance. The company initially offered up to two weeks of paid time off for any employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine. In Jan., the company reduced paid leave time to one week, or up to 40 hours. More details.
Labor Policy
Connecticut – Legislation is on its way to the governor that would bar employers from requiring employees to attend meetings on certain political or religious subjects including unionization. Employers would still be able to hold such meetings but employees would be shielded from being penalized or fired for skipping them. The labor community argues that the legislation is needed to stop employers from penalizing workers if they choose to skip meetings where businesses share “anti-union” messaging. The governor is expected to sign the legislation. More details.
Massachusetts – The state supreme court heard arguments regarding the constitutionality of a pending ballot initiative this fall asking voters to decide whether transportation platform drivers should be deemed independent contractors. Modeled after the initiative they ran in California in 2020, Uber, Lyft and other platforms are behind the effort. While no decision was rendered, the justices appeared skeptical of the initiative and voiced concerns regarding joint and several liability in the case of automobile accidents and the ability of victims to pursue claims against the platforms if the drivers themselves were classified as independent contractors. More details.
New York City, NY – The city council amended the pending pay transparency law that will require employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings. The bill amends several aspects of the law, including extending the effective date to Nov. 1, 2022. The bill is currently before Mayor Eric Adams for his signature. The version of the bill approved by the council differs in some respects from the original version originally introduced, and aside from pushing back the effective date, it eliminates the language applying the bill to businesses with 15 employees or more employees and returns it to the current 4 employee threshold. More details.
Labor Activism
Starbucks – The company announced it plans to invest $1 billion in wage hikes, improved training, and store innovation before the close of fiscal year 2022. Effective Aug. 1, all eligible U.S. employees will receive a base hourly pay of $15/hr and workers that were hired on or before May 2 will get a 3 percent raise or be bumped up to $15/hr, whichever rate is higher. The enhanced benefits, however, will not be offered to workers at the cafes that have voted to unionize, meaning those workers must bargain to achieve parity, the company said. As of this writing, 59 units have voted to organize, seven have rejected the union, and two outcomes are still undecided. More details.
Sustainability
Hawaii – Legislation that had passed both chambers establishing an extended producer responsibility program in the state, died in a conference committee. The legislation would have required 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 bills would have provided 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. It is likely that the sponsors refile similar legislation next year. More details.
Privacy
Connecticut – Legislation is on its way to the governor’s desk that would make the state the fifth to enact a comprehensive data privacy law. Modeled mostly after the Virginia law, it requires notice and certain consumer rights, opt-in consent for processing of sensitive personal information in some circumstances, data minimization, data management obligations, requires data protection impact assessments, and protection of personal information when shared with vendors. Of particular importance, it does not provide for a private right of action. Of the five states with data privacy laws, California remains the only state with a private right of action component. The governor is expected to sign the bill. More details.
Key Takeaways
- Brands need to prepare for a new front in the minimum wage war – inflation. Labor advocates are leveraging the high uptick in inflation as a rationale for further increases in minimum wage rates across the country arguing that entry-level workers are the most vulnerable to inflationary pressures. Business allies are, conversely, arguing that now is the worst time to further burden employers. Additionally, as front-line workers are feeling increasingly empowered, the issue could become an employee-relations flashpoint inside the business. Brands need to be aware of this emerging nuance of an ongoing issue.
- Regardless of ownership structure, all brands should be paying attention to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Proposed Rules on Climate-Related Disclosure, released March 21, 2022. The end of the public comment period is approaching. The rules represent a significant change in public company disclosure requirements and, if adopted, will have far-reaching effects not only on all public companies but also on those within the companies’ supply chain. While the short-term and long-term importance of the proposed rules is still being assessed, it is important to consider the substantial impact these new requirements will have on companies’ enforcement and litigation risks. It is clear that the requirements are far more complex and invasive than originally anticipated. Brands should be weighing in with their trade associations to ensure that the industry is adequately protected during this process.
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.