Wages
U.S. Senate – Bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) was introduced that would increase the federal minimum wage to $15/hr and raise it annually thereafter based on inflation. Under the proposal, the current $2.13/hr server wage would remain unchanged. The federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr hasn’t been raised since 2009 and numerous efforts to increase it have failed to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to break filibusters in the Senate. Hawley admitted that it is far from clear the wage legislation will reach the Senate floor, let alone find the 60 votes needed to advance in the chamber, where the GOP controls 53 seats. More details.
Michigan – One Fair Wage, under the guise of “Voters to Stop Pay Cuts,” filed the initial paperwork to place a measure on the Nov. 2026 ballot to repeal the recently-enacted minimum wage law. This spring, the governor signed bipartisan compromise legislation amending the minimum wage law passed by the voters in 2018. The law changed the annual increase of the minimum hourly wage and tipped wage. The minimum hourly wage rose to $12.48/hr on Feb. 2 and will reach $15/hr by 2027. The tipped wage will increase to 40 percent of the regular minimum wage in 2026, 42 percent in 2027, 44 percent in 2028, 46 percent in 2029, 48 percent in 2030, and 50 percent in 2031, where it will remain. The original measure called for steeper increases to the minimum wage, tying it to inflation, and eliminating the tip credit by this year. One Fair Wage is most interested in eliminating server wages and will be focusing their efforts on that. More details.
Pennsylvania – By a 102-101 vote, the house advanced legislation that would raise the minimum wage on a county-by-county basis and raise the server wage as well. The bill would increase the minimum wage in populous “first class” counties to $15/hr on Jan.1 2026, indexing it thereafter to inflation and mandating the server wage to 60 percent of the state minimum ($9/hr). There are multiple “classes” of counties and the least populous would see an increase to $12/hr by 2028 and the same 60 percent server wage would apply. The bill now moves to the Republican-controlled senate where it faces an uphill battle. More details.
Rhode Island – The house passed legislation to increase the minimum wage to $16/hr by Jan. 1, 2026 and to $17/hr by 2027. The current minimum wage is $15/hr as of this past Jan. and the server wage is $3.89/hr. As written, the bill would not affect the server wage. Action now moves to the senate. More details.
Los Angeles, CA – A motion was introduced calling on the city to work on a contingency plan to ensure hotel and airport workers receive back pay if a referendum effort delays a recently-approved minimum wage increase which is scheduled to take effect later this month. The motion intends to calculate the total wages that could be lost due a potential delay and explore whether they could be eligible for retroactive pay if the referendum fails to qualify for the ballot. It also explores what potential recourse may exist if voters are misled by paid signature-gatherers during the process. “Corporations have made it clear that they’re willing to use every dirty trick in the book to reverse progress and lower wages – we need to be prepared for them to go even lower,” Soto-Martínez said in a statement. “Don’t be fooled, and don’t sign the misleading petition.” For context, the city approved an ordinance in May, providing hotel and airport workers with $30/hr by 2028. Starting in July, workers are expected to receive $22.50/hr, followed by annual $2.50/hr increases over three years. Workers would receive $25/hr beginning in July 2026, $27.50/hr in July 2027 and $30/hr in July 2028, in time for the Olympics, as well as receive a new $8.35/hr health care payment, which will begin in July 2026. Last week, the city clerk’s office announced that it certified the referendum effort launched by a coalition of airlines, hotels, and concession companies at Los Angeles International Airport known as the Los Angeles Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress. The petition was filed two days after Mayor Karen Bass signed the ordinance into law and four days after the city council gave its final approval. The motion was referred to the Economic Development and Jobs Committee where it will be considered before it advances to the full city council. More details.
Paid Leave
Pittsburgh, PA – The city council approved new changes to its paid sick leave requirement that will allow employees to earn up to 30 more hours of paid time off than before. The current law mandates that businesses with more than 15 employees give one hour of sick leave for every 35 hours worked, capped at 40 hours per year and employees who work at smaller businesses with fewer than 15 employees earn at the same rate, but are capped at 24 hours per year. Under the new changes, employees will each earn one hour for every 30 hours worked. For the larger businesses, employees will be capped at 72 hours a year and smaller employers are capped at 48 hours. The new changes take effect Jan. 1., 2026. More details.
Labor Policy
OMB – The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that it will be encouraging federal agencies to use union project labor agreements (PLAs). The announcement was unexpected and continues a Biden-era policy. It is a major win for organized labor. PLAs are essentially collective bargaining agreements negotiated with unions to set the terms and working conditions for a specific project. The memo from the agency said that “the Trump Administration supports the use of PLAs when those agreements are practicable and cost effective, and blanket deviations prohibiting the use of PLAs are precluded.” The announcement is a departure from the administration’s first term and further signals that organized labor groups have more influence in his second administration. More details.
Food Policy
MAHA Commission – This week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins acknowledged that the controversial Make America Healthy Again report last month did not adequately represent the agriculture industry’s interests. The initial report, which came out in May, only briefly mentions that glyphosate and atrazine (two of the most widely used herbicides) could lead to adverse health impacts, and it notes that federal reviews of data have not established a direct link. But, the agriculture community is nevertheless worried that the report could create the impression that food products produced in the U.S. aren’t safe. Rollins stated that, “there’s no doubt that we could do better on the next report, and my commitment is to do everything I can to ensure that our ag community is better represented.” Numerous agriculture industry groups met with the White House this week to voice their concerns. More details.
Interchange Fees
U.S. Senate – The senate voted to proceed with debate on the Genius Act and will bypass all amendments to the bill meaning the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) will not be considered at this time. The CCCA would increase competition in the credit card processing market by requiring credit card issuers to offer at least two competing processing networks on each card. This would give merchants more choice in which network to use for transactions, potentially leading to lower fees and better service. Industry advocates will look for other avenues to advance the legislation. More details.
Key Takeaways
- The Trump administration intends to pivot immigration enforcement in the coming weeks to target the employer community. This week, White House Border Czar Tom Homan said that the Trump administration will target job “magnets,” ramping up civil and criminal prosecutions of companies. The focus will likely continue to be the agricultural, construction, and hospitality sectors. Additionally, the administration demonstrated its willingness to target specific brands when the White House ordered the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to specifically target Home Depot and disrupt the flow of day laborers who regularly gather there looking for work. Brands should prepare accordingly.
- In response to ICE actions in California, activists are holding “No Kings” demonstrations around the country over the weekend. With thousands of protests planned, some operators may experience disruptions in certain markets.