Wages
Minnesota – An omnibus labor package that, among other things, eliminates exemptions from the state minimum wage has now passed both chambers. It is headed to a conference committee to iron out differences. The bill eliminates the lower minimum wage of $8.85/hr for small businesses, employees under 18 years old and foreign workers on J visas in the hospitality industry. It also raises the threshold on annual inflation adjustments from 2.5 percent to 5 percent, allowing the minimum wage to rise more in years with high inflation. The bill also mandates businesses include salary ranges in job postings, bans businesses from deducting credit card fees from tips, and requires employers to maintain health care coverage for employees during a required period of leave for pregnancy. The final package, when agreed upon, is expected to be signed by the governor. More details.
Oklahoma – Signature collection has begun for State Question 832 for the 2024 ballot. The proposal would raise the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2029 and then index it inflation thereafter. Proponents must gather 92,262 signatures of registered Oklahoma voters within 90 days, representing 8 percent of the number of votes cast in Oklahoma’s last gubernatorial election. The initiative had been the subject of a lawsuit brought by the Oklahoma State Chamber and Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation asking the court to declare the pending petition legally insufficient. They argued that a portion of the petition violates the state constitution and that the proposed wording of the ballot initiative is misleading. The state supreme court recently rejected that suit clearing the way for the initiative to proceed. More details.
Oregon – The state labor department announced that the minimum wage will go up by $.50/hr in all three regions starting on July 1. Oregon’s three-tiered wage system was created by the legislature in 2016, and changes are based on the Consumer Price Index. For the three Portland metro area counties (Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas) the rate will go from $15.45/hr to $15.95/hr. For 15 other counties, mostly west of the Cascades, the rate will go from $14.20/hr to $14.70/hr. For the other 18 counties, mostly east of the Cascades, the rate will go from $13.20/hr to $13.70/hr. More details.
King County, WA – Legislation that would increase the hourly minimum wage in unincorporated King County to $20.29/hr was given a do-pass recommendation by a county council committee. Employers with 15 or fewer employees and an annual gross revenue of less than $2 million would have an hourly minimum wage rate of $3 less ($17.29/hr). The reduction would decrease annually by 50 cents until no reduction remains. Employers with more than 15 employees but fewer than 500 employees would have an hourly minimum wage rate of $2 less ($18.29/hr). The reduction would decrease annually by $1 until no reduction remains. The ordinance still has to be approved by the full council. More details.
West Hollywood, CA – The city council voted to delay the next scheduled increase in the local minimum wage for at least the next six months. The current $19.08/hr wage level was scheduled to increase to $19.61/hr on July 1 but the council decided to push those increases to Jan. 1, 2025 for now. Proponents of the delay noted the significant impact to small businesses (primarily restaurants and bars in the city) that the high wage was causing. More details.
Bank of America – The company announced it will boost its minimum hourly wage to $23/hr in Oct. as it heads toward a goal of raising hourly pay to $25/hr by 2025. The pay bump translates to a minimum salary of almost $48,000 a year for full-time employees. The bank has increased pay several times in recent years, starting with a move to $15/hr in 2017. More details.
Paid Leave
New York – The governor’s new budget agreement would make the state the first in the nation to offer paid leave for prenatal care. It also outlines more support for postpartum care. The executive budget amends paid family leave to permit up to 40 hours of leave for eligible employees to attend prenatal appointments, without impacting the twelve weeks of paid family leave already on the books. The budget (already past an April 1 deadline) is expected to be finalized soon. More details.
Wisconsin – House Democrats have unveiled their latest effort at a state paid leave law. While a priority of the governor, the bill is unlikely to proceed in the Republican-dominated legislature. The bill would allow workers who elect to contribute a portion of their wages to the program to claim up to 14 paid weeks each year of combined family and medical leave. It would transfer close to $259 million from Wisconsin’s general fund in the current two-year budget cycle to create a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund. Starting in 2026, the fund would pay out benefits to people dealing with major life events, such as serious illness or the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child. Businesses also would be required to contribute to the fund. Those with more than 50 employees would need to chip in with at least half of a worker’s contribution. For smaller businesses, Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development would create a tiered system to determine employer contributions, according to the bill. More details.
Labor Policy
EEOC – The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) released their final rule implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) passed in late 2022 in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. The PWFA requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” for workers with limitations relating to “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” unless the accommodation would result in an undue hardship for the employer. The rules only apply to employers with at least 15 employees. In the rule, the EEOC explained that the law is a workplace anti-discrimination law and doesn’t affect whether and under what circumstances an abortion should be permitted. The agency drew criticism from some Republicans and other conservatives for including abortion in its initial proposed rule. The agency said it received about 100,000 public comments on the rule, and about half called on commissioners to exclude abortion-related issues. The type of accommodation that most likely will be sought under the PWFA regarding an abortion is time off to attend a medical appointment or for recovery, and it doesn’t have to be paid. The final rule will take effect on June 18, 2024. More details.
California – The state labor commissioner posted an FAQ document related to the implementation of the FAST Act providing clarification on a number of items. For example, the minimum wage set by the statute will impact the minimum salary threshold to be an exempt employee under California law. Under state law, the minimum salary threshold is currently $66,560 but $83,200 for restaurant employees. More details.
Chipotle – The company has agreed to pay nearly $3 million to 1,853 employees and $7,300 to Seattle over allegations the company violated the city’s Secure Scheduling and Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinances at its eight local locations. Chipotle also will develop a written Secure Scheduling Ordinance policy as part of the settlement. The city’s Office of Labor Standards alleged the company retaliated against employees for declining to work a shift change without enough notice, for requesting their schedule to accommodate their second job’s schedule and for calling out sick, among other paid time and scheduling violations. The settlement is the largest since the Secure Scheduling Ordinance went into effect in July 2017. More details.
Dollar Tree – The Seattle Office of Labor Standards announced a $180,000 settlement with Dollar Tree Stores for alleged labor law violations including not providing employees with a written paid sick time policy, not giving employees breaks, and failing to give employees a 14-day notice of their schedules. More than 300 employees across four locations in Seattle will be getting part of the settlement. More details.
Key Takeaways
- Food Inc. 2 was released this week. It’s the sequel to the Oscar-nominated 2008 film Food Inc. that popularized critiques of the fast food industry and “Big Food” writ large. Food Inc. is credited with spurring the “slow food” movement and activism around corporate control of the entire U.S. food system (agriculture, processing, retail). It’s difficult to overstate the impact of Food Inc., as well as other books and films from that era like Fast Food Nation and Super Size Me, which fundamentally changed how many Americans think about the industry. The sequel is unlikely to have the same impact as its predecessor but will certainly highlight some brands, as well as industry supply chain practices.
- May Day (May 1) is International Workers’ Day. Some operators may experience disruptions and demonstrations on May 1, or the weekend leading up to it. For example, one of the SEIU’s platforms, the California Fast Food Workers Union, has already indicated that it will be organizing actions in the Los Angeles area. Southern California typically sees some of the largest protests and demonstrations in the U.S., but any operators that have experienced walkouts in the past should be prepared.
Podcast
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