Minimum Wage
Hawaii – The house appointed conferees to work out differences in minimum wage legislation passed by both chambers. The senate overwhelmingly advanced legislation increasing the minimum wage to $18/hr by 2026. The bill also phases out the tip credit, reducing it to 35 cents/hr beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and fully eliminating it by Jan. 1, 2026. Hawaii’s current minimum wage is $10.10/hr. More details.
Fifth Third Bank – The company announced it will raise its minimum wage to $20/hr beginning July 4, citing the impact on employees of the rising cost of living. At the same time, the bank will provide a wage adjustment for its first four job levels that is above its new minimum wage. In total, more than 40% of the bank’s workforce will receive a midyear compensation increase. The company said the new $20 minimum hourly wage will benefit nearly 95% of employees in retail branches and operations that support functions including customer contact centers. More details.
Verizon – The company announced a new starting wage of $20/hr for workers at their retail outlets and call centers. Existing employees making less than $20/hr will see their wages increase, and the company is also adding premium pay differentials for assistant managers who work holidays, Sundays and for those who speak multiple languages. More details.
Paid Leave
Delaware – Legislation is on its way to the governor that would create a statewide insurance program to provide up to 80% of wages for eligible workers for up to 12 weeks per year for parental leave and six weeks over two years for caregiving and medical leave. If signed into law, employer and employee contributions to the program will begin in 2025. The benefits will be available beginning in 2026. The program will be funded through a 0.8% payroll contribution split between the employer and the employee. When the governor signs the bill into law as is expected, Delaware will become the 11th state with a paid family and medical leave law. More details.
Labor Policy
OSHA – The Occupational Health and Safety Administration published a proposal to revoke approval of Arizona’s state worker safety plan citing what OSHA says is a repeated failure to set standards in line with federal ones. The agency warned in October that it intended to revoke Arizona’s plan, as well as those of Utah and South Carolina, as part of a broader dispute over adopting the Biden administration’s June 2021 emergency temporary standard requiring health care employers to provide certain workplace protections against Covid-19. Arizona is one of 28 states and territories that have adopted their own workplace safety programs – an option allowed by OSHA provided that the state plans at least meet the same standards as the Labor Department’s. Public comments are due May 26. More details.
California – The state occupational safety and health agency (CALOSHA) extended mandatory pay for workers affected by the coronavirus through the end of 2022. The benefit was previously set to expire in September. The renewed workplace regulation requires employers to keep paying workers’ wages and maintain their seniority and other benefits for as long as they can’t work because of a coronavirus exposure or infection, unless they receive disability payments or the employer can prove the close contact wasn’t work-related. More details.
Connecticut – The state senate passed legislation that would bar employers from requiring employees 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 house speaker has indicated that his chamber will pass the bill next week and it will then move to the governor for his expected signature. More details.
Illinois – The state issued additional guidance regarding newly-passed legislation concerning pay disclosure. Under current federal law, all private employers with 100 or more employees, and those with 50 or more employees and a government contract or subcontract that equals or exceeds $50,000, are required to file annually an EEO-1 report, which includes a demographic breakdown of the employer’s workforce by race and gender. Under the new state law, Illinois employers currently required to file an EEO-1 report will now be required to submit a similar report to the state that includes information that is substantially similar to the employment data reported under the federal EEO-1 Report. The Illinois EEO-1 report will be significantly different from the federal EEO-1 report in one major way – the Illinois EEO-1 report will be made public. Currently, only the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – not the public – sees the federal form. Illinois joins California as the only other state that will require employers to collect and submit employee pay data to the state. More details.
Labor Activism
Apple – Joining workers currently organizing in Atlanta, employees at a store in New York’s Grand Central Station have begun the unionization process. Workers are seeking a minimum starting wage of $30/hr, tuition reimbursement, faster accrued and more vacation time, and better retirement options, including higher match rates for 401(k) and enrollment into pension plans. Additionally, the workers want to conduct research into security protocols with customer interactions, tracking particulate dust, health effects from building materials, and noise pollution at Grand Central Station. More details.
Starbucks – As of this writing, there are now 27 units that have voted to unionize, including the company’s flagship location in downtown Seattle which voted to organize this week. In related news, the company filed unfair labor practice charges against some organizers, claiming they have shown a “consistent pattern of disturbing behavior” that has increasingly become “more aggressive” since the fall. More details.
Sustainability
Hawaii – A conference committee is being appointed to work out differences in legislation that has passed both chambers that would establish an extended producer responsibility program in the state. The legislation 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 bills provide 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
- Operators should prepare for disruptions and walkouts around May Day (May 1), a traditional day of worker activism. Disruptions are unlikely to be widespread; however, major metros that have had large days of action in the past could see a higher level of activity than in previous years, especially considering the heightened level of organizing activity in recent months.
- Brands should take note of the growing level of scrutiny by the media, NGOs, and increasingly the investment community around climate commitments, especially regarding carbon neutrality pledges. Outside of the current news cycle focusing on Earth Day, there has been increasing media attention in this space and a growing conversation around corporate “greenwashing”. Many brands are feeling pressure to be active in this space but overstating climate commitments could ultimately tarnish reputations more than saying nothing at all.
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.