Wages
Georgia – Legislation advanced out of a house committee that would phase out sub-minimum wages for workers with disabilities. Under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, companies and businesses can apply for 14(c) certificates that allow them to pay disabled employees below the state or federal minimum wage. If passed, this bill would forbid businesses from applying for those certificates. Current certificate holders would be grandfathered until June 2026. More details.
Massachusetts – The Massachusetts Restaurant Association along with other plaintiffs filed a complaint with the Supreme Judicial Court contending that the pending ballot measure to eliminate the tip credit by 2029 improperly combines disparate topics. The measure also allows employers to create “tip pools,” and the Association is arguing that phasing out the separate minimum wage and also giving businesses the power to require that workers pool their tips “presents two substantively distinct policy choices for voters to decide with a single vote.” They are asking the court to rule the question ineligible and prevent the secretary of state from placing it on the ballot. It is unclear when a ruling may be issued. More details.
Labor Policy
Labor Department – The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will vote Feb. 27 on Julie Su’s nomination to be Labor Secretary. Biden first nominated Su in February 2023, and the committee voted along party lines to advance Su’s nomination in late April.. However, her nomination languished and never made it to the floor after Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) indicated they would oppose it. Su has been serving as acting secretary despite her stalled nomination. A Government Accountability Office report in Sept. concluded that arrangement did not violate federal law. There is no indication that opposition to her renomination has softened. More details.
NLRB – A federal judge in Texas delayed the effective date for the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) rule on joint employer liability to March 11, Bloomberg Law reported. The rule was previously set to take effect on February 26. Judge J. Cambell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a two-week stay order on the regulation due to litigation. Barker is currently considering a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business groups to permanently block the rule. He is also considering the NLRB’s argument that direct review of the measure belongs in federal appellate court. According to Bloomberg Law, Barker previously expressed skepticism about the regulation during a February 13 hearing. The new rule rescinds the 2020 joint employer measure and makes it easier for companies to qualify as joint employers, including in franchising, contracting, and supply chains. The rule broadens liability for employers and enables unions to organize across companies, rather than store by store. More details.
NLRB – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that Home Depot violated federal law in 2021 when it told a worker that they must quit or stop showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement on their apron. In its ruling, the agency said that the worker’s refusal to remove the “BLM” marking from their uniform was considered to be “concerted” and “for mutual aid or protection” because of earlier protests by workers at the store about racial discrimination. The company must reinstate the worker. The case is one of several that centered on the issue of civil rights apparel in the workplace after the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020, an episode that galvanized many workers across the country to back the Black Lives Matter movement by showing support on their work uniforms or face masks. More details.
Maryland – A hearing is scheduled next week in a house committee on captive audience legislation. The bill prohibits employers from taking certain actions against an employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant declines to attend or participate in employer-sponsored meetings during which the employer communicates the opinion of the employer regarding religious or political matters. More details.
Chicago, IL – Unionized Starbucks baristas in Chicago filed 10 complaints this week alleging the company violated the city’s Fair Workweek Ordinance. The law requires certain employers to give staff advance notice of their schedules and pay a premium for last minute changes. It also requires employers offer part-time employees additional hours before hiring new workers to fill shifts. The Starbucks complaints were filed by baristas who work across three unionized stores in the city. The workers allege the company violated the law by not providing “good faith” estimates of their typical weekly schedules and by not paying workers the higher rate of pay required by law when their shifts are changed at the last minute. Baristas also alleged the company violated the ordinance by hiring new baristas to cover shifts before offering them to existing staff. The complaints follow a set of similar allegations filed against the company in New York City, where unionized baristas across more than 50 stores have filed 76 fair workweek complaints against the company. More details.
Labor Activism
BLS – The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual Work Stoppages Summary noting 33 strikes and lockouts in calendar year 2023, the largest number since 39 stoppages in 2000. There was also a significant increase in the number of workers involved in those actions, to 458,900 from 120,600 in 2022. The annual data marks a substantial jump from 2022, when BLS tracked 23 major strikes and lockouts involving more than 120,000 workers. It’s also almost double the 20-year average of 16.7 work stoppages per year. Strike activity had dropped off after 2020, but 2023 surpassed pre-pandemic levels of strikes and lockouts for the first time. More details.
Starbucks – Workers at 21 locations announced their intent to join Starbucks Workers United this week. The organizing push is the largest single-day total for new stores publicly joining the campaign, surpassing Jan. 31, 2022, when organizing committees at 14 stores went public in a single day. A Starbucks spokesperson said the company wants to reach contracts at all organized stores this year. The one-day organizing spree is likely meant to increase pressure on Starbucks during negotiations by showing the union can organize large numbers of new workers, even after years of attritional battles between workers and management. The 21 stores represent about 4 percent of the total number of Starbucks cafes with public union activity, based on NLRB records. As of Feb. 9, 482 stores had filed for union elections and the union had secured victory in 386locations, or 84 percent of the 459 elections in which the NLRB has certified a result. More details.
Alcohol
Indiana – Senate-approved legislation advanced out of the house allowing 18-year old’s to ring-up alcohol sales and serve alcoholic beverages. The final bill was amended in the house and now must go back to the senate for adoption. More details.
New York – Embedded in the governor’s budget proposal unveiled this week is a provision to make permanent the law permitting cocktails to-go. The current provision is set to expire in April 2025. The original pandemic-era law was set to expire in 2021 but when Gov. Hochul took office, she extended that to the current 2025 date and now is working to remove any sunset language. More details.
Virginia – Legislation is on its way to the governor’s desk making permanent the current law allowing for cocktails to go and home delivery of alcohol. The governor is expected to sign it. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 23 states as well as the District of Columbia, have enacted laws to permanently allow cocktails to-go, and nine other states have enacted laws that allow cocktails to-go on a temporary basis. More details.
Delivery
Florida – Legislation is headed to the senate floor that requires delivery platforms to obtain written or electronic consent of restaurants before advertising them or picking up orders. If passed, the platforms are also required to remove restaurants within 10 days of a request, and they also can not intentionally inflate or deflate restaurant pricing. Delivery platforms would also be required to itemize costs for their customers. Additionally, customers also would have unlimited rights to appeal disputed orders and transactions under this legislation. The legislation also includes preemption language prohibiting local governments from regulating the platforms. More details.
Key Takeaways
- The NLRB’s finding this week that Home Depot violated federal labor law when they disciplined an employee for adding a Black Lives Matter insignia to their uniform is important. Not only is this body of law constantly in motion making it exceedingly difficult for companies to properly train managers in this space, with a contentious national election in a few months, tensions will be heightened. Brands should be reviewing their internal policies to ensure all their employees – management and staff – are not only clear on corporate policy but in compliance with the law.