Wages
Massachusetts – Union-backed legislation has been introduced in an attempt to establish worker protections for rideshare drivers, including a guaranteed minimum wage, paid sick time, unemployment insurance, discrimination protection, and collective bargaining rights. The legislation is very similar to the FAST Act in many respects. In effect, it sidesteps an ongoing fight as to whether or not drivers are employees or independent contractors and seeks to set up what some would characterize as a sectoral bargaining regime. The bill does not require that drivers complete any minimum number of hours to qualify for a wage floor, workers compensation, or discrimination protection. Some hour limits might come into play for benefits such as health care once those have been settled via the collective bargaining system that the bill intends to create. The bill is a priority for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and has a good chance of passage. More details.
Michigan – A three judge appeals court panel reversed a lower court decision, preventing pending minimum wage and paid leave laws from going into effect Feb. 19. The hourly minimum wage was set to rise to $13.03/hr (the server wage to $11.73/hr). The ruling likely sets up a battle at the state supreme court between advocates who pushed for the wage and sick time changes and state attorneys. The panel ruled that the legislature, controlled by Republicans at the time, did have the constitutional authority in 2018 to adopt a pair of petition initiatives and amend their respective policies, instead of having the initiatives go to the ballot that Nov. In the decision, the court wrote there is no explicit language in the constitution banning the legislature from adopting laws initially brought forward by petition initiative and amending those laws in the same legislative session. For now, Michigan’s minimum wage will remain at $10.10/hr with the tipped minimum wage remaining at $3.84/hr. More details.
New Mexico – A house committee advanced legislation requiring annual increases in the minimum wage be tied to inflation. The inflation-related adjustments would take effect every Jan. starting next year and could boost the minimum wage to $15.55/hr by 2034. The measure was approved on a party-line vote. The committee is still debating another proposal that would increase the minimum wage to $13.50/hr starting in 2024, then again to $15.50/hr in 2025, with future increases tied to inflation. More details.
Virginia – A house subcommittee voted to recommend approval of a bill that would require employers to pay employees younger than 18 no less than the greater of $9/hr or the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25/hr. The current minimum wage in the state is $12/hr. It is unclear if the legislation is viable in the Democratically-controlled senate. More details.
Walmart – The company announced it is raising its minimum wage for store employees to $14/hr, representing a roughly 17 percent jump. As of March, the retailer’s average wage in the U.S. is expected to be more than $17.50/hr. In addition, the company is adding more college degrees and certificates to its Live Better U program, which covers tuition and fees for part and full-time workers. It is also creating more high-paid roles at its auto care centers and recruiting employees to become truck drivers, a job that can pay up to $110,000 in the first year. More details.
Paid Leave
Minnesota – A house committee advanced a measure on a party-line vote that would give workers up to 12 weeks paid family leave and up to an additional 12 weeks paid sick leave. Additionally, similar language is being inserted into the state budget proposal. More details.
Labor Policy
Labor Department – President Biden renominated Jessica Looman to be the Administrator of the Wage & Hour Division (WHD). Looman has served as the acting chief since the nomination of David Weil failed to win U.S. Senate confirmation but her formal nomination languished in the last Congress and was never acted upon. While still very pro-labor, she is seen as much more pragmatic than Weil and the broader business community, including the National Restaurant Association and the International Franchise Association, which has not been hostile to her nomination. In a related story, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said in an interview this week that his agency needs additional funding and cited the need for more wage theft auditors as the primary reason. More details.
Virginia – Legislation similar to California’s FAST Act was introduced in the house. The sponsor, a first-term delegate and longtime community activist is a self-described progressive and friend of the labor community. The bill calls for a Fast Food Industry Workers Standard Board that would have the power to dictate wages, benefits, schedules, and other standards for the quick service sector and allow for the establishment of local boards as well. Given the political dynamics of Virginia with Republicans controlling the House of Delegates and the Governor’s mansion, the bill has limited chances for passage but is indicative of the pressure the labor community will be exerting in statehouses across the country. More details.
Starbucks – Sen. Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, announced that he is considering calling Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to testify before his committee. The announcement came after baristas in 60 locations walked out for a three-day strike last month. This follows a letter Sanders sent to Schultz in Oct. describing his, “grave concern about reports that Starbucks is engaging in illegal union-busting tactics in an attempt to intimidate its employees and dissuade them from organizing and joining unions” and called out the company for its “unethical and unlawful anti-union activities.” More details.
Sustainability
Connecticut – The governor announced his intent to introduce waste and recycling legislation meant to decrease a reliance on shipping waste out of state. During a press conference, Gov. Lamont stated he will back an extended producer responsibility bill and propose changes to the state’s organics reuse and diversion programs. Lamont’s EPR proposal would require packaging producers to take responsibility for their products at end of life. Legislation is expected to be introduced in Feb. More details.
New York, NY – The mayor’s office indicated that he is likely to sign recently-passed legislation prohibiting takeout and delivery services from including certain single-use food ware items unless requested. The bill prohibits items like plastic utensils, condiment packets, extra containers, and napkins from being automatically included in takeout and delivery orders. If signed into law, food service establishments could face fines between $50 and $250 for not complying. Establishments that fill orders through a third-party food delivery service can appeal penalties if they offer evidence they believed the platform was complying with the ban. The law would also include a warning period through July 1, 2024 before fully going into effect. More details.
Key Takeaways
- The introduction of two bills should shatter any illusions that sectoral bargaining (as envisioned by the SEIU) will be limited to the QSR industry or to the state of California. In Massachusetts the SEIU is pursuing a FAST Act-like regulatory regime for rideshare drivers after years of effort to replicate California’s AB-5 have failed. Additionally, a lawmaker in Virginia has introduced a copycat FAST Act bill. While neither pose a serious threat to the industry (for different reasons), both indicate that this issue isn’t going away anytime soon and there is an opportunity to build broader business community coalitions on the issue.
- The costs associated with aggressive advocacy were on full display this week as many of the industry’s largest donors to the Save our Local Restaurants effort in California were the subject of numerous articles in national publications. With the unprecedented attack on the industry over the last few years – the assault on the franchise business model, historic levels of unionization campaigns, and now an orchestrated attack on ServSafe and the NRA – brands will be forced, albeit reluctantly, to engage at a high level to protect their models and their brands. As a result, they will have to become more comfortable with the public relations bruises that effort will elicit.
- The ramifications from the New York Times piece detailing the relationship between the National Restaurant Association and the ServeSafe program continue to emerge. This week, in solidarity with the labor community activists attacking the industry, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that he will no longer accept political contributions from the NRA. This is a significant development and if a harbinger of things to come, could undermine the strong bipartisan support the industry found in its COVID-19 recovery efforts.
Podcast
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