Wages
Rhode Island – The governor signed “tip protection” legislation that prohibits employers of tipped employees from retaining employee tips, creates new requirements for tip pools, and sets requirements for deductions from tips for credit card processing. The new statute makes clear that tips are the sole property of the tipped employee and employers cannot take “any part” of a tip from an employee. The only exception is for deductions for credit card processing fees, which may be taken from an employee’s tips if the employer notifies the employee of the deduction and the amount does not bring the employee below minimum wage. Tips also must be paid no later than the regular pay day and tips cannot be withheld because the employer is waiting for disbursement from a credit card company. The statute also outlines new requirements for what constitutes a valid tip pool. More details.
Ft. Collins, CO – The city council reviewed a city staff-produced study to raise the local minimum wage to $15/hr. In 2019, the Colorado legislature passed a bill that allows up to 10 percent of communities in the state to set their own rates but requires them to consult with surrounding local governments and engage businesses of various sizes (including those that employ tipped workers) as well as chambers of commerce, workers, labor unions, and community groups. The measure is likely to be formally introduced to the council at its regular meeting on Nov. 15. More details.
Los Angeles, CA – Under pressure from the SEIU, the city council last week voted unanimously to create a new minimum wage of $25/hr for frontline healthcare workers in private facilities. The law exempts county facilities including the hospital at the University of California Las Angeles (UCLA). Workers were also given the ability to pursue private rights of action under the state’s PAGA law. The mayor is expected to sign the legislation and it will likely go into effect before the end of the year. In response, this week a group representing hospitals and healthcare providers announced that it has filed paperwork with the Los Angeles City Clerk’s office challenging the measure, contending it excludes workers at more than 90 percent of healthcare facilities in the city, calling the measure “inequitable and discriminatory.” The group is looking to force a referendum that would put the issue before voters. More details.
Paid Leave
U.S. Senate – Last week, we reported that during a television interview South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, she signaled her support for the legislature to pursue a statewide paid family leave law. Her comments came in response to questions regarding her support for banning abortion in the state and she framed those benefits as a necessary support benefit for mothers that see unwanted pregnancies through to fruition. This week, three prominent Republican senators – Thune (SD), Grassley (IA) and Rubio (FL) – echoed those remarks signaling a new line of Republican support and rationale for moving forward on paid leave laws. More details.
Labor Activism
Chipotle – An additional Chipotle unit, this one outside Lansing, MI, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to conduct an organizing election. That group of workers has aligned themselves with the Teamsters. In June, workers at an Augusta, ME unit announced that they intend to form a new union, Chipotle United, the first such unit to take action. Those workers have received assistance from the Maine AFL-CIO. Additionally, sixteen workers filed complaints with the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection last week for firings and hour reductions they believe is retaliation for participation in union drives. More details.
Great Lakes Roasting Coffee Co. – A NLRB Regional Director has cleared about 40 baristas and cooks at a Detroit coffee shop chain to vote on representation by a UNITE HERE local, saying the workers can come together despite shops within the chain having separate franchise operators. The Regional Director held that there is enough overlap among the ownership, management, operation, and financials of the two registered businesses that run the company to make them a single employer for unionization purposes. The director signed off on a vote-by-mail election to take place later this summer with ballots sent out in late July and due back by mid-Aug. The baristas have affiliated with UNITE HERE Local 24. More details.
Starbucks – The company announced the closure of 16 stores citing safety concerns, drug use, and dirty hypodermic needles among the problems. Two of those stores have recently voted for union representation. Workers at another store were in the process of organizing. Starbucks Workers United has characterized the action as retaliatory, filing an unfair labor practice complaint to that effect. To date, 313 stores in 36 states are in the process of holding a union election. 192 units have voted to unionize, 37 having rejected the union, and a handful of outcomes are still undecided. More details.
Key Takeaway
- Activist groups are offering cash rewards to DC bartenders and waitstaff that tipoff protest groups when Supreme Court justices dine in their locations, resulting in a highly-publicized incident where Justice Brett Kavanaugh was targeted at a Morton’s steakhouse. DC operators should be aware of this dynamic but the tactic may also spread to state capitals and other metros as hot button issues like abortion are hardly contained to the beltway.