Wages
Missouri – The state supreme court heard oral arguments asking the courts to nullify the voter-approved, new minimum wage and paid leave mandate in the state. The lawsuit, filed by the state chamber of commerce and other business groups including the Missouri Restaurant Association, argue the election results in support of the recent ballot measure to increase the minimum wage must be set aside because its fiscal note summary is “insufficient and unfair.” The suit goes on to say that “Proposition A will impose two new and separate requirements on Missouri employers: a minimum wage increase and an entirely new paid sick leave requirement with extensive governmental oversight and enforcement.” The law as passed by the voters goes into effect May 1 and the court has until then to render a decision. More details.
Paid Leave
New Mexico – A senate committee advanced house-passed legislation to mandate paid family and medical leave for businesses with five or more employees. If passed, the bill would provide benefits for workers to take paid leave in the event of the birth of a new child, families preparing for a spouse in the military, medical reasons, and protecting employees experiencing domestic violence. The bill would further require all workers and employers to pay into a state fund, with employees contributing .2 percent of their wages and employers paying .15 percent of each employee’s wages. The bill has another committee stop on its way to the floor. More details.
Labor Policy
Labor Department – The U.S. Senate confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer 67-32 to lead the agency. More than a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in backing the former House lawmaker, who garnered support from some labor union leaders and business groups. Her path to confirmation was rockier than initially anticipated as she was one of only a few House Republicans to sponsor the union-backed suite of labor law reforms known as the PRO Act — a stance that several conservatives, like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), questioned during her confirmation hearing. Her first order of business will be meeting a deadline this week for all agencies to submit plans for “large-scale reductions in force” requested by the administration. More details.
NLRB – Fired National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gywnne Wilcox returned to work this week giving the Board the necessary quorum to render decisions. When Wilcox was absent from the Board, it lacked the necessary three-member quorum to make decisions and thus nothing was promulgated between Jan. 28 and Mar. 10. The Board began issuing decisions this week. Although the Board can now function again with a quorum, those decisions remain subject to appeal in circuit courts. An employer intent on avoiding compliance with a Board order could appeal, arguing that the order is illegal because Wilcox is not a valid Board member. While most circuit courts—outside of the Fifth Circuit—are likely to reject that argument and enforce the order, employers could then petition the U.S. Supreme Court. This would allow them to delay enforcement until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the NLRA’s removal protections for Board members and, by extension, Wilcox’s status as a valid Board member. If the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rules that the NLRA’s removal protections are unconstitutional and that Trump had the authority to remove Wilcox, then all NLRB decisions involving Wilcox issued after her reinstatement would be rendered invalid. More details.
Colorado – A house committee advanced senate-passed legislation that would make it easier to form a union. The legislation seeks to eliminate a second election mandated by Colorado’s Labor Peace Act, a requirement that is unique to Colorado. Federal law allows employees to unionize with a simple majority vote, but they must participate in a second vote with 75 percent approval to determine if workers who don’t support the union have to pay representation fees. The Colorado Labor Peace Act passed in the 1940s, and bill sponsors referred to the provision requiring a second vote as “a relic of the past.” The bill now moves to the Appropriations Committee where it will likely pass and then move to the house floor. More details.
Labor Activism
Starbucks – Ahead of their annual shareholders meeting this week, hundreds of union baristas walked off the job in New York City, Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Louis, and Seattle among others protesting unfair labor practices. Elsewhere, baristas and community allies led a wave of more than 100 grassroots support actions called “sip-ins” at Starbucks locations across the country to show support for union baristas fighting for fair contracts. At actions in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Seattle, 16 were arrested after engaging in peaceful civil disobedience including Michelle Eisen from the first store to unionize in Buffalo as well as current and former baristas, a faith leader, and community allies. More details.
Starbucks – The company must rehire two North Carolina baristas. An NLRB judge ruled that one was illegally fired while the other was unlawfully rejected for a new job. The judge found that violations of federal labor law occurred at stores in Raleigh and Winterville, NC by terminating one employee after a strike and denying a job applicant who supported the work stoppage. The company was ordered to reinstate both workers, provide back pay, and cover losses connected to their terminations. More details.
Waffle House – An NLRB Administrative Law Judge ruled that Waffle House managers in a Columbia, SC restaurant illegally interrogated workers who were delivering a petition to store managers, along with a representative of the SEIU, regarding pay and working conditions. After the union organizer left the premises, managers called the workers involved into a meeting and asked them about their organizing activities. The judge found that the managers illegally asked workers about protected activity, threatened the workers with disciplinary action as well as involving local law enforcement. He ordered Waffle House to cease and desist from interrogating employees about their union sympathies and activities, and to post appropriate notices at all Columbia, South Carolina facilities. More details.
Food Policy
Steak ‘n Shake – Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the company, highlighting the restaurant’s transition from seed oil to beef tallow. The relationship escalated over the weekend when Kennedy traveled to a Steak ‘n Shake in Florida with Fox News host Sean Hannity. The secretary thanked the company for “RFKing” their fries. The company, based in Indiana, has been vocal in its support for the Trump Administration and its priorities, especially in food policy. More details.
Sustainability
California – The governor directed CalRecycle, the agency responsible for executing the state’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, to go back to the drawing board and restart the regulatory process. Concerns from the business community, including the restaurant industry, precipitated the order and it will likely take a year to promulgate new regulations. Newsom signed SB 54 into law in 2022, with an aim of using less plastic and increasing circularity for plastic packaging and food ware. Draft regulations were shared a year ago, followed by public input but the business community felt left out of the process. Industry representatives will have a stronger voice in the new rulemaking process. More details.
Misc.
Minnesota – Voters in a house district at the center of post-election drama over chamber control decisively chose Democrat David Gottfried this week, tying the House and ending a short-lived Republican majority. The Democratic victory will force the two parties to work together on a budget for the next two years. Gottfried earned nearly 70 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Paul Wikstrom, who also ran for the seat in Nov. The special election in the heavily-Democratic district in the northern St. Paul suburbs of Roseville and Shoreview was scheduled after a state court ruled that Democratic winner Curtis Johnson failed to meet residency requirements. That disrupted an expected 67-67 tie in the House and led to the collapse of a power-sharing agreement when Republicans tried to capitalize on their unexpected majority, prompting a three-week Democratic boycott of the chamber. More details.
Starbucks – A California state court jury found the company liable for severe burns a Postmates driver suffered while picking up a drive-through order. The plaintiff, represented by Trial Lawyers for Justice, argued that the barista working the window failed to properly secure one of the hot drinks in the takeout container causing injury to the driver. The jury assigned him no liability in the first phase of the bifurcated trial after 40 minutes of deliberation and will be determining damages to compensate for burns to his thighs and mid-section. More details.
Key Takeaway
- The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement is beginning to gain traction as a political force in its own right. Not only are many states pursuing similar policies for their constituents, the effort is pulling together seemingly disparate political factions under an organized umbrella. Parents opposed to vaccines for children are joining with parents worried about dyes in foods and with others combating obesity, etc. and the list goes on. It would be unwise at this juncture to casually dismiss the MAHA agenda as it continues to unfold and brands need to pay close attention to the grassroots network that is evolving into a powerful political entity.