Elections
Seattle, WA – Progressive activist challenger Katie Wilson has officially unseated incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell after the latest count of mail-in ballots. Harrell took an early lead following last Tuesday’s election and was 10,000 votes ahead after the first ballot drop. However, Wilson gained ground during successive ballot drops, something her campaign anticipated. The gap is too large to trigger an automatic recount; however, Harrell’s campaign can still request one, but the cost would fall to the campaign. More details.
Wages
Treasury Department – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it will provide penalty relief for taxable year 2025 related to the implementation of new reporting requirements for qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation deductions. Additional guidance that addresses how individual taxpayers can claim the deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation when they file their taxable year 2025 returns is forthcoming, according to the agency. Employers and other payors still must meet their current obligation to furnish and file information returns (Forms W-2 or 1099). As a result, employers will not face penalties for failing to provide an accounting of any amounts reasonably designated as cash tips or the occupation of the person receiving such tips. In addition, employers will not face penalties for failing to provide a report of the total amount of qualified overtime compensation paid to an employee. The relief is limited to tax year 2025 and applies only to the extent that the reporting party otherwise files and provides a complete and correct return or statement. More details.
Maryland – One Fair Wage launched a signature drive to place a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot that would set the state’s minimum wage at $25/hr and eliminate the tip credit. The Maryland ballot process is fairly byzantine, and the legislature would have to approve any measure (by a 3/5 majority) before it can go before the voters, a tall task considering that One Fair Wage initiatives have been thwarted in the last two legislative sessions. In 2024, the governor pursued legislation to index the minimum wage to inflation after it reached $15.50/hr but that bill failed as did an effort by One Fair Wage to raise the minimum wage to $20/hr by 2030 and eliminate the tip credit. Organizers plan to target urban centers like Baltimore and suburban areas including Prince George’s County. More details.
Santa Fe, NM – The city council passed an ordinance to increase the minimum wage to $17.50/hr effective Jan.1, 2027. The current wage is $15/hr with a $3/hr tipped wage. The issue was prominent in last week’s election as the primary sponsor, Councilman Michael Garcia was elected as the city’s next mayor. More details.
Labor Policy
U.S Senate – Republicans on the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee unveiled a slate of bills aimed at raising the bar for filing grievances with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), aligning agency rulings with legal precedent and imposing stricter transparency rules on unions. Included in the large packet of bills is legislation requiring all union elections to be conducted by secret ballot and mandate participation from at least two-thirds of a bargaining unit for certification – a higher threshold than current NLRB rules, which only require a simple majority. An additional bill would heighten evidence and documentation requirements for filing unfair labor practice claims at the NLRB and another bill would require unions to proactively inform members of their right to opt out of dues used for political or nonrepresentational purposes, building on rights established under the Supreme Court’s Beck decision. Unions would also need to obtain annual written consent before spending member funds on non-bargaining activities. No votes were taken and formal hearings on the bills will be forthcoming. More details.
Ohio – Two bills are on their way to the governor that would extend allowable working hours for 14- and 15-year-olds. The first bill would allow those minors to work until 9:00 PM instead of the current 7:00 PM. Because the federal Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits workers under 16-years of age from working past 7:00 PM except on summer breaks and holidays, the second bill is a concurrent resolution asking Congress to amend the FLSA accordingly. More details.
Labor Activism
Las Vegas, NV – About 400 workers across 20 restaurant and retail brands have set a strike date of Nov. 14 if their contract demands are not met. The workers are being represented by the Culinary Workers Union. While most airport workers under HMSHost have contracts with better wages and benefits, the union says employers operating under the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program lag behind in pay, health care, and pension contributions. Despite a 2024 court ruling that found that these businesses are in fact not disadvantaged, their pay and benefits continue to lag. Brands involved include Wendy’s, Jamba Juice, and Jersey Mike’s among others. Possible worker actions may range from targeted walkouts to a complete work stoppage during the busy upcoming travel season. More details.
Starbucks – Starbucks Workers United launched a strike in at least 40 cities and 65 stores on the day of the chain’s Red Cup Day sales event. The open-ended strike, which started with about 1,000 baristas and will expand in the coming days, is intended to disrupt Starbucks’ operations over the holiday season. The union and the coffee giant have blamed the other side for failure to reach a collective bargaining agreement. Last week, union members voted to approve a strike across the country unless a contract agreement was reached. The union has cited the large gap in CEO-to-worker pay in their contract demands. In a related note, 26 U.S. Senators and 82 U.S. House Representatives signed a letter to the company urging the company and its CEO Brian Niccol to “stop its illegal union-busting campaign and negotiate a fair contract with its workers.” More details.
Interchange Fees
Visa and Mastercard – The companies announced a revised $38 billion settlement with merchants who accused the card networks of charging too much to accept their credit cards, hoping to satisfy a judge who rejected a smaller accord as inadequate. The settlement would end 20 years of litigation in which businesses accused Visa, Mastercard, and banks of conspiring to violate U.S. antitrust laws, including through the card networks’ collection of “swipe fees.” The latest proposed settlement is very similar to the settlement offered by the credit card industry in June 2024, which was rejected by U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie at the preliminary stage, an extremely unusual practice that is applied when a settlement lacks sufficient merit to even consider public comments. Today’s settlement offer is the third one proposed by the credit card industry stemming from a 2005 class-action lawsuit alleging that Visa and Mastercard, which control more than 80 percent of the credit card market, violate federal antitrust law by centrally price-fixing swipe fees charged by banks that issue cards under their brands and organizing these banks into a cartel structure. Both of the prior proposed settlements were rejected by the courts. The Merchants Payment Coalition, of which the National Restaurant Association is a leading member, has called for this settlement to be rejected as well. More details.
Food Policy
U.S. Congress – The stopgap funding bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump included language that will ban nearly all hemp-derived products, including hemp beverages. The effective date is a year away, giving time for the market to adjust and Congress to potentially revisit the issue when it takes up the Farm Bill in 2026. The CR language adds various parameters to the definition of hemp, which would prevent “the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, including Delta-8, from being sold online, in gas stations, and corner stores, while preserving non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products.” This is a major shift because the 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent Delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. That definition allowed other intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids—such as Delta-8 and THCA—to enter the market because the statute did not address total THC. As a result, hemp-infused beverages, gummies, and similar products have been widely sold, including in many bars and restaurants. More details.
Key Takeaways
- The CR language, in effect, banning many hemp products is a major setback for the emergent industry just as brew pubs and restaurants in many states have been testing on-premise sales of hemp beverages. These products are now a $4 billion market in the U.S., enjoying a very broad customer base. Unlike other hemp products, low dose beverages have attracted mainstream customers and typically do not draw the ire of policymakers in the same way that other products do. In short, despite the developments this week pathways exist – both at the federal and state level – for the legalization of hemp beverages. Given the broad support and customer base, this is likely to be an issue that draws a lot of attention in 2026.
- A political battle is unfolding in Nevada with tipped workers as a central focal point of the confrontation. State Democrats are trying to erase any perceived political edge that state Republicans have gained over the “no tax on tips” issue. Nevada has nearly double the national rate of tipped workers. Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and with an eye toward some hotly-contested congressional seats in the state, Republicans are spending a great deal of money bashing Democrats who voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill which contained the no-tax provision. Democrats are countering by contending that the cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other programs have more than nullified any minimal gains from the tax measure. Both sides see merit in their positioning meaning the argument is likely to spill out into other states once again putting a key industry business model in the middle of a political food fight. Brands should stay attuned to this going forward.