Regulatory Wrap-Up: ADA reform, trade back in the spotlight
Wages
Arizona: On a party line vote, a senate committee advanced legislation that would alter a 2016 voter-approved initiative which increased the state’s minimum wage to $12 per hour and mandated employers provide paid leave. Should the new legislation pass, which is an uphill climb, it would then be placed on the November ballot. If approved by the voters, it would cap the scheduled minimum wage increases at $10 per hour and repeal the paid leave mandate.
Delaware: After failing to advance legislation over the past few sessions, minimum wage proponents revised their legislation this year to a more modest increase, $9.25 per hour (up from the current $8.25 per hour) with no cost-of-living adjustments. The bill may have a decent chance of passage in the senate but may face resistance in the house.
New Hampshire: Legislation to increase the minimum wage to $12 per hour was defeated in the state senate.
Vermont: By a veto-proof majority, the full senate passed legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024. The bill now moves to the house. However, Gov. Phil Scott has publicly stated his opposition to the bill, citing the negative impact on small businesses. As a result, the legislation likely needs to pass the house by a similar veto-proof majority to become law.
Virginia: A bill allowing localities to set minimum wages higher than the state level, currently $7.25 per hour, was defeated in the house and is dead for the year. The state constitution has an implied preemption, but it has yet to be tested.
West Virginia: A bill preempting local governments from enacting a variety of ordinances including those related to wages, leave benefits, and scheduling passed the senate and moves to the house. A similar bill passed the senate last year but died in the house due to a singular focus on a medical marijuana bill. Proponents are optimistic that without a similar distraction this cycle, the bill will be passed on to the governor for signature.
Flagstaff, Ariz.: The city’s chamber of commerce was successful in getting an initiative approved for the Nov. ballot that would bring the city’s scheduled wage increase in line with the statewide level. The state's minimum wage is currently $10 per hour and scheduled to increase to $12 per hour in 2020, with further increases linked to cost of living adjustments. The local initiative would reverse a city law passed last year which set the city increases fifty cents ahead of the state’s.
Paid Leave
Federal: For the second year in a row, President Trump’s budget included a call for six weeks of paid family leave funded through state unemployment insurance programs. The funding mechanism is different from a recent proposal by first daughter Ivanka Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio calling for early withdrawals from social security funds. While that concept has gained some traction in Republican circles, it along with the budget proposal are not likely to be implemented in the near future.
Maryland: Legislative efforts to delay implementation of the state’s new paid leave law have failed. The law went into effect Feb. 11. While the state’s labor department stated that enforcement is unlikely until the spring, employers should comply with the new law now.
Vermont: House leaders are pressuring the senate to take up a paid leave bill that passed the lower chamber last year. The bill would create an insurance program funded by a payroll tax paid by participating employees. It would provide up to six weeks off to care for a newborn or ill family members and would apply to businesses with more than ten employees. Last year Gov. Phil Scott vowed to veto any paid leave bill that required a tax increase.
Austin, Texas: The city council passed an ordinance mandating employers provide up to eight days of paid leave to their employees. The ordinance is effective Oct. 2018 and applies to all businesses with operations in the city. Smaller businesses with 15 or fewer employees will be required to provide only six days of paid leave. State Rep. Paul Workman (R-Austin) has vowed to file a statewide preemption bill when the state assembly convenes in 2019 setting up a potential overturn of the city law, but not before it goes into effect this October.
Scheduling
Hawaii: Scheduling legislation that would mandate employers provide ten days advance notice to employees of work schedules passed a senate committee. For context, the legislature has taken action on other progressive issues such as salary history and equal pay leading most to believe that the scheduling legislation has a strong chance of passage.
Philadelphia, Pa.: Labor advocates, led by the organization OnePA, held a rally in front of city hall and announced a campaign in support of a Fair Work Week law for city employees. Councilwoman Helen Gym has called for hearings on the issue but has not yet introduced legislation.
Immigration
California: The attorney general’s office released a guidance document advising how employers should handle privacy issues that result from the new state law preventing employers from voluntarily allowing federal immigration officials access to employment records. The guidance document specifies the meaning of “voluntary consent,” and outlines what specific records they are able to share with law enforcement in the absence of a warrant.
ADA Reform
U.S. House: Legislation passed the full House to protect businesses from excessive litigation for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill has advanced further than in previous sessions but has a long path to enactment.
McDonald’s: The company faces a class action Americans with Disabilities Act claim in Illinois Federal Court stemming from allegations that visually-impaired customers are prevented access to the restaurant when only its drive thru is open late at night.
Trade
Federal: The Commerce Department released a report recommending that the President take action to protect domestic steel and aluminum producers in the form of high import taxes on foreign-made material. The President has 90 days to act, and while the administration has taken similar action on washing machines and solar panels, tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would have a vastly wider effect on the general economy and global supply chain. Trading partners including Canada have noted the need for robust exemptions to be considered, while countries such as China have threatened trade retaliation if steep tariffs are implemented.
Key Takeaways
Legislature Status for Week of 2/20/18
Podcast
Check out our Working Lunch podcast each week that includes further analysis into these legislative issues, policy, politics and much more. You can find Working Lunch on the Nation's Restaurant News website, or by clicking here, and when you download the podcast and subscribe on iTunes here.
Arizona: On a party line vote, a senate committee advanced legislation that would alter a 2016 voter-approved initiative which increased the state’s minimum wage to $12 per hour and mandated employers provide paid leave. Should the new legislation pass, which is an uphill climb, it would then be placed on the November ballot. If approved by the voters, it would cap the scheduled minimum wage increases at $10 per hour and repeal the paid leave mandate.
Delaware: After failing to advance legislation over the past few sessions, minimum wage proponents revised their legislation this year to a more modest increase, $9.25 per hour (up from the current $8.25 per hour) with no cost-of-living adjustments. The bill may have a decent chance of passage in the senate but may face resistance in the house.
New Hampshire: Legislation to increase the minimum wage to $12 per hour was defeated in the state senate.
Vermont: By a veto-proof majority, the full senate passed legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024. The bill now moves to the house. However, Gov. Phil Scott has publicly stated his opposition to the bill, citing the negative impact on small businesses. As a result, the legislation likely needs to pass the house by a similar veto-proof majority to become law.
Virginia: A bill allowing localities to set minimum wages higher than the state level, currently $7.25 per hour, was defeated in the house and is dead for the year. The state constitution has an implied preemption, but it has yet to be tested.
West Virginia: A bill preempting local governments from enacting a variety of ordinances including those related to wages, leave benefits, and scheduling passed the senate and moves to the house. A similar bill passed the senate last year but died in the house due to a singular focus on a medical marijuana bill. Proponents are optimistic that without a similar distraction this cycle, the bill will be passed on to the governor for signature.
Flagstaff, Ariz.: The city’s chamber of commerce was successful in getting an initiative approved for the Nov. ballot that would bring the city’s scheduled wage increase in line with the statewide level. The state's minimum wage is currently $10 per hour and scheduled to increase to $12 per hour in 2020, with further increases linked to cost of living adjustments. The local initiative would reverse a city law passed last year which set the city increases fifty cents ahead of the state’s.
Paid Leave
Federal: For the second year in a row, President Trump’s budget included a call for six weeks of paid family leave funded through state unemployment insurance programs. The funding mechanism is different from a recent proposal by first daughter Ivanka Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio calling for early withdrawals from social security funds. While that concept has gained some traction in Republican circles, it along with the budget proposal are not likely to be implemented in the near future.
Maryland: Legislative efforts to delay implementation of the state’s new paid leave law have failed. The law went into effect Feb. 11. While the state’s labor department stated that enforcement is unlikely until the spring, employers should comply with the new law now.
Vermont: House leaders are pressuring the senate to take up a paid leave bill that passed the lower chamber last year. The bill would create an insurance program funded by a payroll tax paid by participating employees. It would provide up to six weeks off to care for a newborn or ill family members and would apply to businesses with more than ten employees. Last year Gov. Phil Scott vowed to veto any paid leave bill that required a tax increase.
Austin, Texas: The city council passed an ordinance mandating employers provide up to eight days of paid leave to their employees. The ordinance is effective Oct. 2018 and applies to all businesses with operations in the city. Smaller businesses with 15 or fewer employees will be required to provide only six days of paid leave. State Rep. Paul Workman (R-Austin) has vowed to file a statewide preemption bill when the state assembly convenes in 2019 setting up a potential overturn of the city law, but not before it goes into effect this October.
Scheduling
Hawaii: Scheduling legislation that would mandate employers provide ten days advance notice to employees of work schedules passed a senate committee. For context, the legislature has taken action on other progressive issues such as salary history and equal pay leading most to believe that the scheduling legislation has a strong chance of passage.
Philadelphia, Pa.: Labor advocates, led by the organization OnePA, held a rally in front of city hall and announced a campaign in support of a Fair Work Week law for city employees. Councilwoman Helen Gym has called for hearings on the issue but has not yet introduced legislation.
Immigration
California: The attorney general’s office released a guidance document advising how employers should handle privacy issues that result from the new state law preventing employers from voluntarily allowing federal immigration officials access to employment records. The guidance document specifies the meaning of “voluntary consent,” and outlines what specific records they are able to share with law enforcement in the absence of a warrant.
ADA Reform
U.S. House: Legislation passed the full House to protect businesses from excessive litigation for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill has advanced further than in previous sessions but has a long path to enactment.
McDonald’s: The company faces a class action Americans with Disabilities Act claim in Illinois Federal Court stemming from allegations that visually-impaired customers are prevented access to the restaurant when only its drive thru is open late at night.
Trade
Federal: The Commerce Department released a report recommending that the President take action to protect domestic steel and aluminum producers in the form of high import taxes on foreign-made material. The President has 90 days to act, and while the administration has taken similar action on washing machines and solar panels, tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would have a vastly wider effect on the general economy and global supply chain. Trading partners including Canada have noted the need for robust exemptions to be considered, while countries such as China have threatened trade retaliation if steep tariffs are implemented.
Key Takeaways
- Recent ICE raids in California included audits of nearly 200 employers that were located in “sanctuary cities” and demonstrate that brands may continue to be collateral damage in immigration-related feuds between federal and state lawmakers. ICE announced that “uncooperative jurisdictions” will continue to be target areas for the agency and employers can expect to be caught up in enforcement actions. Companies with operations in large “blue” metropolitan areas in “blue” states should be particularly vigilant.
- Many states are continuing to react to the recently-passed federal tax law to recoup expected losses in revenue. This week, New York Governor Cuomo released a plan that as expected, called for some potential adjustments to the payroll tax and employment-related tax credits. Companies need to be vigilant as many large states will be looking for additional monies.
Legislature Status for Week of 2/20/18
- The United States Senate is on recess this week
- The United States House is on recess this week
- Forty-four state legislatures are meeting actively this week: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Podcast
Check out our Working Lunch podcast each week that includes further analysis into these legislative issues, policy, politics and much more. You can find Working Lunch on the Nation's Restaurant News website, or by clicking here, and when you download the podcast and subscribe on iTunes here.
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