Uncategorized

As part of its campaign to organize restaurant workers, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has taken direct aim at the franchise business model. This year, the union is endorsing AB1228, California legislation that would force countless franchisees in the state to close their doors or cut jobs. The…

Pushes to raise minimum wages are popping up across the country – with inflationary increases as high as $19.08 per hour in West Hollywood, CA starting on July 1 and proposals for as much as $30 hourly minimum wages in places like Los Angeles. These efforts are capped by recent…

In the California Assembly’s Appropriations Committee earlier this month, legislators heard testimony for and against AB 1228 – a bill entitled the Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act – which would target franchised fast food restaurants statewide by making small business owner franchisees and larger corporate brands jointly liable for…

This week, Washington, D.C. implemented its first of several tipped minimum wage hikes that will eliminate the city’s tip credit entirely by 2027. The May 1 increase raised the tipped minimum wage from $5.35 per hour to $6 per hour, but will increase again on July 1 to $8 per…

Last year, voters submitted over a million signatures to delay the implementation of AB 257, the FAST Recovery Act, when data showed the state’s fast food industry was being unfairly targeted. The bill sought to install an unelected regulatory council to set workplace standards such as hours and wages for…

As New York has diminished its tip credit and raised regular and tipped minimum wages over the last several years, the state’s full-service restaurant industry, which employs the majority of tipped workers, has experienced declines in both annual employment and annual establishment growth. New York has the smallest tip credit…

After newly-elected Governor Josh Shapiro raised the issue in his budget address, some are renewing efforts to enact a $15 minimum wage in Pennsylvania. Activists and lawmakers have tried to push the Fight for $15 for years in the Commonwealth, but have been blocked by concerns over…

As the debate over how high minimum wages should reach continues, eyes are on New York as progressive lawmakers push for a forty percent statutory increase to $20 per hour before tying the rate to inflation. Proponents of the bill argue that New York’s minimum wage has fallen behind inflation…

As state legislatures spring into action, several bills across the country are targeting tip credits that allow restaurant employers to count tips toward the regular minimum wage requirement. This is part of a larger campaign by union activists at Restaurant Opportunities Center-affiliated One Fair Wage – pledging a $25 million…

Proponents of eliminating state tip credits mislead workers and lawmakers by arguing that doing so won’t hurt their tips. New data from point-of-sale tech giant Toast tells a different story. Seven states, as well as the District of Columbia, have enacted no-tip credit laws, meaning restaurants and bars are…