GRA Weekly

September 26, 2021

This week's newsletter is brought to you by NetTax.

NOT ENOUGH WORKERS

Many metro Atlanta restaurant workers taking jobs in other industries

WSB-TV ATLANTA — It’s a well-known fact that during and after the height of the pandemic, restaurants are struggling to get back on their feet due to a lack of staff. Elijah Jacobs worked through a wild year-and-a-half as a chef at an Atlanta restaurant, but he is now among the latest group of people to leave the industry.

Karen Bremer, the CEO of the Georgia Restaurant Association, says that some workers are leaving to pursue new careers in other fields that are also in desperate need of workers.

FEDERAL UPDATES

Infrastructure Bill Update

The negotiations over the budget reconciliation, the infrastructure bill, the debt ceiling, and avoiding a government shutdown are ongoing and chaotic. The House budget committee announced it will start to piece the budget reconciliation bill together this weekend, but it’s still very unclear how Democratic leaders can assemble a package with enough support to advance unless they significantly reduce the price tag and the tax changes that would pay for it. We continue to monitor this situation closely with our colleagues at the National Restaurant Association and will keep you informed every step of the way.

Immigration Update

Another wrinkle in the budget reconciliation process deals with immigration. We’ve been hopeful that commonsense immigration reforms that can help address workforce shortages throughout the food supply chain will be included in the budget reconciliation. Recently that became less certain because the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the current proposal would be inappropriate in the budget process. We continue to talk to our allies like FWD.us to discuss next steps, and we aren’t giving up hope yet since the Senators are looking for alternative immigration proposals that could be presented to the Parliamentarian and included in the budget bill. More to come as this develops too.

Final Rule on Penalties for Tip Violations

Last week, the US Department of Labor announced publication of a final rule on penalties for tip violations. The final rule restores the department’s ability to assess penalties of up to $1,100 per violation against employers who take tips earned by their employees, regardless of whether the violations are repeated or willful. This final rule also clarifies that while managers or supervisors may not receive tips from mandatory tip pools, managers and supervisors are not prohibited from contributing tips to eligible employees in pools. The final rule becomes effective in November. Read More.

Union Files Lawsuit to Overturn NLRB Joint Employer Regulation

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed a lawsuit Friday against a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regulation handed down in 2020—and supported by the Association—that updated standards for establishing joint employer status. SEIU argues that the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by preventing the NLRB from considering an entity’s right to control employees’ work and excluding health and safety matters from the set of employment conditions over which an entity that exercises control must bargain. It’s presumed that SEIU waited to file the lawsuit until there was a Democratic majority on the NLRB.

National Restaurant Association Opposes Congressional Efforts to Increase Corporate, Individual Taxes

Congressional tax writers are considering a number of tax increases in the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill that is anticipated to make its way to the House Budget Committee in the coming weeks. Our partners at the National Restaurant Association have been working with moderate members of Congress who will play a critical role in passing the bill, to educate them on the detrimental impact tax increases would have on the restaurant industry still struggling to recover from the pandemic. In a letter to House Ways and Means Committee leaders, the Association outlined it's opposition.

NEW: Tax Policy Tracker

Congress is advancing new "revenue raising" tax policies to finance its budget/infrastructure plan To follow the moving pieces, download the newest Tax Policy Tracker to see whether these policies will affect your restaurant.

Clarification, Enforcement Sought on Card-Not-Present Transactions, Competitive Routing Regulation

With card-not-present (CNP) transactions gaining popularity during the pandemic through mobile apps, online ordering, third-party delivery, and contactless curbside pickup, confusion has loomed over rules governing CNP transactions. As a result, restaurants are paying even higher interchange fees than normal. The Association recently filed comments with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on a notice of proposed rule-making pertaining to Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing. In the comments, the Association sought clarification on CNP transactions and urged the Federal Reserve to better enforce legal requirements that banks and card networks offer competitive rates to restaurants and other merchants when fulfilling debit card transactions. Additionally, the Association requested the Federal Reserve lower the regulated debit rate—one of the top annual expenditures for restaurants—from its current average of $0.24 per transaction.

GRA FOUNDATION GOLF TOURNAMENT

Join us on October 25th at The Standard Club for the 1st Annual GRA Foundation Golf Tournament. Have fun, network and perfect your chip shot as we take to the golf course to raise funds for the GRA Foundation, the only 501(c)3 non-profit foodservice foundation dedicated to investing in our youth and workforce in Georgia. Your participation will help support ProStart® and enrichment opportunities like mentorships, job-training, training for teachers, and scholarships. Learn More.

Monday, October 25, 2021

The Standard Club

IMPORTANT STATE UPDATES

Georgia Department of Revenue: New Instructions for the Issuance of Alcohol and Tobacco Licenses

Effective with the 2022 renewal season and beginning September 1, 2021, the Department of Revenue will no longer issue and print alcohol or tobacco licenses on color bonded certificate paper containing a watermark. Additionally, the Department will not provide a license pick-up service or mail licenses to licensees. All alcohol and tobacco licenses will be available for viewing through the Georgia Tax Center (GTC) and must be printed by the licensee. Learn how to print an alcohol or tobacco license.

NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY MONTH

National Food Safety Month | Week 5

The way restaurants are cleaned and kept safe hasn’t changed, but it’s become more important that your guests know that you know, and that their safety will be held to the highest standard. For National Food Safety Month 2021, the GRA, the National Restaurant Association, and ServSafe will focus on Cleaning and Sanitizing with their theme Know Safe & Show Safe. Follow along on social with #NFSM2021 or visit Food Safety Focus for access to free educational content all month long.

Enjoy a 20% discount on ServSafe products all month long using code ServSafe20.

GRA + FRLA EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR

Macro Economic Insights

Please join us Thursday, October 7th at 2:00PM, for a GRA + FRLA Exclusive Webinar: Macro Economic Insights, presented by Carlos Herrera, Chief Economist for Coca-Cola’s North America Operating Unit, and member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) Board of Directors. Dial-in or watch live via Zoom to gain greater visibility of ‘what’s to come’ through a deeper understanding of the foodservice industry from an economic perspective. Space will be limited to foodservice and hospitality operators only.

Thursday, October 7th | 2:00PM - 3:00PM

SECOND CHANCE HIRING

What to Know About Second Chance Hiring and Why It Could Help Solve Your Labor Problems

CO-by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - There’s a massive pool of untapped talent that small businesses can benefit from using second chance hiring. Here’s how to do it.

Second chance hiring is the practice of hiring individuals with a criminal record. Second chance hiring is not only altruistic, but it also taps into a massive source of talent that many businesses can benefit from. There are an estimated 70 million Americans with arrest or conviction records that create significant barriers to reintegration into society.

The more-than-600,000 citizens who return from prison each year offer talent, loyalty and motivation that big enterprises have begun to discover. Brands like Walmart, Starbucks and Home Depot have updated their hiring practices to include people with criminal records. A recent op-ed by Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Company, recognized the value that this labor group has to offer.

EIDL ADVANCE

REMINDER! EIDL DEADLINE: December 31, 2021

The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relief to businesses that experienced a temporary loss of revenue due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). If your business was impacted by COVID-19 and you have not applied for an SBA COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), consider applying because the deadline is fast approaching. In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, small business owners, including agricultural businesses, and nonprofit organizations in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories can apply for a COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

RESTAURANT LAW CENTER

On September 14, the Restaurant Law Center (RLC) made oral arguments in Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc., before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. White Castle appealed the decision of a district court which found that each fingerprint scan used to punch-in and out of work constituted both an illegal collection and disclosure of the employees’ biometrics (i.e., fingerprints) in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

The RLC and the Retail Litigation Center filed a brief in support of White Castle, asking the Seventh Circuit to reverse the lower court’s decision because the district court’s reading of BIPA was flawed, conflicts with the language and purpose of the statute, harms employers and employees alike, leads to extreme and absurd results, and raises significant due process concerns by creating penalties far beyond any identified harm.

ARE YOU LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE?

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