GRA Weekly

June 29, 2023

This week's newsletter is brought to you by GRA Corporate Partner NCR

BREAKING DOWN TECH SILOS

Why Restaurants Need to Break Down ‘Tech Silos’

Jessica Bryant of NCR talks with Nation’s Restaurant News about how the company is helping restaurants thrive at a time when both “physical and digital boundaries are blurring.” Learn how NCR is helping brands to own both the customer and employee experiences through seamless experiences and unified datasets. Plus, hear why an integrated approach — and avoiding “tech silos” — is key to building an effective tech stack.

Learn more.

GRA ADVOCACY UPDATE

New Laws Go Into Effect

A group of new laws, including a new provision that allows for the retail sale of electricity at electric vehicle charging stations, go into effect on July 1. Also included are laws that expand the limits on truck weights, extend TANF programs to pregnant mothers, and allow employees to take time off to early vote. Learn more.

Restaurants Represented on Senate Workforce Committee

On June 20th, the Senate Study Committee on Expanding Georgia’s Workforce met for the first time to discuss workforce development practices across the state. The first meeting saw testimony from Georgia Power, UPS, and the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association. The committee – chaired by Senator John Albers (R-Roswell) – consists of five state senators, three members of the business community, and representatives from the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Chamber, and the Technical College System of Georgia. Among the business leaders selected to examine Georgia’s growing labor market is restaurateur Ryan Pernice of RO Hospitality in Roswell. The next meeting of the Senate Study Committee on Expanding Georgia’s Workforce will take place on Tuesday, July 25th in Savannah. For more information about the study committee click here.

Georgia Department of Revenue | Sales & Use Tax Rates Effective July 1, 2023

The Georgia Department of Revenue has posted the upcoming quarterly sales and use tax rate changes.

Counties affected include: Taylor, Ware

Please visit the Department’s website to view current, historical, and upcoming sales and use tax rate charts.

FEDERAL UPDATES

NEW POSTER ALERT: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is now in effect

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its “Know Your Rights” poster to address the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is now in effect as of June 27, 2023.Covered employers may post versions of the posters and download them for free from the WHD website:

After June 27 “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster
After June 27 “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster (Spanish)

The EEOC requires that [t]hese posters should be placed in a conspicuous location in the workplace where notices to applicants and employees are customarily posted. In addition to physically posting, covered employers are encouraged to post the notice digitally on their web sites in a conspicuous location. In most cases, electronic posting supplements the physical posting requirement. In some situations (for example, for employers without a physical location or for employees who telework or work remotely and do not visit the employer’s workplace on a regular basis), it may be the only posting.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that notices of Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination be made available in a location that is accessible to applicants and employees with disabilities that limit mobility.

Printed notices should also be made available in an accessible format, as needed, to persons with disabilities that limit the ability to see or read. Notices can be recorded on an audio file, provided in an electronic format that can be utilized by screen-reading technology or read to applicants or employees with disabilities that limit seeing or reading ability. Learn more.

Relevant links:

SERVER GIFTED DREAM CAR

Longtime Ray’s on the River Server Gifted Dream Car to Celebrate Retirement

In an era where the only constant seems to be change in the restaurant industry, Ray's Restaurants has been a reliable pillar of the Atlanta community for almost 40 years. Even more novel is to have a long-term much-beloved employee from the start. Lynne Gomez has been a server at Ray's on the River since August 20, 1985, and retired this month after 38 years.

Gomez has been a server at Ray's throughout her entire career and has grown up with the restaurant. She met her husband at Ray's and even got married at the riverside establishment. She has a long list of regular patrons who ask for her by name and adore her attention to detail and professional service for which Ray's is well known.

To honor Gomez and her decades of service, Ray’s Restaurants generously gifted her with a sporty white Mazda Miata convertible as a parting gift, which delighted and surprised her. "I'm so blown away. This is my dream car and quite an honor," she says. "I'll miss my job and the team here, but I'm looking forward to traveling, fishing and spending time with my family. It's been a great opportunity to work for such an amazing company for 38 years."