GRA Weekly

December 5, 2021

This week's newsletter is brought to you by Gas South.

OSHA VACCINE UPDATE

Comment Period Extended on OSHA Vaccine ETS

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extended the public comment period for the COVID-19 vaccination and testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to Jan. 19, 2022, giving stakeholders an additional 45 days to review the ETS. Comments can be submitted electronically for Docket No. OSHA-2021-0007 through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. While the ETS was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 5, OSHA is not currently implementing or enforcing the ETS due to a court order and pending litigation.

STATE UPDATES

Sales & Use Tax Rate Updates

The Georgia Department of Revenue has posted the upcoming quarterly sales and use tax rate changes (Effective January 1, 2022). Please visit the Department's website to view current, historical, and upcoming sales and use tax rate charts.

CITY OF ATLANTA

City of Atlanta CPA Requirement Update

On Monday, November 29, City Councilmembers Dustin Hillis, Carla Smith, Michael Julian Bond, Amir Farokhi, Cleta Winslow, and Andrea Boone voted to hold legislation that would delay enforcement of requiring a CPA statement certifying sales when renewing alcohol licenses for certain alcohol licensees. As a reminder, the requirement ONLY applies to restaurants who are using the restaurant exemption from distance requirements. As you may know, alcohol establishments are generally required to meet distance requirements (churches, schools, etc.). During an initial alcohol license application, the applicant must generally submit an alcohol survey showing that it meets the distance requirements. Restaurants, however, who agree not to have live entertainment can use an exemption from distance requirements such that the restaurant would not have to submit a survey during the initial application process. The CPA statement requirement applies only to those restaurants that are using the exemption (or, in other words, those restaurants that did not submit an alcohol survey during the initial alcohol license application). Read more information about this HERE.

We recommend that you reach out to your trusted legal and financial advisors about what specific actions your business should take when renewing. We will continue to provide updates as soon as it is available. For any questions you can reach out to our Director of Advocacy, Daniel New.

TIP RULE

DOL Final Rule on Limits for Tipped Employees takes effect December 28

The U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule that places limits on the amount of time tipped employees can work in non-tipped activities when the employer receives a tip credit. Employers can take a tip credit only when a tipped employee is performing tip-producing work, or when the tipped employee performs work that directly supports tip-producing work under the condition that the tipped worker does not spend a substantial amount of time performing tip-supporting work. Under the rule, a “substantial amount of time” is defined as more than 20% of the hours worked during the employee’s workweek or a continuous period of time that exceeds 30 minutes. Therefore, an employer cannot take a tip credit for any of the time an employee performs tip-supporting work that exceeds 20% of the workweek or for any of the time that exceeds a 30-minute period. The rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register and becomes effective Dec. 28.

UPCOMING KITCHEN CABINET MEETINGS

Final Kitchen Cabinet Meetings for the 2021

The GRA is rounding out 2021 with meetings in Savannah, Augusta, and Macon. We look forward to hosting more of these meetings in other cities across the state in 2022.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GRA

Gas South is the largest retail natural gas provider in the Southeast, serving more than 425,000 residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers. We strive to “Be A Fuel for Good” by offering everyday low rates, outstanding customer care and a commitment to give 5% of profits to support children in need. As a GRA member, you can receive exclusive discounts on your natural gas rates.

Learn more about Gas South