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Federal Updates
📌 On Friday, September 5, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order (effective Monday, September 8, 2025). The order establishes a framework for potentially exempting specific goods from tariffs. These exemptions apply only to products sourced from countries that have signed formal trade agreements with the U.S. and are limited to two categories: (1) agricultural products not grown or produced in sufficient quantity domestically and (2) unavailable natural resources. Some examples of food & agricultural products eligible for exemption: coffee, cocoa, bananas, avocados, mangoes, papayas, kiwis, pineapples, guava, cooking oils (palm, coconut, sunflower), tea (green, black, mate), spices (cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric, cloves, nutmeg, pepper), oats and tropical grains. Some seafood (albacore or long finned tunas, excluding fillets), (yellowfin tunas, fresh or chilled, excluding fillets), and frozen tuna fillets.
📌 A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the American Franchise Act (AFA), legislation that would codify a ‘direct and immediate’ joint employer standard for the franchisor–franchisee relationship under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) — protecting the integrity of the franchise business model.
📌 Last week, National Restaurant Association President & CEO Michelle Korsmo and VP of Federal Government Affairs, Dan Roehl, met with House leadership for a series of high-level meetings on workforce policy. Discussions centered on pressing workforce issues, including the joint employer standard and immigration policy—two areas critical to the restaurant industry’s ability to recruit, retain, and support a strong workforce.
📌 Economists at the National Restaurant Association shared these recent stories:
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State Updates
📌 State health officials said last week they are scaling back a subsidized medical care plan for low-income New Yorkers that had previously been targeted by the federal government, calling it a “proactive action” to prevent further cuts. As a result, around 450,000 people are expected to lose access to New York’s Essential Plan by next summer, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. The Essential Plan is a state health insurance coverage plan that currently enrolls around 1.7 million New Yorkers and does not require a premium, making it an attractive option for low-income residents. The plan relies entirely on federal funding and a large majority of people insured through it are classified as “lawfully present immigrants.” But the plan, along with other Medicaid expansions, had come into the crosshairs of Republicans in Congress, who passed a major tax and spending policy package this summer that included a provision to cut annual funding for the Essential Plan.
📌 The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is continuing to seek public input on the state’s draft energy plan. It’s a 15-year outlook on New York’s climate policy and it aligns with messaging from Gov. Kathy Hochul suggesting the state will need to walk back some of its ambitious climate goals, along with her push for an embrace of nuclear energy. The state’s climate law calls for a 100% zero-emission electric grid by 2040.
📌 New York’s Long Island Rail Road, the biggest US commuter line, plans to run limited free bus service during rush hours if its locomotive engineers go through with a strike that could begin as soon as Sep. 18. The LIRR connects a population of about 3 million people in Suffolk and Nassau counties to New York City. In the event of a work stoppage, the shuttle buses will run every 10 minutes during peak hours from the Bellmore, Hicksville and Ronkonkoma stations to subway stops in Queens, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the LIRR and the city’s transit system, announced Thursday. Transit officials are urging commuters who can work from home during a possible strike to do so. A strike at the rail line — which serves about 250,000 weekday passengers across more than 900 daily trains, according to the MTA — would be severely disruptive for Long Island and the city.
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New York City Updates
📌 New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she’s a “staunch capitalist” opposed to higher taxes and would work to ensure New York remains attractive to businesses if democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of New York City. Businesses need to know “that the city of New York, as powerful and mighty as it is, is still a subdivision of the state, so any tax increase has to come across my desk first,” Hochul said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Mamdani, a member of the state assembly, has said he’ll push for an increase in the state’s corporate tax rate and a new tax on millionaires to pay for an ambitious policy agenda including free bus service and universal childcare.
📌 Governor Hochul has endorsed Zohran Mamdani for Mayor of New York City. In an op-ed she penned to explain her decision, she states, “What New Yorkers deserve right now is not grievances or grudges, but steely resolve to fight like hell. Mr. Mamdani and I don’t see eye to eye on everything, and I don’t expect us to. I will always reserve the right to disagree honestly and to argue passionately. But I also believe that New York State and New York City are at our best when we stand together against those who attempt to tear us apart.”
📌 New York City Mayor Eric Adams told a group of civic and business leaders that he’s conducting his own polling to decide the future of his reelection campaign, hinting at potentially dropping out just days after he vowed to stay in the race. Adams, running as an independent, told the group of about 20 members of the Association for a Better New York that he’ll ultimately do what he views as best for the city even though he dislikes former Governor Andrew Cuomo, one of his opponents in the race, according to people who attended the meeting. Adams said he would conduct polling in the coming weeks, one of the people said. Meeting attendees were stunned by what two people in the room interpreted as Adams expressing willingness to exit a race, in which Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, holds a large lead in polls. While polls show a more viable path for Cuomo to beat Mamdani if both Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa exit the race, the mayor insisted last week that he’s running and “going to beat Mamdani.”
📌The Fund for Public Health in New York City (FPHNY) is a nonprofit organization that works to make New Yorkers healthier. They are doing a short survey to learn about sick leave rules in NYC restaurants and food businesses. The overall findings of the survey will be shared with the Health Department and other city agencies to inform education outreach for NYC restaurants. The survey takes only 5–10 minutes and is private and anonymous, so that restaurants can answer honestly. It’s available in 4 languages below:
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2025 First Place NY Winner: Hannah Horl, Ulster BOCES (Port Ewen, NY) | | |
CALL FOR JUDGES
Support our ProStart Virtual Skills Challenges by being a judge!
The virtual competitions are open to current NY and VT ProStart (High School) students only.
This October we will once again hold a Pumpkin Carving Competition. Students will submit a presentation with photos of them creating their pumpkins as well as the final design. They will be judged on things like Title & Theme, Overall Creativity, Degree of Difficulty, and Presentation.
If you would like to volunteer to judge the Pumpkin Carving Contest, please email Elizabeth Fordley at Elizabeths@nysra.org by October 1.
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Upcoming Leadership Roundtables
Each virtual Hospitality Leadership Roundtable features a monthly topic of discussion, and a town hall session for open conversation and Q&A.
Hospitality Leadership Roundtable | Register
Tuesday, September 16 at 10:00 a.m.
NYC Hospitality Leadership Roundtable | Register
Monday, September 29 at 3:00 p.m.
Caterers Council | Register
Wednesday, October 1 at 11:00 a.m.
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