A virtual cup of coffee with DDIFO Executive Director Ed Shanahan

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over!  The late New York Yankee Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra is credited with first uttering that now well-known phrase, but it seems Congressional democrats are scheming to take it to the next level. Despite a majority in the US Senate being opposed to a $15 federal minimum wage, and prior rulings by the Senate… Read More »

EEOC Again Requiring Pay Data  Just over one week ago the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) resurrected a mandatory filing for qualified employers of 2019 and 2020 workplace diversity data (EEO-1 Component 1). Generally speaking, the dictate applies to employers with at least 100 employees as well as federal contractors with 50 or more employees. You may recall that the… Read More » PPP and EIDL Loans Exempted  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts caught up with the federal government and many other states this past week when Governor Charlie Baker signed many parts of HB 90 into law. Of primary importance to small business owners, the legislation excludes proceeds from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans along with Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advances from… Read More »

New York Budget Imposes New Taxes  The New York General Assembly and Governor Andrew Cuomo reached agreement on a spending plan for the current fiscal year that calls on several significant tax increases to balance the $212 billion spending plan. Notwithstanding billions of dollars coming in federal largesse from the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, New Yorkers will… Read More » Reversing Course on Liability Shields  Well, this item might not affect our smaller business subscribers, but it’s worth taking note of nonetheless. As businesses across the country continue to push for adoption of liability shield legislation relating COVID-19 lawsuits, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo this week signed legislation repealing liability protections he granted health care facilities just last July! You… Read More » Court Enjoins Dallas Sick Leave  A federal court in Dallas Texas has permanently enjoined the city of Dallas from implementing its paid sick leave law finding the 2019 ordinance to be in conflict with state law. The Texas Minimum Wage Act (TMWA) establishes the minimum wage in the state currently at $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal rate.… Read More »

Sexual Harassment Training  Connecticut small business owners – those with three or more employees – are cautioned that the extended deadline to complete sexual harassment training expires in just 10 days. The Times Up Act went into effect on October 1, 2019 requiring that all employees be provided two hours of training within their first six months of… Read More » Opportunity Knocks  It may not seem like a regular category for Small Regular No Sugar!, but herein we’re calling attention to a new Business Member of DDIFO and the business opportunities that Little Caesars Pizza may offer you. The company advises us that single or multi-unit opportunities are available now in a host of different regions including… Read More » Miscellaneous  The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported this week that small business job openings set a new record in the month of March with 42% of the responding firms reporting that they had job openings last month. Further, NFIB reports that 56% of business owners added workers during the month while 25% of those… Read More »

April 9, 2021

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