California Employment News: Overview of the Fast Food Minimum Wage Increase AB122
Leveraging Data and Technology to Achieve Scalable Food Service
From More Delivery, Takeout and Outdoor Dining Options to Financial Relief – How Restaurants Have Managed Throughout the Pandemic
On September 18, 2024, at the request of the State of Michigan and its attorney general, the Michigan Supreme Court clarified issues relating to future minimum wage rates and minimum cash wage rates for tip-credit employees...more
A trio of cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit have challenged the core of US Department of Labor rulemaking. With varying levels of success. Restaurant Law Center v. DOL pertains to the DOL’s...more
Hospitality employers take note – the Department of Labor’s (DOL) tip rule has been struck down. The tip credit is a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) that allows employers to pay tipped employees a lower...more
In a highly anticipated opinion, on August 23, 2024, the Fifth Circuit in Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor (Case No. 23-50562) struck down a Final Rule promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that...more
On August 23, 2024, in Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) December 2021 final rule that had set strict limits on...more
On August 23, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a final rule promulgated by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) restricting when employers could take a tip credit for tipped employees under the Fair Labor...more
In a long-awaited decision, the Department of Labor (DOL) regulation setting strict limits on the amount of time that tipped employees can spend performing work that does not directly generate tips has been struck down by the...more
Tips from Seyfarth is a blog series for employers, and their in-house lawyers and HR, payroll, and compensation professionals, in the food, beverage, and hospitality sector. We curate wage and hour compliance “tips” to keep...more
Recent news of six-digit demands and lawsuits filed by the Department of Labor against multiple Oregon-based institutional restaurant chains has local businesses across the service industry wondering: “Are we tipping our...more
Almost half of the states, and several major localities, will increase their minimum wage rates in 2024, with a majority of the changes effective on January 1, 2024. The table below lists state and certain major locality...more
On October 8, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 476. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2024. Employees of retail food facilities are already required to obtain a food handler card...more
This post is part of a series of articles previewing the unique type of information and guidance contained in the Pullman & Comley Hospitality Team’s “Connecticut Restaurant Guidebook 2023 Edition.” Available to members of...more
Executive Summary: Beginning January 1, 2024, restaurant employers in California will be required to pay their workers for all costs associated with obtaining a food handler card, including treating the time spent obtaining...more
Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the FAST Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (AB 257), which sought to increase the California minimum wage to $22 per hour, with annual increases thereafter, and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: California has increased the minimum wage of fast food workers to $20, and authorized the creation of the Fast Food Council comprised of representatives from labor and management to set minimum standards...more
Effective January 1, 2024, the general statewide minimum wage will increase by .50 cents, bringing the hourly rate from $15.50 to $16.00. Please also keep in mind that many (around 35-40) cities and counties in...more
California has long required food handlers in restaurants to obtain certification — and until now, training and testing has been the employee’s responsibility. A new law Governor Newsom approved on October 8, however, shifts...more
In 2022, Washington D.C. voters passed Initiative 82, or the “District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act,” which later became law in February 2023. As we previously reported, the law will gradually phase out the “tip...more
On September 11, 2023, industry, government, and union representatives announced that they had reached a deal to remove a California referendum on the Fast Food Accountability and Standards (“FAST”) Recovery Act from the 2024...more
For years, California has led the way in the fast food industry, with several prominent brands having their origins in the Golden State. More recently, California has shown innovation in the ways that the employment of fast...more
Dear Littler, We operate sandwich shops in a couple of states. Although we have tables, we don’t have table service, and customers pick up food at the counter themselves to either take out or seat themselves at our...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After a remand from the Fifth Circuit, a trial court has upheld the validity of the Department of Labor’s 2021 regulation codifying the 80/20 rule, raising the possibility of another appeal....more
In Restaurant Law Center et al. vs. US Department of Labor, Case 1:21-cv-01106-RP (W.D. Tex. July 6, 2023), the Texas Federal District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the DOL, upholding the DOL’s December 2021...more