Regulatory Wrap-Up: Insider’s guide to retail-related legislative developments
Wages
Hawaii: A senate committee advanced a bill that would increase the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2020 and would also repeal the tip credit.
Maryland: A bill to increase the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2026 contains a provision that would mandate that franchised establishments comply by 2022, four years earlier than other businesses. It is unclear at this stage if the measure has enough support to override a likely veto from Republican Governor Hogan.
New Mexico: A senate committee passed a bill that would increase the state’s wage level to $9/hr in 2018. The bill would also establish an $8/hr training wage and raise the tipped wage to $2.63/hr. Action now moves on to the house. For context, the Democratic-controlled legislature advanced minimum wage increase bills to the Republican Governor’s desk last cycle and all the bills were vetoed.
Pennsylvania: Governor Wolf has included a statewide minimum wage increase in his annual budget proposal. Last cycle, the Republican legislature declined to advance wage increase legislation to the governor’s desk despite his repeated endorsement. A similar scenario is likely to play out again this year.
Vermont: A senate committee voted to advance a bill that would increase the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2024. The full senate is likely to act soon and if the vote is successful, the bill would move to the house. However, Governor Scott has publicly stated his opposition to the bill, citing the negative impact on small businesses.
Washington: The advocacy group Working Washington has requested that the state’s labor department issue rules that prevent businesses from adding minimum wage surcharges to customers’ bills. Surcharges have become a popular practice in some areas of the country.
Study: A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research earned headlines this week. It reviewed minimum wage increases in 137 jurisdictions and found that “on average, minimum-wage increases eliminated jobs paying below the new minimum, but added jobs paying at or above the new minimum.”
Paid Leave
Federal: Republican Senator Marco Rubio is leading an effort to produce parental leave legislation that would allow workers to utilize Social Security benefits while caring for a newborn. Under this concept, the worker’s Social Security payments would be delayed at their retirement age commensurate to the amount of leave utilized. As of yet, no legislation has been introduced.
Maine: Lawmakers previously supporting legislation to establish an employee-funded paid family leave program amended their bill and are now calling for an actuarial study to determine the cost and feasibility of the proposed program.
New Hampshire: A bill allowing workers up to six weeks of paid family and medical leave narrowly passed a second reading in the house despite opposition from some in Republican leadership. The bill was amended to offer six weeks of paid leave, down from twelve in the original text. The bill will be debated by an additional committee before the house has a third and final vote. If passed, the bill would move to the senate. Governor Sununu supported family medical leave during his campaign but has yet to weigh in on the specifics of this legislation.
Washington: Several U.S.-based airlines are suing the state seeking a ruling that federal regulations preempt the sick leave law that went into effect last year. The case cites complexity resulting from a patchwork of state and local laws governing sick leave accrual and other related policies. While the case may have limited impact on brick-and-mortar operations in the state, it could have ramifications on state-by-state leave policies.
Lowe’s: The home improvement retailer announced a new paid leave policy for full-time employees allowing for up to ten weeks of paid maternity leave and two weeks of paid family leave.
CVS: In addition to increasing their starting hourly wage to $11/hr, the company also announced a paid leave policy for all full-time employees allowing for up to four weeks paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
Scheduling
Missouri: A preemption bill that prohibits localities from enacting employee scheduling laws passed a house committee this week. It is unclear how much support the provision has in the senate following a bruising preemption battle on wage and leave policies during the last session.
Mississippi: Legislation that preempts localities from enacting leave, scheduling and other benefit laws passed both the house and senate. Final passage and enactment is highly likely.
Labor Activism
Fight for $15: Fight for $15 will hold protests Feb. 12 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the famous Memphis sanitation workers’ strike. While protests were initially announced in the Southeast, Operators should be prepared for protests in other major metropolitan areas. QSRs are the initial targets but other restaurants and retail locations could also experience disruptions as well.
Taxes
California: Advocates have announced a campaign to place an initiative on the Nov. ballot that would exempt commercial property from Proposition 13 - a 40-year-old law that limits state property tax increases for both commercial and residential property. If the initiative were to pass, the state legislature would be free to increase commercial property taxes while maintaining the current limits on residential property taxes.
Key Takeaways
• The parental leave conversation took an important step this week with Republican Senator Marco Rubio indicating that he may propose legislation that would allow workers to draw paid leave from their Social Security accounts at any time. Retirement benefits woul