Regulatory Wrap-Up: Where state and national policy meets retail
Wages
Federal $15/Hr Minimum Wage. As promised, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders with support from Democratic Leadership introduced a bill this week to raise the federal hourly minimum wage to $15 by 2024 to index it to inflation starting in 2025. Passage is highly unlikely, although Democratic leadership has vowed to make the Fight for $15 a larger focus of the party platform.
Nevada.Republican Governor Sandoval contradicted previous public statements with his announcement this week that he is open to a minimum wage increase. The governor did not indicate an amount he would support, but stated an increase must be coupled with changes to the state’s overtime laws. The Senate recently passed legislation to increase the minimum wage to $12/hr phased in over five years.
Louisiana.Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards’s push to raise the minimum wage failed this week on a party line vote in a Senate committee. As a result, an increase appears dead for this legislative session.
Minnesota.Minnesota’s legislative session concluded this week, and state lawmakers sent a labor preemption measure to the governor for his signature. He has 14 days to act. Throughout the session, Democratic Governor Dayton warned Republican lawmakers that he would veto any preemption measure; however, Republicans attempted to make the bill more palatable by including items from the governor’s wish list. If he decides to veto the bill, the Minneapolis and St. Paul paid leave ordinances will take effect July 1, 2017. Court challenges to both city’s ordinances are likely.
Minneapolis, MN. The city’s long awaited report on the impact of a minimum wage increase came out this week and it recommended a minimum wage of at least $12.49/hr phased in over at least four years, making no exception for tipped workers. Legislation is expected to be introduced at today’s (Friday) City Council meeting. The mayor and a number of City Council members have publicly supported a $15/hr minimum wage.
Paid Leave
Federal Paid Leave. The White House released President Trump’s budget this week which, as
expected, includes a plan to provide six weeks of paid leave to new mothers, fathers and adoptive
parents. Under the plan, states would be required to provide leave payments through existing
unemployment insurance programs and would have to identify cuts or tax hikes, as needed, to cover the
costs. The proposal drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.
Federal Portable Benefits. U.S. Senator Mark Warner introduced a bill this week that would set aside
$20 million to fund pilot programs that test different portable benefit models. The concept of portable
benefits is gaining momentum and aims to establish a “bank,” similar to Social Security, that allows
workers to accrue benefits. While this type of legislation is designed to address the needs of gig economy
workers, there are obvious impacts to traditional hourly employers. Warner’s legislation will not pass this
Congress, but its introduction advances the national conversation around the issue.
Maryland. Maryland’s Republican governor vetoed a bill passed by the Democratic legislature that
would require employers with 15 or more workers to provide five days of paid leave a year. The measure
passed both chambers with enough votes to override the governor’s veto; however, the bill secured just 29
votes in the Senate which is the minimum to override a veto. The House Speaker has vowed to bring the
issue up when the legislature reconvenes for its 2018 legislative session or if he decides to call a special
session to address other issues. Expect heated debate and lobbying in the state Senate when the issue
comes back up.
Scheduling
New York, NY. City Council members overwhelmingly passed a “fair work week” legislative package
with few amendments or changes, following months of lobbying by the business community. The
package allows employees to designate part of their salaries to a nonprofit (worker centers) of their choice
which the SEIU hopes will create a revenue source for efforts to organize QSR workers. It also bans
employers from requiring employees to work consecutive shifts with less than an 11 hours between shifts
and requires employers with available hours to offer shifts to existing employees before hiring new ones.
These onerous regulations will be subject to a 180-day rulemaking process before full enactment
following the mayor’s signature. While the mayor has 30 days to sign the package into law, he is expected
to do so sooner.
Pay Equity
Oregon. The statewide pay equity bill that would ban employers from wage discrimination for
comparable work (on the basis of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age) passed the
House. This follows Senate action on the bill earlier this year. Next it moves to the governor's desk where
it is expected to be signed into law.
Health Care
AHCA. This week the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provided its analysis of the
American Health Care Act (AHCA)—the House Republicans version of a “repeal and replace” for
Obamacare. The CBO found the bill would leave 23 million more people uninsured and could reduce the
deficit by $119 billion over 10 years. The legislation will see substantial changes as it moves to through
the U.S. Senate.
Tax Reform
Border Adjustment Tax Hearing. The House tax writing committee held a hearing this week to
consider the Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) provision that would put levies of up to 20 percent on
thousands of imported consumer items as a way to pay for overall tax reform. While a hearing is a small
step in a long process, the platform offered a notable opportunity for some Republicans to join Democrats
in voicing their concerns. In a well-timed counter, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin stated the administration’s
opposition to the BAT which lessens the likelihood that it will be part of tax reform as currently
contemplated by Speaker Paul Ryan.
Labor Activism
Fight for $15. The SEIU held multiple days of protest in advance of and around the McDonald’s
shareholder meeting. Protests drew regional media attention but failed to attract significant national
coverage.
Soda Tax
Tacoma, WA. The Tacoma City Council will meet next week to discuss a local tax on sugary beverages.
Swipe Fees
CHOICE Act. In a major win for merchants across the country, House Republicans removed language
that sought to repeal debit swipe fee reform from the Financial CHOICE Act. The act, which would
repeal and replace key parts of the landmark 2010 Dodd-Frank law, is a Republican priority and
lawmakers came to the realization that merchant opposition to the swipe fee language was large enough to
kill the entire legislation. The CHOICE Act now moves forward without swipe fee language and will
likely see a House floor vote sometime in June.
Key Takeaways
Whether or not it ultimately becomes law, the inclusion of federal paid leave language in the
president's budget proposal is a key turning