The Working Lunch

We sit down with Brennan Duckett, the Director of Technology & Innovation Policy at the National Restaurant Association and discuss the junk fee and service charge issue both federally and its explosion at the state level.

And the industry had a big win at the end of last week when the NLRB’s joint employer rule was thwarted in a Texas courtroom. What’s next for the agency, for the unions and for operators in the near future.

We’ll talk about those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The President gave the annual State of the Union address this week and his war on junk fees was front and center - the same week his Council of Economic Advisiors said that restaurants made up close to 10% of all junk fees. Is the industry potentially heading for some major backlash? We’ll discuss.

And the SEC put out their long-awaited climate disclosure regulations and believe it or not, the worst aspects of it were removed. In a major victory for the business community, the reporting requirements around Scope 3 emissions - the carbon footprint of one’s supply chain - were removed. We’ll dig into that.

We’ll talk about those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The author of the Fast Act in California has filed additional legislation to exempt certain industries from the new law he championed. Was this an altruistic gesture to relieve the pressure on a host of small businesses or inside baseball among the unions and the legislators that carry their water? We are joined by Jot Condie, the President & CEO of the California Restaurant Association to help us sort it all out.

And Wendy’s was in the news this week but for all the wrong reasons - managing a kerfuffle regarding their possible adoption of dynamic pricing. The company’s comments were later clarified but what does it mean for the industry’s potential adoption of surge pricing models? We’ll discuss.

We’ll talk about those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Starbucks was in the news this week on a number of different fronts, none of them very good. This past Tuesday, workers at 21 stores filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board to conduct elections, the most in one day since the campaign began two and a half years ago. And on top of that, a coordinated effort on college campuses has sprouted up pressuring administrators to throw Starbucks stores off campus. We will dig into the week that was for the coffee giant.

We’ll talk about that and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

A Committee Chair in the U.S. House of Representatives is demanding information from the Commissioner of the IRS regarding the lobbying and electioneering activities of One Fair Wage and whether their actions are in violation of their nonprofit status. Is the IRS looking the other way? We’ll discuss.

And then we are joined by Jeff Hanscom, the Vice President of State & Local Government Relations & Counsel for the International Franchise Association to get the latest on the pending, onerous legislation in Georgia and a look around some other states that we should be paying attention to.

We’ll talk about those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Two big legislative items this week popped up in California and Georgia that operators should take note of, one exempting a lot of folks out from under the FAST Act and the other a franchisee bill of rights proposal that should have parent companies pretty nervous. We’ll take a look.

And then we are joined by Aaron Frazier, the Vice President of Public Policy at the National Restaurant Association to give us the latest and greatest on the pending tax package currently before the senate as well as where the new regulations on service and “junk” fees may be going.

We’ll talk about those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

This week, the Associated Press published the results of a two-year investigation into alleged exploitation of prison labor, primarily in the agriculture industry. The report not only documents the food production process, it follows the products through the supply chain and names retailers, grocery stores, industry suppliers and even some QSR brands that “benefit” from prison labor. We talk about the possible ramifications for brands both outside and inside the company.

And some Republican Agriculture Commissioners are turning up the heat on ESG, pushing back on companies that are pursuing climate goals. Could these “pro-business” elected officials be intentionally putting brands in a legal bind where complying with federal and California law puts you in violation of their laws? We’ll take a look.

We’ll talk about that and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

We are joined by Mark Mix, the President of the National Right to Work Committee and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation who is assisting workers who wish to decertify their unions. It’s a fascinating and instructive conversation into what the next chapter could look like for the industry in the labor organizing space

We’ll talk about that and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

After years of regulatory and legal wrangling, the Labor Department released its long-awaited rule on the legal treatment of independent contractors. So what does this mean for operators leveraging outside resources for janitorial services, maintenance, and delivery drivers? We’ll discuss.

And Mike Whatley, the Vice-President of State Affairs & Grassroots Advocacy for the National Restaurant Associaton, stops by the pod to discuss his group’s priorities for the 2024 legislative sessions and what operators should prepare for.

We’ll talk about those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

After years of regulatory and legal wrangling, the Labor Department released its long-awaited rule on the legal treatment of independent contractors. So what does this mean for operators leveraging outside resources for janitorial services, maintenance, and delivery drivers? We’ll discuss.

And Mike Whatley, the Vice-President of State Affairs & Grassroots Advocacy for the National Restaurant Associaton, stops by the pod to discuss his group’s priorities for the 2024 legislative sessions and what operators should prepare for.

We’ll talk about those issues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.