The NLRB issued their long-awaited joint employer standard and it's literally everything the labor community would have wanted. We’ll talk about what’s next for the industry as the immenine threat to the franchise business model has finally arrived.

And the credit card companies are on the political ropes as the FTC pursues a cap on interchange fees. Why are the banks suddenly playing defense and what does it mean for Main Street businesses? We’ll dig into that.

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

We are joined by Townsend Brown, Policy Analyst at Multistate, to talk about California’s new law mandating that large companies annually disclose data regarding their global carbon footprints. How will companies begin to comply and is their legal action ahead? We’ll discuss.

And the industry had another big showing in Maryland this week literally flooding the Montgomery County Council chambers with angry servers wanting to protect their incomes. Could we have beaten back another tip credit elimination bill? We’ll take a look.

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

The Federal Trade Commission revised a proposed rule this week lumping in restaurant and delivery service charges with other, what it calls, junk fees and hidden charges. We’ll take a look at why this happened and more importantly, where do we go from here.

And the industry got an important win this week when legislation to eliminate the tip credit was soundly defeated in very blue, very progressive, Prince George’s County, Maryland. What does this say about the strategy used in Maryland relative to the strategy employed in Chicago. We’ll discuss.

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

We discuss our current world of chaos - the Republican meltdown in Washington, DC, war in the Middle East, and, oh by the way, a Presidential election looming - and its potential impact on small business owners and their consumers.

And a small game board - themed restaurant chain in New York City may lay the groundwork for the new world order in which unionization elections are held. We’ll take a deep dive into that story.

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

We sit down with Misty Chally, the Executive Director of the Critical Labor Coalition to discuss what that group is doing in Congress to address and potentially alleviate the labor crunch that operators can’t seem to climb out of.

And we update you on the national autoworkers strike and what ramifications its success or failure may have on presidential politics in Michigan and other labor movements a little closer to home for the restaurant industry.

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

We’ll discuss what happened in Chicago this week with a major shift in perceived industry positioning with regard to tip credit elimination. We are joined by Berman & Company’s Mike Saltsman for his analysis of what happened, why it happened and how the industry manages the issue going forward.

And Sean Kennedy, the Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association stops by to give us the backroom play by play of the California Compromise with the SEIU and how it sets up the industry for success going forward.

We’ll discuss thos eissues and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The new proposed overtime rule is out and we discuss the impact - better than we thought, worse than we thought, or about what we thought. We’ll discuss the impact, the process going forward, and what’s next for operators.

And the NLRB released yet another decision last month, the Stericycle decision, that may make every employer rewrite large segments of their employee handbooks. We’ll explain.

And the right of center is engaging in the actual culture wars - music and cinema namely - and creating markets that are flumoxxong those on the left. We’ll do a deep dive into yet another growing divide.

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

The National Labor Relations Board has turned union election rules upside down, issuing new regulations around quickie “ambush” elections and instituting a de facto card check rule, making union organiziaing significantly easier. We’ll discuss the ramifications for all employers large and small

And the world of alcohol continues to change, both from consumer tastes and trends to laws and regulatory compliance. We are joined by our old colleague Sean Kelly, now EVP of Marketing & Operations for ABC Fine Wines & Spirits to get his perspective on where the market is going and how regulators may follow.

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

We’ll have a conversation with Michael Formica, the Chief Legal Strategist for the National Pork Porducers Council to talk about supply chain ramifications from recent legal and legislative outcomes regarding gestation crates, interstate commerce and more. We’ll discuss what operators large and small need to know about impacts to the current prices and market and more importantly, down the road.

And the tip credit elimination fight is gearing up in Chicago and we’ll discuss the importance of a strong industry opposition campaign for not only Chicago but potentially for Illinois and other states going forward.

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

We are joined by Sean Kennedy, the Executive Vice President Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association to bring us up to speed on the epic ongoing battle in California facing all restaurant operators and how the next few months will play out legislatively and politically.

And speaking of the NRA, Sean’s colleague Mike Whatley, the Vice President of State Affairs & Grassroots Advocacy, will walk us through the efforts underway in DC that could essentially codify service charges. We will also talk about the ramifications of this week’s ballot results in Ohio and how it may impact the pending measure to increase the minimum wage and eliminate the tip credit.

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