We visit with Ed Egee, Vice President of Government Relations and Workforce Development at the National Retail Federation who will discuss the emerging policy and legal challenges around Artifical Intelligence. The big question is - Does Artificail Intelligence make it easier to artificially discriminate? The Trial Bar sure seems to think so. We’ll dive into that and other pending issues with Ed and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Industrial Welfare Commission is potentially being revived in California and could have momentous consequences for the restaurant industry. We are joined by Ben Ebbink, an attorney with Fisher & Phillips in Sacramento and of counsel to the California Restaurant Association to fully understand the moving parts of the IWC and what it means for operators.

And the Labor world has been busy this Summer with litigation around the 80/20 rule, sabre rattling on Capitol Hill, and a new overtime rule that will be issued any day now. We are joined by our good friend Aaron Frazier, Vice President of Public Policy for the National Restaurant Association, who will help us sort it all out.

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

The unions in California have resurrected an old friend from the past - the Industrial Wage Commission - as the latest weapon to torment the quick service industry. What does this development mean for all restaurant employers? We’ll discuss.

And the Supreme Court has issued a couple of decisions - and one important non-decision - that all employers should pay close attention to. Those actions, coupled with an all out threat from 13 Republican Attorneys General, should have all employers on guard.

The issue of service fees is making front page news lately as operators look for ways to pass on high labor costs. Along with a changing dynamic around tipping, could the industry be setting itself up for a fight with policy makers and opinion leaders? We’ll discuss.

And the tip credit elimination battle in Chicago heated up this week with the mayor clearly leading the charge. If they are successful, are there implications for a statewide law in Illinois? How about other states? We’ll take a look.

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

A new report is out this week examining consumer trends with regard to alcohol, especially wine and cocktails to go. Since the public has overwhelmingly embraced these pandemic-era advances, can any policy makers really stand in the way at this point? Mike Whatley, Vice President of State Affairs & Grassroots Advocacy for the National Restaurant Association who issued the report, joins us and will take us through the data.

And New Jersey is looking at franchisee bill of rights legislation for the hotel sector that could significantly disrupt the relationship between hotel brands and many of their operators. Could additional legislation aimed at the restaurant industry be far behind? Sarah Bratko, Policy Counsel for Government Affairs & State Relations at the American Hotel & Lodging Association will join us and help us understand what’s happening in the Garden State.

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

Sectoral Bargaining has come to Minnesota - in the nursing home - space specifically but all employers should be watching. It’s not the industry your in that’s important - it’s the process. We’ll discuss how intentionally the labor community is leveraging independent standards boards as a way to force collective action.

And we’ll discuss the steps that companies are increasingly taking to manage their reputational exposure on ESG issues and analyze the risks.

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

We are going to follow-up on the latest from our story of a few weeks regarding the Supreme Court decision on California’s law around humane treatment of breeding hogs. We are joined by Laura Abshire of the National Restaurant Association and Steve Clark from the Massachusetts Restaurant Asscoiation to get both of their perspectives on where the issue goes from here - hint, Massachusetts.

And right of center attacks on corporate DEI policies have now come to the doorstep of Chik-fil-A - yes, you heard that right - Chik-fil-A. Is no respected brand safe from this line of attack? We’ll discuss.

And the unions in California flexed their political muscle in Sacramaneto this week on a wide variety of issues including some directly targeting the restaurant industry. We’ll assess the legislative carnage and talk about the road ahead.

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

One Fair Wage and the Restaurant Opportunities Center (and their SEIU funders) have grabbed on to the child labor issue and are effectively leveraging it to their advantage. The same advocates effectively leveraged health and safety issues during the pandemic - just ask Starbucks and Chipotle. Could we be seeing a new angle on the organizing front? We’ll discuss.

And Target becomes the latest corporate pinata in the culture wars as conservative activists pound the company for its marketing efforts to the gay community. We’ll assess the challenge and the company’s response.

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

This week, a number of states and localities across the country held local elections and the results, while difficult from which to draw national meaning, seem to be slightly better news for the blue team than the red. We’ll take a look at that.

And we continue to watch third-party contractors from big companies like Google and Amazon make progress toward potential union organizing. Could companies a little closer to home like DoorDash and UberEasts be next? We are joined by Bloomberg Labor Report’s Dan Papscun who has done extensive reporting in this space and discuss what the future may look like for traditional employers.

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

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed California’s law regarding humane treatment of hogs and their right to apply those standards to pork produced in the state as well as products from out of state. We’ll discuss the implications to the marketplace for operators.

And the city of Chicago gets a new mayor and city council this week and the restaurant industry plays heavily into the new mayor's agenda starting off with elimination of the tip credit among other items. We’ll take a look at that.

And our old friend Jeff Hanscom, Vice-President of State & Local Government Relations at the International Franchise Association, stops by the pod to get us up to speed on that onerous joint employer liability bill slowly working its way through the California legislature. It’s always a good conversation when Jeff’s on the pod.

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