News You Need to Know in Two Minutes

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Bill would make all employers pay wages to striking workers
SEPTEMBER 05, 2023

Bill would make all employers pay wages to striking workers

A bill introduced late in the legislative session this year resurrects an idea to pay unemployment benefits to workers on strike. The CRA and other business organizations are fighting the bill because, among other reasons, all California employers pay into the state’s unemployment insurance fund – whether or not those employers are in unionized industries or the subject of a strike.

See the full list of Hot Bills.  

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Minimum wage in 2024 + web accessibility for all
AUGUST 07, 2023

Minimum wage in 2024 + web accessibility for all

The minimum wage will rise in 2024 to $16 per hour. In this week’s News You Need to Know, Sabrina tells us how state officials determined that amount. Also, the CRA is working with lawmakers on a bill that would clarify how you can make your website accessible to users with disabilities. Without state law around these standardized guidelines, this process is rife with legal pitfalls. 

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Lawmakers launch end-run around voters in new effort resembling the “Fast Act”
JULY 10, 2023

Lawmakers launch end-run around voters in new effort resembling the “Fast Act”

The state legislature has quickly passed a bill that will bring back California’s Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC), a body that will make labor regulations targeting certain industries including quick-service restaurants. In this week’s News You Need to Know, Sabrina tells us the history of the IWC and why bringing it back will lead to the same results intended by the so-called Fast Act. A referendum on the Fast Act has already qualified for the ballot in 2024.

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Fight over joint employer liability moves to Senate, + update on Prop 12
JUNE 05, 2023

Fight over joint employer liability moves to Senate, + update on Prop 12

The California State Assembly has narrowly passed AB 1228, the bill that would create “joint employer” liability for franchisors, reducing franchisees to middle managers. The CRA and many other organizations strongly oppose this bill. In this week’s News You Need to Know, Sabrina details that debate and also has an update on Prop 12, the California law that regulates animal confinement conditions for meat sold in this state.

Resources mentioned in the video:

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Bills we oppose, bills we support this year
MAY 22, 2023

Bills we oppose, bills we support this year

In this edition of the News You Need to Know, hear about key bills that face votes in the coming days. Sabrina breaks them down into two categories – the ones opposed by the CRA, and the ones we support. Each and every one of these bills will impact California restaurants. CRA members, for our handy, updated “Hot Bills” list that you can print out and refer back to, click here.

Remember to click ‘Log in CRA Content’ at the top right of our website to access that document.

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California tries again to regulate paper receipts
MAY 08, 2023

California tries again to regulate paper receipts

A bill aiming to reduce the use of paper receipts by mandating electronic options is back in the State Legislature. Assembly member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, has reintroduced this idea, which failed in the legislature the first time it was considered. His bill would mandate that you offer your guests the option of an electronic receipt. It would also severely restrict commercial speech, prohibiting things like coupons and loyalty program information from being printed on a receipt. 

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Friendly and unfriendly bills: they are all being considered this week
APRIL 10, 2023

Friendly and unfriendly bills: they are all being considered this week

California lawmakers must consider a flurry of bills this week that include several proposals the CRA opposes. Sabrina tells us about them in this week’s video, along with the CRA-sponsored and supported bills that include efforts to eliminate the red tape and cost linked to alcohol permits and food prep in outdoor areas; a proposal to allow cocktails into the mix of drinks that can be delivered from a restaurant; and a proposal to allow local areas to create outdoor “entertainment zones.” What is an entertainment zone and how would it help restaurants?

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CRA-sponsored bill would extend ability to serve alcohol on expanded patios
MARCH 20, 2023

CRA-sponsored bill would extend ability to serve alcohol on expanded patios

Without any action this year by the state legislature, your low-cost, no red-tape ability to serve alcoholic drinks in your expanded outdoor dining area will end next February. That’s because the relief we fought for during the pandemic was temporary. Now, we are reintroducing this conversation in the legislature through a new bill, AB 1217, authored by Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, (D-Encino). The bill would extend the time period that this relief is available to restaurants, so that you can keep serving your guests fully in expanded outdoor spaces.

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New bill would require restaurants to pay for food handler training
MARCH 6, 2023

New bill would require restaurants to pay for food handler training

More than a decade ago, when a state bill required food handler training, the proposal remained silent on who should pay for the training – the restaurant, or the trainee. Two bills introduced this year would change that: one requires restaurants to pay for food handler training; the other requires all employers to pay for mandated training specific to their industries. 

These bills are among 2,600 new bills the CRA Government Affairs Team has reviewed over the last few weeks. 

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VIDEO UPDATE: Cal/OSHA scales back costly regulation
FEBRAURY 6, 2023

VIDEO UPDATE: Cal/OSHA scales back costly regulation

CRA members were the first restaurateurs in California to learn of this news, made official by Cal/OSHA: the agency has scaled back its onerous COVID-19 workplace regulations requiring an additional layer of so-called “exclusionary pay” for your team members who were either exposed to – or contracted – COVID-19. The requirement was always redundant and unnecessarily costly when the law already required supplemental COVID, paid sick leave for affected employees.

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Covid rules easing; Judge halts AB 257- Again
January 17, 2023

Covid rules easing; Judge halts AB 257- Again

The state legislature is back in session- and lawmakers are busy crafting their new legislative ideas- and we expect nearly 1,500 pieces of newly proposed legislation to surface by mid-February. Meanwhile, the state and some local governments are beginning to peel back their respective “state of emergency” as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, triggering the end of some emergency authority and temporary laws. Speaking of laws, last week a Sacramento Superior Court judge- again- halted AB 257 from being enacted. Sabrina tells us more in this week’s News You Need to Know.

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UPDATE: AB 257 referendum is one step closer to 2024 ballot
December 12, 2022

UPDATE: AB 257 referendum is one step closer to 2024 ballot

A referendum on a controversial California law, AB 257, appears poised to go before voters, after a coalition including the National Restaurant Association gathered more than the needed number of signatures to qualify the measure. The signatures will first have to be verified by the Secretary of State. In today’s News You Need to Know, Sabrina reminds us why AB 257 is so damaging to California restaurants.

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Know 2023’s new state + local laws
November 21, 2022

Know 2023’s new state + local laws

Some new laws take effect as the new year begins, and that is just around the corner. Hear Sabrina tell us about a few of them in today’s News You Need to Know. A document summarizing these new laws and local ordinances will be pushed out through our compliance app. If you haven’t already downloaded that, you can do so here. A note about the app: we use it only to send you important compliance information, so you will not be hit with too many push notifications.

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CRA’s “hot bills” for the year: see what died and what became law, + LA Mayor’s race
October 31, 2022

CRA’s “hot bills” for the year: see what died and what became law, + LA Mayor’s race

You would think elected officials would slow tax hike proposals during a time when the state has had enormous sums of unanticipated tax revenue, but that wasn’t the case in 2022. State lawmakers proposed tax increases and proposed ways to make it easier to pass these increases in the future. The CRA, along with other state business groups, opposed these measures. Sabrina tells us more in this week’s “News You Need to Know.”

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CRA’s work this year means certain taxes WON’T increase
October 17, 2022

CRA’s work this year means certain taxes WON’T increase

You would think elected officials would slow tax hike proposals during a time when the state has had enormous sums of unanticipated tax revenue, but that wasn’t the case in 2022. State lawmakers proposed tax increases and proposed ways to make it easier to pass these increases in the future. The CRA, along with other state business groups, opposed these measures. Sabrina tells us more in this week’s “News You Need to Know.”

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COVID paid sick leave could be extended to end of year
September 26, 2022

COVID paid sick leave could be extended to end of year

Lawmakers have voted for a three-month extension to the state’s requirement that employers provide supplemental, COVID-related paid sick leave. Governor Newsom is expected to sign this bill into law, and it will come with a grant program to help offset some of these costs for smaller employers. The CRA is advocating for this relief to be extended to larger employers as well.

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Will voters agree that counter-service restaurants need to be governed by a “sector council?”
September 12, 2022

Will voters agree that counter-service restaurants need to be governed by a “sector council?”

AB 257, one of the most damaging bills that California’s restaurant community has faced in decades, will be the law in California — unless a referendum effort is successful. Immediately after Governor Newsom signed the bill into law last week, a coalition was formed to take the issue directly to voters. As Sabrina tells us in this week’s News You Need to Know, the CRA will support the coalition, which must collect more than half a million voter signatures by December in order to qualify for the 2024 ballot. 

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A lot at stake with days to go in legislative session
August 22, 2022

A lot at stake with days to go in legislative session

The State Legislature has just days to make a final decision on hundreds of bills. There are many that the CRA is working for – and many we are working against. That includes AB 257, the bill that directly targets counter-service restaurants by allowing an unelected “sector council” – rather than elected representatives – to make workplace rules for these establishments. The bill’s proponents claim that this segment of the restaurant community has higher rates of workplace violations. However, the state’s own enforcement data says otherwise.