News You Need to Know in Two Minutes

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RRF grant dollars to be distributed
August 15, 2022

RRF grant dollars to be distributed

Thanks to a published report from the Government Accountability Office, we now know that there is still $180 million remaining in the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The Small Business Administration has agreed to distribute those dollars to restaurants, but the amount is not enough to help the many qualified applicants who never received a grant. Sabrina dives into those details in this week’s video and gives us more information about the fast-approaching Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo.

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Tax relief coming for restaurants who received federal help
July 25, 2022

Tax relief coming for restaurants who received federal help

Because of a timing problem on the part of the federal government, California restaurants who received a grant during the second round of Paycheck Protection Program funding, were about to take a big tax hit. It took quite a long fight to make sure that doesn’t happen, but the California Restaurant Association prevailed in that fight. 

Sabrina has all the details in this week’s News You Need to Know. You can see the full text of the relief bill here.

Employees with no restaurant experience? New online training platform caters to restaurants
July 11, 2022

Employees with no restaurant experience? New online training platform caters to restaurants

Here by popular demand is the CRA’s new, easy-to-use training platform for restaurant workers and managers. This new platform is a result of feedback from CRA members, who are working harder than ever to hire, train and retain employees. It was developed for the CRA by Train 321, a leading provider of training courses for major restaurant brands, and it features helpful courses like Front-of-House Basics, Back-of-House Basics, and Bar Basics. It also includes required training in sexual harassment prevention.

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REMINDER: Distribution of single-use utensils
June 27, 2022

REMINDER: Distribution of single-use utensils

AB 1276 took effect this year, but local jurisdictions did not have to enforce the new law until recently. It provides a statewide standard for how single-use accessories can be obtained by guests. Watch this week’s News You Need to Know for the best information on how to serve your guests and comply with the new law.

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We need your help: the fight for sensible restaurant tax relief
June 6, 2022

We need your help: the fight for sensible restaurant tax relief

With the state budget flush with an enormous amount of unexpected revenue, we are revising our ask of lawmakers as it relates to the unemployment insurance (UI) fund.

Instead of the initial $3 billion, the CRA is now asking the state to spend $10 billion stabilizing the UI fund. Why is this important? So that employers are not later forced to pay huge assessments for something that was beyond their control: the layoffs that resulted from a mandated closure of restaurants.

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We’re going to Washington to fight for RRF grants (again)
April 25, 2022

We’re going to Washington to fight for RRF grants (again)

The CRA is leading California restaurants from the Sacramento Valley, Central Valley, Bay Area, Central Coast, and from all over Southern California to Washington, D.C. this week for the National Restaurant Association’s Public Affairs Conference. You can guess what our top issue is: speaking up for the thousands of qualified applicants in California who got left behind when the Restaurant Revitalization Fund ran out of dollars. The House of Representatives has voted to replenish the fund; now, it’s up to the Senate.
 

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Nation’s high court considers PAGA, arbitration
April 4, 2022

Nation’s high court considers PAGA, arbitration

As CRA members know, the notorious law known as PAGA is being fought on at least two fronts: the effort toward a ballot initiative in California that CRA is helping to lead, and a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. So, what will the ruling mean for California restaurants? Sabrina breaks it all down in this week’s News You Need to Know, and tells us all the reasons why our ballot initiative will still be needed. 
 

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New proposal improves alcohol-for-delivery options
March 14, 2022

New proposal improves alcohol-for-delivery options

As COVID cases have declined dramatically in California, many mask and vaccine mandates have been eased. At the same time, many consumers prefer to take their meals to go, or have them delivered. Yet, when the state allowed alcohol to be sent out with meals delivered by delivery apps, there was a key thing missing from the legislation: cocktails. Sabrina tells us more about why, and about SB 846, which aims to fix that.

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California should prioritize a paydown of its unemployment insurance (UI) debt
March 7, 2022

California should prioritize a paydown of its unemployment insurance (UI) debt

The CRA has had early success in our work to elevate the issue of California’s massive debt that resulted from an enormous spike in unemployment payments during the COVID pandemic, but what happens next? Will state lawmakers agree with Governor Newsom that the state should begin to pay down that debt? Sabrina explains why this fight is critical to minimizing the threat of future employer assessments.

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Help us replace PAGA
February 14, 2022

Help us replace PAGA

Getting an initiative qualified for the ballot – and then passed by the voters – are no small tasks, but we think voters would agree: the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) isn’t doing what was intended, and it’s hurting a lot of people.

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Your Help Needed: AB 257 moves to State Senate
February 7, 2022

Your Help Needed: AB 257 moves to State Senate

AB 257, a bill that creates an unelected “government council” made up of political appointees, has passed in the State Assembly, barely receiving the number of votes it needed to move forward. If you haven’t already visited our website, https://notakeouttakeover.com/, take a moment to do so today. There, you can help make your voice heard about this bill, which targets California’s restaurants with an untold amount of new regulation. It would leave elected lawmakers with little say – if any – on new labor regulation passed by the council.

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Help us get Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished!
January 31, 2022

Help us get Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished!

If you’re a restaurant that qualified for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant but didn’t get one, you’re not alone. That’s true for tens of thousands of restaurants in California and hundreds of thousands around the country. And, not surprisingly, new data shows that those who were left out of getting help from that fund are struggling, especially because of the current impacts of the omicron variant of COVID-19. You can get a clearer picture of the situation by watching Sabrina’s video, but be sure to click here to tell Congress to replenish the RRF.

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Key bill gets a vote this week: Make your voice heard now
January 25, 2022

Key bill gets a vote this week: Make your voice heard now

Last summer, we helped defeat AB 257, the bill that aims to create an entirely new government entity, a “government council” made up of unelected, unaccountable political appointees. This council would have the authority to make labor law for counter-service restaurants with more than 30 locations nationwide, but proponents of this idea have already said that if they are successful, they will expand the law throughout the restaurant industry and to other industries as well. 
 

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CRA secures major help from Governor in budget proposal
January 17,2022

CRA secures major help from Governor in budget proposal

At the CRA’s urging, Governor Newsom has proposed tax fairness for restaurants who received grants from the federal government’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund, along with a partial paydown of the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) debt. Neither of these measures will be official until the state legislature passes the governor’s budget proposal.