PR&LA Fall 2018

Fall 2018 • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters •  21 Election year | State budget in an election year | Tourism line item Goals for the Fall | Preemption of food and drink taxes Department of Labor salary threshold and duties test changes Restaurant license auction Predictive scheduling | Philadelphia—Beverage tax Philadelphia—Sodium Warning Label Local Items PREDICTIVE SCHEDULING Councilwoman Gym introduced predictive scheduling legislation. It is an extremely broad bill that captures the retail units, restaurants, or hotels in Philadelphia that employ more than 250 people worldwide and has more than 20 locations operating under the same name. The proposed legislation contains some of the following provisions: • Upon hire, employers must provide employees an estimate of hours they will work and what their specific schedule will be week-to-week. If any of that is changed, employees must be compensated for the difference. • Employers must post schedules at a minimum of two weeks in advance and if the schedule changes, employees must be compensated for that via predictability pay. • The legislation mandates how many hours an employee must have between shifts. • If an employee’s employment ends, those hours must be offered to all existing employees at that location and if none of the hours are picked up by existing employees, they must be offered to all employees at any other location before a new employee can be hired. While the legislation has been introduced, it will not move through the legislative process until Council returns to session in the fall. PRLA is working closely with our allies in and out of the industry to combat this legislation. PHILADELPHIA—BEVERAGE TAX The state Supreme Court has ruled, 4-2, that the beverage tax in Philadelphia is legal because it is assessed at a different point of the transactional process than the sales tax. This ruling could open the door for any City that has a Home Rule Charter, and therefore local taxing authority, to assess a beverage tax or any other tax for that matter in the future. PHILADELPHIA—SODIUM WARNING LABEL The City of Philadelphia has passed legislation that would require chain restaurants to put a sodium warning next to any menu item that exceeds 2,300 milligrams of sodium. The Mayor is expected to sign the bill and it will take effect one year after his signature. •