PRLA Restaurant & Lodging Matters Fall 2019

Fall 2019 • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters •  21 Fall Session Begins | Minimum Wage HB 787 | Act 109 | Liquor Legislation Settlement Healthy Kids | Plastic Bag Ban Short Term Rentals | Paid Leave Local Items PHILADELPHIA—HEALTHY KIDS Councilwoman Blondell-Reynolds Brown has introduced legislation that would require all foodservice establishments in the City of Philadelphia that offer a kid’s meal to offer one of the following as the default beverage to be served with the meal: water, milk, or 100 percent fruit juice. PRLA has a number of concerns with the legislation. PHILADELPHIA—PLASTIC BAG BAN Councilman Mark Squilla has introduced legislation that would ban all plastic bags that are less than 2.25 millimeters thick and non- recyclable paper bags. Further, the legislation assesses a fee of 15 cents on all other bags that are thicker than 2.25 millimeters. Some bags, such as those for fruits and vegetables and used for meats and fish are exempted from the bill. Despite the state preempting this type of legislation until July 1, 2020, the Councilman still plans to move forward with it this fall. PHILADELPHIA—SODIUM WARNING LABEL Legislation took effect September 13 that requires any restaurant with 15 or more locations worldwide to put a sodium warning label next to menu items that exceed 2,300 mg of sodium. PHILADELPHIA—SHORT TERM RENTALS As listings on Airbnb and VRBO continue to grow in Philadelphia, larger companies like Sonder and StayAlfred are beginning to lease entire buildings to operate short term rentals. PRLA, in conjunction with the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, is working on legislation that will create a registry requirement and curb these illegal rentals. PHILADELPHIA—MANDATED SCHEDULING Philadelphia’s mandated predictive scheduling law is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2020. The legislation requires businesses to: • Guarantee a certain number of hours and consistent schedule per week at the time of hire. • Post schedules two weeks in advance and require predictability pay if the schedule needs to be changed at any point within the two-week period. • Offer available hours to all existing employees before a new employee can be hired. And violation of the law results in presumptive damage to the impacted employees and significant fines/litigation to the business. PITTSBURGH—PA. SUPREME COURT DECLARES PAID LEAVE LEGAL In a vote of 4–3, the State Supreme Court ruled that the Pittsburgh paid leave law is legal. PRLA continues to maintain that this was a political decision not based on the rule of law. We continue to wait to hear when the City will move forward with the mandate and exploring any/all other legal/legislative options. This dangerous precedent set by the Court leads to major concerns that the Court will find a way to approve almost any type of local labor mandate— despite precedent stating otherwise. • Federal Items Wage Act | Online Booking Scams Act Health Insurance Tax | Litigation RAISE THE WAGE ACT The U.S. House passed the Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 582) by a vote of 231–199. Three Republicans voted for the bill, including Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania. The bill would increase the minimum wage to $15/hour and completely eliminate the tipped wage. While the Senate is unlikely to move on this bill, it does put pressure for the federal minimum wage to be addressed. STOP ONLINE BOOKING SCAMS ACT Several U.S. Senators have introduced legislation that would prohibit third-party online hotel reservation sellers who are not affiliated with a hotel to advertise, promote, or sell a reservation if they state or imply that they are the actual hotel or owner. This legislation is becoming necessary as more of these sites pop up, causing confusion, mistakes, and frustration for hotels and customers alike. HEALTH INSURANCE TAX If legislation is not passed to delay or repeal the health insurance tax (HIT), private health insurers will have to pay $15.5 billion in 2020, a cost that will be passed along in the form of higher premiums. There is bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate that would either permanently repeal the tax or delay it for two years. VISA/MASTERCARD ANTITRUST LITIGATION SETTLEMENT Businesses may soon start receiving court-approved notices relating to a proposed settlement in the damages class action of this case. The settlement stipulates that businesses will receive part of a $5 billion settlement if they accepted Visa or MasterCard between January 2004 and January 2019. Claim forms will be sent out after the settlement is finalized. **There are many companies that may contact you claiming you need to sign up for their services to access the settlement, but this is not the case. You will receive a claim form from the Court if you are eligible for the settlement. You do not need to hire anyone to access it for you.**