Labor
Help wanted: Labor crisis plagues US restaurant industry
AP News 6/22
The California Restaurant Association earlier estimated as many as one-third of the state’s restaurants would not make it through the pandemic. For those that survived, the employment gap is a “full-blown crisis,” said Jot Condie, who heads the organization.
DOL Proposes New Rule on Tip Credits
JD Supra 6/22
The rule seeks to reinstate the longstanding policy, sometimes called the “80/20″ rule, which had been the subject of numerous single-plaintiff, collective, and class actions challenging the use of the tip credit for side work that is not directly related to serving customers.
Food Industry Policy
San Francisco will permanently cap food delivery fees for DoorDash, Grubhub and other apps
San Francisco Chronicle 6/22
San Francisco restaurants celebrated a major win over third-party delivery company fees Tuesday. The city’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a resolution that permanently caps food delivery fee commissions charged by companies like DoorDash and Grubhub at 15% per order.
Want to open a restaurant or store in S.F.? The city may waive your fees
San Francisco Chronicle 6/22
A proposed new law called First Year Free, being introduced Tuesday by Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Matt Haney, could ease their way. It would waive for one year the myriad fees that small, new storefront businesses must pay the city for permits, licenses, business registration, inspections and more. All told, those fees can mount up to $15,000 to $30,000, according to the two supervisors.
On the Side
LA Street Vendors Hold Large Rally, Claim Aggressive Crackdown From County Inspectors
CBS Los Angeles 6/22
Dozens of street vendors held a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall Tuesday morning against what they call an uptick in aggressive enforcement tactics by county health inspectors. The street vendors say that inspectors with the L.A. County Department of Public Health have been cracking down, removing vendors from areas where they have historically operated, such as Echo Park.
Interactive, communal restaurants like Korean BBQ and hot pot are back in action in the Bay Area
San Francisco Chronicle 6/22
Heads up, Bay Area: Korean barbecue is back. And so are all-you-can-eat hot pot, and conveyor-belt sushi and all the interactive, communal dining experiences that felt fraught with potential health risks.
