Labor
Restaurant defends offer to rehire servers to do heavy maintenance work
The Washington Times 6/25
Some employers are demanding a lot of flexibility from returning staff — which some employees see as an effort to force them out.
Overtime, Minimum-Wage Exemptions Clarified by New DOL Opinions
Bloomberg 6/25
The Labor Department released a series of new opinion letters, including one that clarified whether a salesperson whose primary duty is to set up displays at retail trade shows or big-box stores is covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s exemption for “outside sales.”
Food Industry Policy
San Francisco bars will be allowed to reopen outdoor service Monday
SF Gate 6/25
The wait is over for frustrated San Francisco bar owners who have been waiting to open their businesses while the city’s restaurants have been in operation in various capacities since March.
SF Official, Agency Butt Heads Over Coronavirus-Inspired Ban on Reusable Grocery Bags
Eater, San Francisco 6/25
San Francisco led the national movement to dump single-use grocery bags in favor of bags shoppers bring from home, ushering in an era of New Yorker tote bags filled with produce and heavy-duty plastic bags sold at the checkout-stand for a buck or two.
On the Side
The malatang restaurant trend hit the Bay Area. Then came the coronavirus
San Francisco Chronicle 6/26
Before the pandemic and shelter-in-place restrictions, restaurants that offered malatang put out an assortment of vegetables, proteins and other ingredients for customers to build their own meal base, such as Customize Malatang in Newark.
Undocumented restaurant worker shares dark struggle during COVID-19 lockdown in California
The Fresno Bee 6/25
“I’ll be back in about a week… maybe 15 days.” That’s what Reyna Rubio thought when the restaurant where she works as a manager/server called to tell her she would not be needed until further notice. That was March 18.
Chuck E. Cheese files for bankruptcy protection
Los Angeles Times 6/25
Chuck E. Cheese — where kids could be kids while parents nursed headaches — is filing for bankruptcy protection.
A Sacramento bar ignored rules, and now a customer has coronavirus. This is a wake-up call
The Sacramento Bee 6/25
The Zebra Club’s pandemic party has ended – for now. The midtown bar closed its doors this week after a customer tested positive for the coronavirus.
Nearly 24,000 restaurants are closed, Yelp says
Restaurant Business 6/25
Nearly 24,000 restaurants are closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, more than half of them permanently, according to a Yelp report published Thursday.
‘I’m scared of people not going to restaurants anymore’ — Will high-end dining ever return?
Berkeleyside 6/25
A world without restaurants. Sho Kamio, owner and head chef of Iyasare in Berkeley, can’t seem to shake it. The thought flits around his head like flies circling a rotten apple.
