This election season has promised to shake up the establishment and status quo, and operators might feel the reverberations of that upheaval. Here are some potential epicenters of those quakes.
Arizona, Washington, Colorado and Maine approved referenda to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. South Dakota’s proposal to lower the minimum wage for teenagers to $7.50 did not pass.
President-elect Donald Trump has said he believes a minimum wage increase would make sense, but that he’d prefer a new threshold of around $10 an hour, not the $15 that unions are demanding.
He’s also said at times that the federal minimum wage should be abolished, but most consistently has championed a hands-off approach that would let states set the pay floor.
Arizona and Washington’s wage hike proposals also included clauses for paid sick time. In Arizona, operations with more than 15 employees will be required to provide 40 hours paid sick time per employee per year. Places with fewer staff member would have to provide 24 hours. Time would accrue at the rate of one hour per 30 worked. Washington operations will be required to provide one hour of paid sick time for every 40 they work.
Trump has proposed that new mothers be granted six weeks of paid post-natal leave time. He has been sketchy on details but has said that the government will fund the benefit by cracking down on unemployment fraud.
Four cities in Colorado and California passed soda taxes. Boulder, Colo., and San Francisco, Oakland and Albany, Calif., will tack a per-ounce charge onto wholesale beverage prices, with the assumption that retailers would pass along the increase and deter customers from drinking the sugary beverage.
Trump has vowed to begin the repeal of Obamacare on day one of his administration—theorists speculate that he might cut federal subsidies for premiums, according to CNBC.com. An estimated 22 million Americans would lose health insurance if the program was scrapped. Trump has said he'll develop a more feasible plan to replace it.
Trump has also said he will reverse all of President Barack Obama’s executive orders that he believes represent a presidential overreach. Although not an executive order, the overtime regulations passed last May could be another policy Trump seeks to undo. The rule doubles the threshold at which workers qualify for overtime, from $23,660 to $47,476. Abolishing the standard would require a rule-making process with the Labor Department or a legislative action.
Republican control in the White House and both chambers of Congress could impact child nutrition reauthorization. Currently, a Republican-sponsored bill in the House offers three unannounced states a block grant, giving them more control over regulations and nutritional guidelines. The bill, which must be voted on before the congressional session ends in December, also seeks to raise the threshold to implement universal free or reduced-price lunch.
In addition, Trump’s shortlist for agriculture secretary includes Texas Agriculture Secretary Sid Miller, who attempted to restore deep fryers and full-calorie sodas into public schools. Miller favors “Farm Fresh Fridays” over “Meatless Mondays,” as well, according to Politico. Also on the list are former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, agribusiness owner Charles Herbster, dairy executive Mike McCloskey and former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, among others.
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