In-N-Out refuses to enforce San Francisco's vaccine mandate

The chain, which is calling the health order government overreach, had to temporarily close its only San Francisco location after it refused to check customers' vaccine statuses. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 20, 2021

Report: Takeout and delivery orders expected to increase into the holiday season

Almost two-thirds of diners said they will consider ordering in instead of dining out as the holidays approach, citing their fears of the COVID-19 delta variant, according to a BentoBox survey.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 19, 2021

McDonald's US corporate stores reach gender pay parity

The burger giant currently pays women globally 99.85 cents on the dollar for similar work completed by men, but expects to hit pay parity worldwide in 2022.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Oct. 19, 2021

The key to a successful holiday season will be flexible staffing

For small employers, flexibility and adjustable hours are factors to compete on now that workers' demands are changing, writes Sumir Meghani, CEO and co-founder of Instawork.

By Sumir Meghani • Oct. 18, 2021

BLS: Hospitality worker quit rate is more than double national average

Over 890,000 workers left the industry in August, marking a quit rate of 6.8%, and Moody's reports that restaurants will be "forced to increase wages."

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 13, 2021

61% of restaurant operators disagree with vaccine mandate, study shows

Fifty-nine percent of operators believe employees will quit rather than comply with the requirement, but a majority also believe the mandate will make diners more comfortable.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 10, 2021

Chipotle agrees to $8M settlement in manager trainee classification suit

If approved by a court, the agreement — the latest in a string of labor-related settlements at the chain — will end nine years of litigation.

By Kate Tornone • Oct. 7, 2021

Los Angeles will require proof of vaccination for indoor dining

Unlike mandates passed by other major restaurant metros, the city's rule requires diners to be fully vaccinated.

By Alicia Kelso • Oct. 6, 2021

Half of Raising Cane's corporate staff will work in restaurants to fight labor shortage

Office workers will also help with store-level recruitment as the chicken chain aims to hire 10,000 hourly employees in the next 50 days.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Oct. 6, 2021

Chili's parent company to boost hourly employee pay to $18 by 2023

Brinker International also plans to raise Chili's general manager pay from $87,000 to $100,000 by 2025, a move that's part of the restaurant group's overall strategy to improve staffing. 

By Julie Littman • Oct. 1, 2021

DOL expands fines for employers that keep workers' tips

The rule addresses fines for accidental or first-time offenses and is expected to take effect in late November.

By Kate Tornone • Sept. 27, 2021

Fight for $15 union challenges NLRB joint-employer rule

The complaint is the latest challenge to the standard's ever-changing interpretation.

By Emilie Shumway • Sept. 24, 2021

New York City Council passes delivery worker protection laws

The legislation includes a requirement for restaurants to provide couriers access to their bathrooms and set minimum pay for workers, representing the broadest protections for these workers in the U.S. 

By Julie Littman • Sept. 24, 2021

Coalition launches ballot initiative to end the tipped minimum wage in DC

One Fair Wage believes pandemic-induced labor pressure is increasing support to end the tip credit in the nation's capital, where such a proposal was overturned by city council in 2018.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Sept. 22, 2021

24 states vow to challenge Biden's vaccine mandate

The attorneys general called the order "disastrous and counterproductive" in a letter to the president and said it could exacerbate the labor shortage by driving workers to quit rather than comply.

By Kate Tornone , Julie Littman • Sept. 21, 2021

34% of restaurant workers experienced more wage theft in 2021, OFW reports

During a webinar hosted by the nonprofit, Department of Labor staff, including Secretary Marty Walsh, spoke about growing wage and hour violations, which impact foodservice more than any other industry.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Sept. 21, 2021

Seattle to become the latest city to enact a vaccine mandate to dine out

King County, Washington, will require proof of inoculation or a negative COVID-19 test to enter a bar or restaurant, joining cities like New York City and New Orleans that have similar rules.

By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 20, 2021

NYC pauses restaurant data-sharing law

The city agreed not to enforce the contested statute until the case filed by DoorDash is resolved, according to court documents filed Monday.

By Julie Littman • Updated Oct. 5, 2021

Muslim Chipotle worker files EEOC complaint alleging assistant manager yanked hijab

The restaurant chain told the Council on American-Islamic Relations that it fired the leader after an investigation.

By Katie Clarey • Sept. 14, 2021

IRC: 82% of restaurants fear they will shutter without Restaurant Revitalization Fund refill

The nonprofit urged Congress to refill the RRF before budget reconciliation talks last week, but the House Committee on Small Business didn't vote on a plan that would add $60 billion to the fund.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Sept. 14, 2021

Small Business Administration quadruples EIDL loan cap to $2M

The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program previously capped loans at $500,000, and the National Restaurant Association worked with the SBA to help develop requirements that give struggling restaurants more flexibility.

By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 10, 2021

Feds to require large employers mandate coronavirus vaccine

The requirements will impact some 80 million workers in private sector businesses, in addition to many federal employees and contractors, the White House said.

By Ryan Golden • Updated Sept. 10, 2021

Raising tipped minimum wage could spark job loss, study shows

The National Bureau of Economic Research also finds that hiking the tipped minimum wage would do little to prevent employees from falling into low-income brackets.

By Alicia Kelso • Sept. 9, 2021

Why aren't restaurant workers coming back? Here's what the data shows.

While operators continue to point to high unemployment benefits keeping workers from returning, various reports show the staffing shortage is much more complicated.

By Julie Littman • Sept. 8, 2021

Shake Shack suspends 4-day workweek perk for managers

The burger chain phased out the program after the pandemic began and will focus instead on hiring hourly workers and raising pay.

By Julie Littman • Sept. 7, 2021