Starbucks union organizing reaches 60 stores in 19 states

The union drive is small compared to the coffee behemoth's roughly 9,000 U.S. corporate stores, but the movement may still mark a milestone for organized labor.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Feb. 1, 2022

TGI Fridays offers general managers up to $2,500 in vacation reimbursements

The casual dining chain is also giving these employees bonuses to help cover health insurance costs to boost retention, Bloomberg reports. 

By Alicia Kelso • Jan. 27, 2022

The restaurant labor crisis won't end in 2022. But it's improving.

Quits are high, but hires are higher, signaling a slow recovery this year for restaurants who can offer competitive pay, benefits and culture.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Jan. 27, 2022

Pret a Manger settles Illinois suit challenging use of fingerprints for timekeeping

State law strictly limits employers' use of biometric technology.

By Kate Tornone • Jan. 26, 2022

OSHA pulls temporary vaccine rule, says permanent mandate is in the works

At the agency's request, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed challenges to the emergency temporary standard as moot.

By Kate Tornone • Updated Feb. 18, 2022

NRA: Refilling RRF would boost restaurant staffing amid omicron challenge

Eighty-eight percent of restaurants report declines in on-premise diner demand due to the COVID-19 variant, pushing 51% to reduce hours, per a National Restaurant Association survey.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Jan. 24, 2022

Starbucks union drive reaches 33 stores in 14 states

As voting begins in Mesa, Arizona, and at a second round of stores in Buffalo, New York, Starbucks maintains its opposition to the campaign. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Updated Jan. 24, 2022

Starbucks scraps vaccine, testing requirements for US employees

The coffee chain is still encouraging workers to get inoculated and has increased precautions, including new quarantine measures.

By Emma Liem Beckett • Jan. 20, 2022

SCOTUS upholds stay on OSHA's vaccine mandate

Some restaurant chains have already changed COVID-19 requirements for employees in anticipation of the original Feb. 9 deadline.

By Ryan Golden , Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Jan. 13, 2022

Second Starbucks store wins union election after NLRB sustains ballot challenges

The union victory at the Genesee Street store in Cheektowaga, New York, adds momentum to a campaign that has spread to 17 stores in 10 states, but the coffee chain may appeal the decision.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Updated Jan. 11, 2022

Checkers & Rally's to deploy AI tech at corporate-owned drive-thrus

The chain's rollout of Presto's artificial intelligence-based voice assistant will mark one of the widest deployments of such a solution by a QSR.

By Alicia Kelso • Jan. 10, 2022

New York Gov. Hochul wants to make to-go drinks permanently legal

The process to pass the law could take months, but could be a critical lifeline for revenue-starved bars and restaurants.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Jan. 6, 2022

Texas law bars delivery apps from adding restaurants without their consent

The legislation, which took effect Jan. 1, will enable restaurants to file suit if listed by third-party delivery aggregators without a written agreement.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Jan. 5, 2022

7 restaurant trends that will define 2022

Restaurants will trim their menus, phase out cumbersome curbside pickup channels and invest in automation as operators balance labor pressure with off-premise demand, analysts say. 

By Emma Liem Beckett , Julie Littman , Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Jan. 4, 2022

Starbucks union drive spreads after win in Buffalo

Workers in Boston; Chicago; Seattle; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Louisville, Colorado, have recently petitioned for union elections.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Jan. 4, 2022

Starbucks will require vaccination or weekly testing for employees

The coffee chain is one of the first major restaurants to implement such a policy, which comes ahead of the Biden administration's federal vaccine mandate deadline on Feb. 9. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Updated Jan. 4, 2022

Biglari ordered to pay $1.4M for antitrust violations

The U.S. Department of Justice, representing the Federal Trade Commission, filed a lawsuit against Biglari Holdings alleging the company violated the waiting period in an acquisition of voting securities from Cracker Barrel. 

By Alicia Kelso • Dec. 23, 2021

SCOTUS sets Jan. 7 hearing on vaccine mandates for employers, healthcare workers

The news represents a course of action from the High Court that is "unheard of," one attorney wrote.

By Ryan Golden • Dec. 23, 2021

Survey: Employers turn to bonuses for critical, hard-to-fill roles

"Only 2% of organizations offer a higher referral bonus for candidates from under-represented groups," according to WorldatWork, but more are considering the practice.

By Carla Bell • Dec. 21, 2021

OSHA vaccine mandate is back on for now as appeals court dissolves stay

In an update on its website following the court's decision, OSHA said it would resume implementing the ETS, but delay enforcement.

By Ryan Golden • Updated Dec. 20, 2021

Behind the scenes of Starbucks workers' first successful union drive

A Buffalo Starbucks store secured a majority union vote on Dec. 9 after two years of organizing. But union experts don't think the win will be "a wildfire sweeping the American labor market."

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Dec. 16, 2021

Carrabba's will pay $690K to settle EEOC sex harassment suit

The restaurant also will implement new policies, procedures and trainings aimed at preventing workplace misconduct.

By Katie Clarey • Dec. 16, 2021

Feds to revisit overtime, joint employment rules

Two labor agencies plan to propose updates early next year, according to a government-wide to-do list.

By Kate Tornone • Dec. 15, 2021

Companies plan 3.9% wage boost in 2022, highest rate since 2008

A surge in consumer prices this year may have already created a wage-price spiral causing still higher inflation.

By Jim Tyson • Dec. 15, 2021

Taco Bell to raise average minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024

The chain's wage boost will only impact employees at corporate-owned stores, and these workers will also receive complimentary therapy. 

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Dec. 14, 2021