WTF Just Happened?
Hi - I’m Jessica, a fractional HR leader specializing in the Food and Beverage (F&B) space.
Keep reading to learn what happened while you were sleeping.
Welcome July: New Hospitality Compliance Laws You Need to Know
San Francisco, CA
As anticipated (?) in 2023… we’ve had some new compliance complications hit California and the hospitality industry this morning (July 1, 2024).
Key Compliance Changes:
Workplace Violence Prevention (SB 553): Requires employers to implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan, provide training, and maintain records of workplace violence incidents.
Junk/Hidden Fees Ban (SB 478): Prohibits businesses from charging hidden fees, enhancing price transparency for consumers.
Restaurant Service Charge Exclusion (SB 1524): Allows businesses in the hospitality space to continue to charge fees outside of the verbiage in the Junk/Hidden Fees Ban (SB 478)
Local Minimum Wage Increases: Various cities will see local minimum wage increases.
Drug Testing in Bars (AB 1013): Requires bars and nightclubs with a Type 48 license to offer drug testing kits to detect common date-rape drugs and display signage informing patrons of their availability
I was talking with a friend (that’s not in Food and Beverage industry aka F&B – but is in HR) and she only knew of SB553 (Workplace Violence).
In that conversation she told me:
It’s silly that my clients are more concerned with SB 478 (Hidden Fees Ban) than on SB 553 (Violence).
Safety is the most important thing.
The rest is just basic.
WOWZA. I nearly friend dumped her – but then I realized, people don’t know what they don’t know.
Ranking the New Laws by Importance:
Local Minimum Wage Increases: Yup - this changed mid year for many cities across our state. This ranks number 1 because this is CA – we don’t mess with Wage and Hour. Ever. Plaintiff attorneys know representing an employee in wage and hour is a paycheck. Employees can also represent themselves with filing a wage and hour claim via the state website – and it is so crystal clear, (read guaranteed) that if you did pay someone wrong, you will pay them (and then some) because interest accrues daily and there’s an additional oops paid to the state. Louder for those in the back: Don’t mess with wage and hour things – ever.
Restaurant Service Charge Exclusion (SB 1524): Because it impacts employees’ pay, and revenue. Things like service charges for buy outs and auto gratuities on tables of 6 or more are part of employee compensation. (this is not a debate on to tip or not to tip) – this fire drill of a law passed over the weekend allows employees to maintain predictability. Before this law, many businesses (And employees) were anxious – the thought was as a employee, do I have to choose? 1. Do I do a buyout – knowing there is no auto gratuity on a large table… or 2. Do I roll the dice, turn down a buy out and hope I get tables that tip.
From a business perspective, do I +20% on all items, then add +11% for taxes… and update the POS, reprint menus and update our food delivery pages…
You can see – SB 478 (below) had a lot of people anxious for months & POOF – SB 1524 made it “not a thing.”
Hidden Fees Ban (SB 478): Because it impacts revenue. I’ll keep this one short and sweet - it wasn’t written for the hospitality industry and is an example of how legislation impacts employee experience. Originally, if this were to pass without SB 1524 we’d have a wee bit of a HR mess from business process, to team training, to employee morale. This law was set to take away things like service charges, auto gratuities and other line items you see on your receipt for covering other required things (like the SF Health Care Security Ordinance). When laws come into play, there’s always the form… then there is the function. This is where an HR consultant helps with business strategy (Read function) … ps Hi – that’s me, keep reading). Here’s the FAQ in Spanish.
Workplace Violence Prevention (SB 553): It just has to be “in action” not 100% in place. There’s a free guide from Cal/Osha – people are fearmongering this. It sounds scarier than it is, because Violence is well – Violent. Updating a IIPP will suffice on the “in action” requirement, talk to your team. Get the conversation going and realize everyone will have a little moment that they need a deep breath.
Drug Testing in Bars (AB 1013): You can probably find these things on Amazon Prime…here’s the FAQ so you can double check requirements prior to purchasing.
Look, I am not saying that these are not great things to have in place. I am just being realistic, many businesses in CA do not have an HR team or bandwidth to keep up with these changes.
I keep up with this so business owners don’t have to. I diagnosis, advise and change procedure to impact employee experience and walk the line with our CA changes.
If you’re curious about my approach, fill out the contact form below and let’s have a virtual coffee. I’d love to hear about your business, your HR bandwidth – and appetite for keeping up with all these things.
Cheers,
disclaimer: please read the links I’ve provided as reference for you in this blog post. Nothing on this page should be interpreted as legal advice. I am not a lawyer, I have never sat for the bar/attended law school. I am a HR professional sharing how legislation impacts business strategy and employee experience.