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S.J.R. 38, Opposing H-2B Visa Rule Change, Introduced, Appeals Court Delays NLRB Poster Mandate

Posted on: April 26th, 2012 by Ryan Ball No Comments

GCSAA Urges Senate Support of SJR 38 on H-2B Visa Program – The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) is asking all golf course superintendents and others involved in the golf industry to contact their Senators and urge them to support Senate Joint Resolution 38. If passed, SJR38 would declare Congress’ official disapproval of the controversial rules being implemented by the Department of Labor on H-2B Visa eligibility and access. VGM Club President DJay Ellis has contacted Iowa Senator Charles Grassley on the Department of Labor rules that went into effect in February 2012 and urged him to oppose the proposed changes. More information and links to find contact information for your senators can be found HERE

Appeals Court Delays April 30th NLRB Poster Mandate – In a significant blow to the National Labor Relations Board, a federal appeals court has delayed a key implementation deadline which mandates an 11×17” poster be displayed in workplaces detailing workers rights to organize into a union. Previous court rulings also took issue with the NLRB poster mandate, in effect saying the board had the authority to impose the mandate, but did not have the authority to enforce any penalties for noncompliance, being designated an “unfair labor practice” under the National Labor Relations Act. This most recent ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today issued an emergency injunction blocking the NLRB from enforcing the poster mandate until the court can hear a legal challenge brought by a group of business organizations at a later date. More information about the NLRB poster situation, and the legal challenges, can be found here.

Restaurant Industry Continues Growth, Adds 530k Jobs Over Two Years

Posted on: April 11th, 2012 by Ryan Ball No Comments

Restaurants across the nation are growing their payrolls according to a new release issued by the National Restaurant Association. Since the beginning of employment recovery in March 2010, eating and drinking establishments have added 562,600 jobs, which brings the industry staffing total to more than 180,000 jobs above the pre-recession peak.

Restaurant industry job growth also far outpaced the overall economy in recent months. In the 12 months ending March 2012, eating and drinking establishments employment jumped 3.2 percent, more than double the 1.5 percent increase in total U.S. employment during the same period. Additionally, 2012 marks the 13th consecutive year in which restaurant employment growth has outpaced overall employment growth in the United States. More (National Restaurant Industry)

Supreme Court Hears Challenges to Affordable Care Act

Posted on: March 27th, 2012 by Ryan Ball 1 Comment

The United State Supreme Court is currently hearing oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the landmark, often controversial health care legislation passed into law in 2010. The challenge was filed on behalf of 26 state attorney’s general and is generally focused on whether Congress has the right, under the Commerce Clause, to force Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine.

The Supreme Court will hear three days of oral arguments beginning March 26th. The first day of argument will focus on whether the Court has standing to hear the case since the “penalties” involved in the challenge will not begin to go into effect until 2014. By all accounts, the Justices seemed to suggest they intended to hear the arguments on the constitutionality, not kick the can down the road a few more years.

Tuesday’s arguments are the main event, discussing the constitutionality of the “individual mandate” of the bill, which will force all Americans to purchase health insurance or choose to pay a fine. Those who have insurance through their employer, or public health benefits would be exempt, there are also subsides depending on income levels up to $90,000 annual income for a family of four. The argument against the individual mandate is that the government does not have right to force Americans to purchase something if they are technically not engaging in commerce, such as forcing someone to purchase broccoli because it is good for you. The government’s attorney’s will argue that Americans need access to health care and would need to sign a waiver explicitly waiving their rights to go to a hospital to reach the standard of “not engaging in commerce” argued by the suit.

Wednesday will hear arguments on the government’s right to force individual states to expand their Medicaid enrollment criteria. The PPACA expands Medicaid enrollment to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level, creating an estimated 15-20 million newly eligible enrollees in 2014. The Federal government will cover the costs of the newly eligible enrollees for the first two years, but will begin to shift costs back to the states after the initial period.

The Court is likely to issue their opinion on the constitutionality of the individual provisions listed above and the constitutionality of the entire law sometime in late June, which is actually very prompt by Supreme Court standards. Stay tuned for more information from VGM Club Government Relations.

Support House Joint Resolution Disapproving DOL H-2B Visa Rules

Posted on: March 22nd, 2012 by Ryan Ball No Comments

Earlier this year the Department of Labor issued final rules governing changes to the H-2B Visa program utilized by many golf courses and restaurants for seasonal, or otherwise temporary employment. The final rule changes the process by which employers obtain a temporary labor certification from the Department for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a non-immigrant worker in H-2B status. The final rule also introduces new regulations designed to increase worker protections for both U.S. and foreign workers. Key changes to the administration of the program include:

- Creating a national electronic job registry for all H-2B job orders to improve U.S. worker access to these temporary jobs.

- Enhancing recruitment of U.S. workers from across the country

- Increasing the amount of time for which U.S. workers must be recruited and hired

- Requiring the rehiring of former employees when available.

If no court takes action stopping these new regulations, they will become active on April 23, 2012. The National Restaurant Association and the GCSAA both submitted comments to the Department of Labor that argued against the onerous new provisions designed to restrict access to the program and significantly raise wages to the H-2B employees, but their comments seem to have been ignored. VGM Club President DJay Ellis also wrote a letter to Iowa Senator Charles Grassley asking him to contact the Labor Department not to move forward with their proposed changes.

VGM Club Government Relations urges all Club members to contact their elected officials and urge them to support HJ Res. 104, which would issue an official act of congress disapproving of the new Labor Department rules if passed by the full House, Senate and signed by the President.

The GCSAA has a great tool to search for your congressional representatives and send them a letter asking for their support.

Text of HJ Res 104 can be found here.

Quick Hits: NLRB, RESTORE Act, Debit Swipe Fee Lawsuit

Posted on: March 13th, 2012 by Ryan Ball No Comments

NLRB Poster Requirements Move Forward, Enforcement in Question — A federal district court in Washington DC has ruled that the National Labor Relations Board does have the authority to require businesses to display a poster detailing workers’ rights to organize a union. The court did, however, rule that the agency did not have the authority to deem an employer’s failure to post the notice to be an unfair labor practice, and said that failure to post the notice does not begin a “statute of limitations” for charges employees can file against their employers under the National Labor Relations Act. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the National Restaurant Association, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and other allied groups, will likely continue to additional appellate courts in the coming months, but if a higher court does not rule on the case the NLRB states the policy will become effective April 30th, 2012. MORE

Senate Passes Bill Allocating BP Fines to Gulf Coast Damaged Clean Up Efforts– In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate voted to pass the RESTORE Act earlier this month by a vote of 76-22, as an amendment to a pending highway transportation bill. Action now moves to House of Representatives, which likely will make changes to the bill, but if the House passes a transportation bill containing the same language, 80 percent of the fines paid by BP would go to the five Gulf states affected by the spill: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas. Fines could amount to $5 billion to $20 billion. VGM Club Government Relations urges Club members to contact their local congressperson and ask them to support the Senate’s efforts to help clean up the Gulf Coast region. MORE

National Restaurant Association Joins Lawsuit Challenging Federal Reserve on Debit-Swipe fees — Last year, as a result of the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd/Frank Financial Regulation bill and after a major repeal effort in congress, the Federal Reserve voted to cap debit swipe fees for merchants at 21 cents per transaction plus 0.05 percent of sales for large financial institutions beginning Oct. 1, 2011. The amount was less than the 44 cents per transaction that merchants had averaged to that point, but more than the 12-cent cap that the Fed first proposed in December 2010. This muddled policy proposal resulted in significantly lower debit swipe fees for many restaurants and other businesses, but left some merchants that primarily have smaller transactions to actually have their rates increase since the policy became effective on October 1, 2011. The lawsuit seeks to improve the existing rule to allow additional small businesses to take advantage of a more level playing field on debit swipe fees. MORE