..read more

The new federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act went into effect June 27. Businesses need to replace their old Know Your Rights poster with the new notice that you can download here. Although the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has been implemented at the federal level, Washington state businesses are not significantly impacted due to the existing law in place that offers protection for pregnant workers. Note: This is different than the previous United States Department of Labor FMLA poster update entitled Your Employee Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act. If you missed it, access ..read more

..read more

Relief programs in 2022 – info and updates  This is a brief list of programs created to help businesses and employees impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. This list is updated regularly to reflect the current status and ensure accuracy. The list includes a status update on federal and state relief programs and tax credits provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Washington State Department of Commerce.   Contact your tax advisor for more information possible financial relief options for your business. M ..read more

Alcohol delivery: How to stay in compliance  Rules that allow liquor to-go and alcohol delivery in Washington are great wins for our industry, but if we want to see these rules become permanent, ensuring compliance is important. Remember, liquor license holders are ultimately the ones who are responsible and accountable for ensuring compliance with all liquor laws and rules.    The sale of alcohol products in factory–  and manufacturer––sealed containers through curbside, takeout, and delivery service is currently allowed and the rule is set to expire on July 1, 2023 ..read more

How one family business overcame staffing challenges and opened a new restaurant Opening a restaurant at the tail end of a global pandemic hasn’t been easy. For Lisa Poole and her family, experienced restaurateurs in Spokane, it meant overcoming the challenge of this year’s labor shortage. Mossuto’s Italian opened in Spokane on Nov. 30, 2021, in time for the holidays and a few months before Gov. Jay Inslee relaxed the statewide mask mandate. It is the third restaurant Lisa and her family own. The Poole’s also own both Poole’s Public Houses in Spokane. “Coming through two years of COVID has bee ..read more

The CEO podcast is a monthly podcast with Washington Hospitality Association President and CEO Anthony Anton. This is a summary of the October edition where Anthony sat down with the government affairs team. You can watch the full episode on our YouTube channel. If you have questions for the next episode, email podcast@wahospitality.org.  Industry updates  Anthony started by going around the horn with four things the association is doing to help the industry.  Anthony has been meeting with representatives from WorkSource regularly. A main goal ..read more

In sports, when a Hall of Famer passes away, the entire community pauses, remembers, shows its respects and honors the legacy.  But imagine the impact of losing the person that the sports Hall of Fame is actually named after.  That is what happened to hospitality when industry icon, Jerry Burtenshaw, passed away after a long battle with cancer on Sept. 2, 2021. He was 86. Along with his family, he leaves behind a massive legacy in the hospitality industry.   His lists of accomplishments and legacy impacts are long but the short l ..read more

The Washington State department of Labor & Industries (L&I) announced today that the minimum wage in Washington state will see an increase of 80 cents in January. The new statewide minimum wage will be $14.49 per hour, up from $13.69. The threshold that needs to be reached to be exempt from overtime will also be raised to $52,743.60 a year.     The minimum wage is calculated using the prior 12 months in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The cities of SeaTac and Seattle will increase the ..read more

Isolated workers and the law: How to stay in compliance A bill passed in the 2019 legislative session and took effect in Jan. 2021 that now applies to a large portion of Washington’s hospitality businesses. The law requires all employers in hotel, motel, retail, property services or a security guard entity to have all the following: Adopt a sexual harassment policy; Provide specific mandatory anti-harassment training to the employer’s managers, supervisors, and employees including; Provide a list of resources to employees to utilize. Resources must include contact information for; The Equal ..read more