On July 20th the U.S. Department of Labor signaled its plan to rescind the tip-pooling restrictions put in place under the Obama Administration. It stated it will issue a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,”specifically, “in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Department will propose to rescind the current restrictions on tip pooling by employers that pay tipped […]
Menu Labeling in Full Force and Effect
The time has come (finally)! Effective May 7, 2018, the menu-labeling regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially became the law of the land. This is a good thing – Find out why here. Does This Affect You? Restaurants and similar retail food establishments with 20 or more locations or a franchisee chain with 20 or […]
Immigration Compliance Webinar – Be Ready For ICE
Common Sense I-9 Compliance and What to do When ICE Comes Knocking Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dramatically increased its I-9 audit activities in New Mexico and the consequences of non-compliance can be severe and include, but are not limited to, unwelcome business interruption, exorbitant fines, unwanted exposure, and even criminal charges. I-9 Employment Eligibility […]
Tip Pooling Rules… What’s the big deal?
Finally a decision on tip pooling! Restaurants have the direction we need to move forward in sharing tips with the heart-of-the-house (HOH) employees (kitchen, bussers and dishwashers) – under certain circumstances. For restaurants this clarification has been long awaited. In the last few years, there have been many lawsuits and differing judgements making it difficult […]
.05 Making Criminals of Good Citizens
.05 Making Criminals of Good Citizens If you live in New Mexico you know drunk driving is a problem. It seems that headlines consistently point to drunk drivers with multiple DWI charges killing someone while driving drunk for the 8th time. Most of these offenders are well over the legal blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .08. […]
NMRA Wants You To Be Ready For Your Health Inspection
9 Tips To Prepare for Your Health Inspection NMRA says the proper strategy for a successful health inspection is to be ready at all times. To stay ahead of the game, managers can conduct weekly, in-house inspections. Here are nine tips to help your team prepare: Use the same form – or a similar form […]
Who will be scheduling your employees? You or the government?
Scheduling is a pain! Anyone who has ever been in charge of a restaurant schedule knows how painful it is. There are many pressures including anticipating business volume, employee expectations and requests for time off. The next scheduling pressure point is going to come from politicians. Yes you heard me. Politicians are interested in how […]
Employees Sue Restaurant… Who is the Victim?
It could be you! I just had a very disturbing visit from an immigrant couple who recently had to close their restaurant in Santa Fe. It appears they were sued by three employees for not paying the “living wage” in Santa Fe. The City attorney audited the restaurant for each case and found that in […]
Help us add $3.5 million in tourism dollars!
NM 2018 Legislative Session Begins January 16th As usual we need your help with your legislators. The beauty of New Mexico politics is that we are a state with a small population and our legislators are our neighbors, customers and friends. As a business owner/employer/ tax payer in their district you have more influence than […]
Form I-9 Updated July 2017
Find links below to the most current I-9 and Employer Handbook on how to fill out the form. From USCIS.gov “Form I-9 is used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for each individual they hire […]