On June 3, 2021, AB-257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (the “FAST Act”) was defeated in the California Assembly, coming up three votes short of the 41 votes needed. 

The FAST Act would have established a Fast Food Sector Council (the “Council”), comprised of 11 members appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the Assembly and Senate Rules Committee. Under the proposed bill, that Council would have been tasked with conducting a full review of the adequacy of fast food restaurant health safety and employment standards, and establishing industry-wide ...

On June 24, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it would be holding the first of a series of open meetings. Members of the public are invited to listen to the FTC’s discussion and submit public comment.

The initial agenda includes the following:

• Made in the USA Rule: The FTC will vote on whether to finalize the Made in the USA Rule.
• Section 18 Rulemaking Procedures: The FTC will vote on whether to streamline the procedures for Section 18 rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
• “Statement of Enforcement Principles Regarding ‘Unfair ...

On June 23, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to limit the amount of non-tip producing work that a tipped employee can perform when an employer is taking a tip credit. 

According to the DOL, the proposed rule “clarifies when an employee is working in a tipped occupation and when a worker has performed such a substantial amount of non-tipped labor that an employer can no longer take a tip credit and must pay the full federal minimum wage to the worker.” 

Under the proposed rule, if a tipped employee spends either more than 20 percent of their ...

Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit reversed approval of a class action settlement, finding several indications that the proposed settlement was the result of collusion between the parties and did not adequately serve the class. The case, Briseño et al. v. ConAgra Foods Inc., Case No. 19-56297 (9th Cir.), originally filed in 2011, centers around allegations that defendant ConAgra Food Inc., then-owner of Wesson Oil, falsely advertised its oil as “100% Natural” when in fact the oil contained ingredients made from GMOs.

After several years of litigation, plaintiffs ...

On June 17, 2021, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (the Cal/OSHA Board) voted to approve a set of new modified COVID-19-related workplace emergency regulations, found here. The new modified regulations will need to be approved within ten days by the state Office of Administrative Law, which is expected to approve the rules. Governor Newsom has also indicated that he may approve the rules immediately. 

These regulations replace more stringent regulations that were inconsistent with the latest guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and ...

On June 11, 2021, the FDA issued a final rule to amend the standard of identity for yogurt. The rule will become effective on July 12, 2021. 

A standard of identity describes in detail what a food product must contain, how it must be proportioned and in some cases how it must be manufactured. The FDA has more than 280 standards for a wide variety of food products.  As part of the FDA’s Nutrition Innovation Strategy, the agency has been considering standards of identity and particularly looking to revoke or update standards when they are inconsistent with modern manufacturing processes or ...

On June 4, 2021, a panel of judges from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of consumer poultry labeling claims against Trader Joe’s on the ground that those claims were federally preempted. The consumer claims alleged that Trader Joe’s labels on poultry were misleading under California law because they had different percentages of retained water than was displayed on their labels. 

Poultry labeling, including a retained water data collection process and label production, are regulated by the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act (“PPIA”) and the ...

On Tuesday, June 8, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to establish permanent guidelines for outdoor dining and move from the temporary pandemic authorizations to a long-term plan.

The motion requested several L.A. County agencies to work together to establish permanent Countywide guidelines for expanded options for outdoor dining spaces. This includes new guidelines for public sidewalks, alleys, and private on-site and off-site parking facilities.

The Board also asked those agencies to develop a plan to transition all restaurants that have ...

On June 9, 2021, the California Department of Public Health announced a new face coverings guidance that will go into effect statewide on June 15, 2021. In addition, Governor Newsom’s office announced that on June 15, 2021, California would be fully reopen with no capacity limits or distancing required by the state. The county-by-county color tier system will also be eliminated. However, individual county health departments may continue to impose restrictions under local public health orders.

Under the State’s new guidance, fully vaccinated persons are not required to wear ...

On June 7, 2021, the FDA released its Fiscal Year 2022 budget request, outlining key investments for food safety. The request details how the FDA plans to use funds in FY 2022 to support food safety and nutrition. The budget provides increases to core food safety programs and outlines emerging issues of concern for the agency.

The agency’s FY 2022 Budget provides $1.6 billion in budget authority for food safety, an increase of $134 million from the previous year.

The agency’s press release states: “[o]f the increase of $134 million for food safety activities, $45 million is for ...

On June 3, 2021, the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board approved new modified COVID-19-related emergency regulations. The new modified regulations, which are found here, will need to be approved by the state Office of Administrative Law within ten days. The OAL is expected to approve the rules.

When approved, the new regulations will become effective on June 15, 2021, the same day on which Governor Newsom announced California would reopen. These regulations may be further refined in the coming weeks to take into account changes in circumstances, especially as ...

On June 3, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the extension of some pandemic alcohol measures designed to help restaurants and bars. The press release states: “The Administration today extended relief measures that permit restaurants and bars to continue to benefit from their investments to expand outdoor operations in areas such as sidewalks and parking lots, and to continue the sale of to-go alcoholic beverages with food deliveries, among other successful pandemic adaptations. In addition, the Administration is urging local governments to facilitate ...

The United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) recently upheld California’s CalSavers Retirement Savings Program (CalSavers), which provides retirement savings accounts to employees without employer retirement benefit plans. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association sued to challenge the law establishing the CalSavers program arguing that it was superseded by federal retirement law, specifically the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). However, the U.S. Appeals court upheld the CalSavers program holding that it was not preempted by ERISA.