In This Section:
California Mulls, NYC Delays Calorie Counts On Menus
Massachusetts Poised To Pass Franchisee Protection
Colorado's No-Bare-Hand Contact Rule Takes Effect March 1
Wisconsin, Virginia, County in Kentucky Step Closer To Smoking Bans
This issue's Economic Report Sponsor: FHA2008 | Industry Report Sponsor: A.J. Antunes & Co.
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California Mulls, NYC Delays Calorie Counts On Menus
The second nutritional labeling bill in a month has been introduced in the California senate. Last month, Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima (Los Angeles County), proposed SB 120, which would require you to post calories, fat and carbohydrates on your menu if you have more than 10 stores.
Originally unaware of that bill, another state senator, Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation earlier this month that would require you to list calories on your menu or menu board if you have five stores in the state or 10 nationwide. Midgen, who says obesity rates are the focus of SB 180, now says she'll work with Padilla's office on the issue.
New York's city council, meanwhile, reports it is considering superseding the health department ordinance passed in December that requires chains to post calorie counts on menus or menu boards.
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Massachusetts Poised To Pass Franchisee Protection
A proposed amendment to Massachusetts franchise law could have a big impact on your franchisee-franchisor relationships. The amendment, designed to give franchisees more protection, adds requirements to existing law for good cause and proper notice when terminating franchisees.
The problem, according to Connecticut law firm Wiggin and Dana LLP, is that the amendment would severely limit the reasons companies could terminate franchisees or refuse to renew contracts and would require them to repurchase or reimburse franchisees in most cases of termination at terms the law firm calls "onerous."
Worse, the firms says, is vague language in the bill that would prohibit franchisors from imposing "unreasonable standards of performance" and "fail[ing] to deal in good faith with a franchisee."
To read the proposed bill, sponsored by Massachusetts Sen. Patricia Jehlen, go to www.franchiselawblog.com/archives/MA_SD_1981_FRANCHISEE_PROTECTION.doc
Colorado's No-Bare-Hand Contact Rule Takes Effect March 1
Get the gloves ready. Colorado food safety regs change on March 1. The rules, amended a year ago, now say your employees can't handle ready-to-eat foods with their bare hands. Foods that require no further cooking must be handled and served with tongs, utensils, deli paper, workers wearing gloves or some other approved method.
Workers still may handle food with their bare hands if it will be cooked after handling and they follow proper handwashing procedures.
For more information on the rule change, go to www.cdphe.state.co.us/regulations/consumer/index.html.
Wisconsin, Virginia, County In Kentucky Step Closer To Smoking Bans
The trend is overwhelming now, but three places of note recently moved toward enacting smoking
bans.
The Virginia senate approved a bill to ban smoking in the workplace, including bars and restaurants.
(At the time of our last issue, the bill was still in committee.) The bill now goes to the house for consideration.
In a surprise move, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association announced its support of a statewide smoking ban that would include restaurants and bars. The WRA says it did so because a state ban would level the playing field. The group is still actively working against local bans. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle asked the state legislature to pass the ban in his recent state-of-the-state address.
And in Madison County, Ky., health officials passed a smoking ban there, but watered down the final version. Originally what would have been the most stringent in the state, the proposed ban would have prohibited smoking not only in restaurants and bars, but on outdoor patios as well. The actual ordinance eliminated that requirement as well as one prohibiting smoking within 25 feet of a business entrance. Now, it's within a "reasonable distance" of entryways.
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