Weekly Update: Anthony Anton calls for community-based solutions to end the pandemic; state minimum wage for 2022

Anthony Anton calls for community-based solutions to end the pandemic

Washington Hospitality Association President and CEO Anthony Anton held a press conference on Sept. 30 urging state and local policymakers who may be considering vaccine requirements to ensure any such mandate be applied more widely across the community rather than singling out the hospitality industry. Initial data from Jefferson and Clallam counties, where a vaccine mandate for restaurant and bar guests is in place, show the policy is not achieving the desired outcomes of increasing vaccination rates and decreasing case rates.

Anthony also emphasized the need to consider employee safety and stressed the importance of being kind to hospitality staff who are on the front lines of these public health orders.

New state minimum wage: $14.49 on Jan. 1

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries announced today that the state minimum wage will be raised from $13.69 to $14.49 on Jan. 1, 2022. The overtime threshold will increase to $52,743. Wage increases for Seattle and SeaTac will be announced soon. To read more, click here.

Answers to your questions about the new ban on plastic bags

• Can businesses use up existing inventories of plastic bags without penalty?
• Can businesses charge more than 8 cents per bag?
• What about third-party delivery services?

Find out answers to these questions and more in our recently updated post on the state’s new plastic bag ban, which goes into effect on Oct. 1.

[CEO Podcast] Industry news with the government affairs team

Washington Hospitality Association President & CEO Anthony Anton will discuss the news of the hospitality industry from the past month. Since we last chatted with Anthony, Jefferson, Clallam and King counties have issued vaccine mandates and there is a statewide mask mandate in effect. Anthony will chat with Julia Gorton, director of state government affairs, and John Lane, director of local government affairs. We’ll meet at 10 a.m. Oct. 6. Brought to you by U.S. Bank. Register here.

Get help claiming your $33,000 per employee

The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) is one of the best relief opportunities available for hospitality businesses, but figuring out logistics can be tricky. That’s why the Washington Hospitality Association has partnered with Adesso Capital to create the ERTC Support Center. Learn more about how Adesso can help you claim these credits here.

How has the pandemic changed the values of today’s workforce?

Join us at 10 a.m. on Oct. 7 for a conversation about the impacts of staffing on the hospitality industry. Gain inside knowledge on how to leverage industry research and mobile technology to develop resilient business and recruiting strategies that engage today’s “always-connected” workforce. Register here.

Have you thought about selling your business?

In a new webinar series, allied member and Washington Hospitality Association sponsor IBA, will share their expertise about how to sell your business in 2022 and beyond. In part one on Oct. 13, we’ll review how you can increase the value of your business and how to decide if you need a real estate broker. In part two on Nov. 10, we’ll cover every step you need to close the sale, from marketing to transitioning ownership.

Register for part one here and for part two here.

Virtual care that includes back care and mental health

HealthiestYou, a virtual health care service, is not only affordable but also includes access to services even traditional insurance may not offer you. These include back care, mental health care, dermatology and nutrition in addition to 24/7/365 non-emergency care. It’s only $9/employee/month. Start the quoting process here.

Share the word with your employees: Stay with us.

[Virtual Training] Transforming safety culture and performance through increased safety participation

This session will feature case studies that illustrate how safety pros, ops managers, executive leaders and front-line workers can work together to turn a vision of proactive safety into daily practice. Participants will take away an overview of how mixed teams build sustainable safety cultures within their companies and ways to start collectively changing mindsets and behaviors. The webinar is at 10 a.m. on Oct. 26. Register here.

In case you missed it

• Masks, vaccines & welcome back signs
• [Toolkit] Employers to collect Long Term Care insurance funds soon: switch before Nov. 1
• [Toolkit] Tip pooling
• Current guidance & requirements

Industry roundup

• On the block: $11 million deal breathes new life into a nearly dead downtown hotel (Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce)
• Washington’s plastic bag ban goes into effect Friday–here’s what you should know (Spokesman-Review)
• Denny’s modernizes consumer digital offerings (Nation’s Restaurant News)
• What the labor shortage means for hotel revenue strategy (CoStar)
• Seattle nonprofit breaks away from the old ways of thinking about feeding hungry people (Seattle Times)
• Changes in guest behavior challenge hotel housekeeping (CoStar)
• A big-name barbecue pit expands and 13 other new restaurant openings around Seattle (Seattle Times)
• Dick’s Drive-In plans to ‘invest in employees’ by increasing base wages (MyNorthwest)
• Celebrated chef David Chang launches his long-awaited fried chicken sandwich in Seattle (Seattle Times)