GRA Weekly
June 9, 2022
This week's newsletter is brought to you by GRA Corporate Partner, Gas South.
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL WIND DOWN!
Many Thanks to everyone who joined us at this year's Wind Down by the River! Thanks to your support we were able to raise just over $15,000 for the Georgia Restaurant Association PAC and National Restaurant Association PAC. With the money raised, we will be able to continue reaching candidates who will advance a pro-restaurant pro-business legislative agenda, fight onerous legislation and address the issues that are most important to the restaurant community.
ARE YOU PREPARED?
Atlantic Hurricane Season
June 1 marks the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season, which has already been predicted to be above average.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that 2022 will be the seventh consecutive year of an above-normal season. Hurricane season lasts until November 30.

More information and best practices for the restaurant industry during severe weather can be found on our website.
FEDERAL UPDATES
OSHA Comment Period on Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses is Open
OSHA is proposing to amend its occupational injury and illness recordkeeping regulation to require certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness information to OSHA that employers are already required to keep under the recordkeeping regulation.

Wage Theft, Data Privacy Bills Coming Soon
The House and Senate are out this week, but we can expect activity on wage theft and data privacy legislation during the next in-session work period.
  • What this means for restaurants: Depending on how the bills are written, restaurants could face costly fines for wage theft violations that were unintended and/or corrected by the operator, as well as steep costs to implement data privacy and security requirements. Small business restaurants would be disproportionately affected.
STATE + LOCAL NEWS
Reminder: Early Voting for June 21 Run-off Starts Monday
Early voting for the June 21 Run-off starts on Monday, June 13 thru Friday, June 17. There a few Congressional Districts and Statewide party nominations yet to be decided. You can visit MyVoterPage to find your closest voting precinct and hours.

Georgia Department of Revenue | Sales & Use Tax Rates Effective July 1, 2022
The Georgia Department of Revenue has posted the upcoming quarterly sales and use tax rate changes.  

Counties with S&U tax changes include: Calhoun, Haralson and Pike.Please visit the Department's website to view current, historical, and upcoming sales and use tax rate charts.
FOOD WASTE INNOVATIONS EVENT
Table to Farm to Table: Food Waste and Circularity Innovations in the ATL
On Thursday, June 16 from 6:00PM - 8:00PM we will be hosting a really cool event on food waste innovations and sustainability featuring speakers from Foodservice Sustainability Solutions, GoodrCo., Retaaza and the City of Atlanta. It's FREE. RSVP here
AL FRESCO DINING SIMPLIFIED
What You Need to Know About StreetDeck Parklets
There’s no sugar coating it, the pandemic has been a train wreck for the restaurant industry. We’ve had to come together and adapt in ways that we could never foresee. Today we can look back and see that our resilience has led to some beautiful metamorphoses that have forever changed the way our customers experience our food – one such butterfly is al fresco dining on raised, self-contained platforms called parklets.
 
If you’ve driven through College Park in the past 8 months you probably have noticed the 86’ streatery occupying 7 parking spaces just outside of Virgil’s Gullah Kitchen, The Real Milk and Honey, and Johnny’s Chicken and Waffles. This is an example of a StreetDeck modular deck system designed by Archatrak Inc. and it may be the most expansive parklet in the country to date. Continue reading.
RESTAURANT SAVINGS
UPCOMING SERVSAFE CLASSES
UPCOMING WEBINARS + EVENTS
U.S. Department of Labor's Third Annual Virtual Prevailing Wage Seminar
U.S. Department of Labor
June 14, 2022 + June 15, 2022 | 1:30PM

Table to Farm to Table: Food Waste and Circularity Innovations in the ATL
Atlanta Climate Tech
June 16, 2022 | 6:00PM - 8:00PM

Ultimate Guide to Current Natural Gas Prices for Industrial Users
Gas South
June 22, 2022 | 12:00PM

Restaurant Industry Update Webinar with GRA President + CEO Karen Bremer
Georgia Restaurant Association
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 | 2:00PM

Finance, Tax & Internal Audit Expert Exchange Conference
National Restaurant Association
July 26 - 28, 2022 | Dallas, TX
HERE'S WHAT WE'RE READING
HELPFUL RESOURCES LINKS