Regulatory and Legal Affairs

📈 President Donald Trump, after his second inauguration in January, targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs via executive orders, branding them as "discriminatory." An executive order on January 21 directed federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, to enforce civil-rights laws and combat "illegal private-sector DEI preferences." Following Trump's orders, major companies such as Goldman-Sachs, Disney, Google, Amazon, Walmart, and Meta have started altering their DEI programs. McDonald's, citing a June 2023 Supreme Court ruling, changed its DEI policies on January 6. Corporate DEI efforts surged in mid-2020 following George Floyd's death, with 83% of 656 companies taking DEI action in 2021, a 13% increase from 2020. The Supreme Court decision and Trump's presidency have prompted a reevaluation of DEI, with a Resume.org survey indicating one in eight American companies are scaling back on DEI in 2025. Despite legal challenges and societal shifts, some companies, like Costco, maintain their DEI commitments.

📌 Since President Donald Trump's second term began, he has enacted numerous executive orders tightening U.S. immigration policy. Approximately 1 million undocumented immigrants work in the U.S. restaurant industry, per the U.S. Center for Migration Studies. The White House declared a National Emergency at the Southern border, enabling federal agencies to detain and remove undocumented immigrants with a daily arrest quota of 1,200-1,500 for ICE. Trump signed the Laken Riley Act on Jan. 29 mandating detention for undocumented immigrants accused of serious crimes. The National Restaurant Association reports 21% of restaurant workers are legal immigrants, but these policies may also affect them. Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship was blocked by a Maryland federal judge. Industry experts warn of complications and a tougher labor market for restaurants if immigration restrictions tighten. Employers are advised to prepare for ICE audits and consult legal counsel.

💸 Five years past former NY Gov. Cuomo's legislation, NY lawmakers propose bills to remove tip credit for restaurant workers, led by Assemblywoman González-Rojas and State Sen. Jackson. The tip credit ranges $5.15-$5.50/hr for foodservice and $2.60-$2.75/hr for other services. Federal minimum wage is $7.25/hr. Salon workers and doormen/women to see subminimum wage end by Dec. 31, 2025, but not restaurant workers. Seven states and cities like Chicago have banned tip credits, with Chicago phasing it out in Oct 2023.

🚿 Hotel insurance is essential for every hotelier to safeguard their business from property damage and liability claims. The content emphasizes the importance of such insurance for hotel businesses, but no specific data, statistical information, dates, locations, numbers, or other specific factual data about hotel insurance policies or their impacts are provided within the given article excerpt. Published by Manveen Kaur, the article is found on the Hotelogix Blog, a resource for tips and trends in hospitality.

📌 Associations across airline, hospitality, and retail sectors are observing Alphabet's adjustments to Google Search for DMA compliance, which should not redirect to OSSs or diminish direct suppliers' organic visibility. Google's late stakeholder communication in 2023 left many unaware of the impending changes. Airlines for Europe (A4E) carried over 610 million passengers in 2022, with a fleet of 3,300 aircraft serving nearly 2,000 destinations. Ecommerce Europe acts for European online merchants. The European Hotel Forum represents over 6,000 European hoteliers. EuroCommerce speaks for 5 million companies in retail/wholesale, employing 26 million Europeans. HOTREC, the voice of European hospitality, represents 2 million businesses providing 10 million jobs. Independent Retail Europe covers 23 groups with 462,000 retailers, 737,000 outlets, and a retail turnover exceeding €1,385 billion, supporting 6.4 million jobs. Monitoring of Google's changes is expected to start on 6 March 2024.

📝 On 26 June 2024, HOTREC published a position paper stating their priorities on the European Commission’s proposed Directive on Traineeships and Council Recommendation on a reinforced Quality Framework for Traineeships (QFT). HOTREC calls for clearer rules, particularly for SMEs, arguing against unnecessary legislation in countries where trainee protections already exist through labor laws. They suggest that a revision of the existing QFT is preferable to a new Directive. HOTREC emphasizes the need to avoid creating a new category of worker, to reduce red tape, to respect definitions and collective bargaining agreements, and to consider remuneration flexibility.

🏖 On 18 July 2024, over 70 European tourism sector organisations launched the European Tourism Manifesto. HOTREC, actively involved in drafting, highlighted priorities for the legislative term: decarbonisation, smart EU funding, resilient connectivity, freedom of movement, and skills training. The Tourism Manifesto Alliance urges the EU for a Tourism Commissioner, a Tourism Taskforce in Parliament, and annual Ministerial Council meetings.

📢 HOTREC, the European hospitality industry association, held its 88th General Assembly in Budapest on Thursday, 25 April 2024. Discussions focused on labour and skills shortages, digital rules, and adapting to political and climate changes. Prior to the European elections and Hungarian EU presidency, industry leaders set policy priorities for the next five years, including enhancing tourism, talent support, fair digital rules, sustainability, and consumer preference adaptation. Next assembly: Autumn 2024, Warsaw, Poland. Turkish TUGEV joined HOTREC. Contact: Jasper Dober, HOTREC Media & Communications Manager.

💼 HOTREC, the European hospitality sector's umbrella association, is seeking an intern starting 2 September 2024 for a 6-month full-time position in Brussels. The intern will assist with EU policy advocacy, project management, and communication activities. They require a university degree, EU policy familiarity, a proactive attitude, and excellent English proficiency; additional European languages are beneficial. Applications are due by 12 June 2024 to [email protected], with "Internship" in the subject line. HOTREC represents 47 national associations from 36 countries.