The topic of how to manage the $15 minimum wage increase was the headliner at the June Board Meeting of the Florida Restaurant Lodging Association . Carol Dover, CEO of FRLA, kicks off the session with a reminder of the narrow margin that Amendment 2 was passed in November 2020. Now is the time for action to stop the slide down the slippery slope of regulations and cost increases.

In this session, the experts are employment attorney, Kevin Johnson, Mike Vinik with BJ’s Restaurants and Chad Mackay, CEO of Fire & Vine Hospitality. Chad’s group of restaurants are located in the Washington and Oregon where the push for $15 minimum wage began over 5 years ago. At that time, he implemented a commission base compensation plan for servers and bartenders while charging customers a service charge. Chad discusses the success of the plan along with the pros and cons of it. Kevin Johnson provides an outline of the legal hurdles to classify employees as commissioned employees and the exclusion for paying overtime premium. Mike Vinik discusses how BJ’s is managing the wage increases in over 25 States. They are using a variety of tools, including technology, menu changes and product usage.

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