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February 2008 Cloak Room

March 25, 2008

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2

FEBRUARY 2008 Sick and Safe Days Legislation Update/Redux

Sick and Safe Days Legislation Update/Redux

The first reading of the  “Accrued Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007” was held on February 5th in the DC City Council Chambers.  Second reading of B17-197 is scheduled for Tuesday March 4th, also in the Council Chambers in the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.  Please try to attend or send a representative of your organization—and let us know you are coming (RSVP: 202.331.5990 or this e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Virginia’s Got At Least One Foot In The 21st Century...

Virginia has long held on to its post-Prohibition laws that tried, despite the 23rd Amendment, to micro-manage alcohol consumption in the state.  Well, March 26th marked the beginning of the end of these antiquated laws—the Virginia Senate passed the “Sangria” bill which will make it legal to mix and serve Sangria (and other similar beverages) the way it was meant to be mixed and served.  The last step of the process of getting this bill on the books is affixing the Governor’s signature which is expected soon.  Then, beginning July 1, 2008, grab your pitchers and start mixing with the blessing of the Virginia legislature.

...But The Other Foot’s Firmly Stuck In the 19th Century

Temper your Sangria celebration with the realization that both houses of the Virginia Assembly have passed the “Guns in Bars” legislation.  What is it that makes this so important to the gun totin’ cowboys of Virginia?  If this is truly an important adjustment to the regulation of the right to bear arms from a narrow and outdated interpretation it is grossly overshadowed by the rights of private property owners, in this case Virginia restaurant owners, to provide a safe haven for their patrons, employees and themselves.  More likely, this is simply a bow to the minor inconvenience of the gun owner having to stash his/her weapon before entering an establishment that sells alcohol for on-premise consumption.  No justification for this law put forward thus far makes sense when compared with the overwhelming danger posed by mixing alcohol and guns.  Governor Kaine should veto this bill, but he needs your support.  Click here to send your comments and concerns to the governor.

 

2009 H-1B CAP – PROBABLY WORSE THAN LAST YEAR

Since 2004, and especially over the past two years, the H-1B visa has become one for which demand far exceeds supply. Current U.S. law limits the total number of available H-1B1 visas to 65,000 per year – with 6,800 of those reserved for citizens of Chile and Singapore due to a free trade pact with those countries. Last year the government received over 130,000 applications for the 58,200 available visas on the first day filings were accepted, and, it is probable with pent-up demand that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS)  will receive even more this year on April 1, 2008, the first day it will begin accepting applications for the Fiscal Year 2009 limit. If this happens as anticipated, CIS will place all Petitions received on April 1, 2008 into a lottery to select which Petitions will be eligible to receive one of the H-1B visas under the cap. Thus, Employers considering sponsoring an employee for H-1B status for employment beginning any time prior to October 2009 would be best served to begin the process now, to ensure the Petition can be filed with CIS for receipt on April 1, 2008.

For more information visit the CIS website at:  www.uscis.gov.

February 2008 Links: 

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Andrew Stover on FOX5: www.myfoxdc.com
Sweet Charity: www.auiswiss.com

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Fishbowl Marketing: www.fishbowl.com
Tap Project Comes to DC: www.tapproject.org
View the video: www.youtube.com

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Virginia Food and Beverage Expo: www.vaexpo.com

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ABRA Reimburseables: www.abra.dc.gov
HOST Security Training Regisitration: www.ramw-ef.org

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Free Minds Book Club: www.freemindsbookclub.org
National Cherry Blossom Festival: www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

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PCI Compliance Information: www.restaurant.org
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