February 2013
FMLA Final Regulations Issued: New Poster Required March 8. 2013 Over the past 5 years, the FMLA has been amended on several occasions. While the FMLA was amended most recently in late 2009 under the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA") and the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act ("AFCTCA"), the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division delayed in issuing proposed regulations until February 15, 2012. Since that time, employers have been waiting on the issuance of final regulations. The wait is now over. On February 6, 2013, a Final Rule was issued and takes effect on March 8, 2013. While most of the new regulations relate to rarely used FMLA provisions including military caregiver leave for a veteran, qualifying exigency leave for parental care, and job-protected leave for airline personnel and flight crews, there is one provision that all covered employers need to know about – and soon! New FMLA Poster Required by March 8, 2013 The new poster, which reflects many of the changes made by the new FMLA regulations, is available at https://www.dol.gov/ whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmlaen.pdf. The Department of Labor has stated that employers may start using the new poster immediately, or they may continue to use the old FMLA poster through March 7, 2013. In any event covered employers need to make sure the New Poster is posted by the deadline. Below is a summary of some of the most important changes to the regulations for non-airline employers: Qualifying Exigency Leave Definitions Revised. The new regulations revise the definitions of "military member" and "active duty." An eligible employee may take FMLA leave for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that a military member is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty. • Under the new regulations, the term military member (previously referred to as a "covered military member") now includes both members of the National Guard and Reserves and the Regular Armed Forces. • The term covered active duty (previously referred to as "active duty") requires deployment to a foreign country. Parental Care Added as a New Qualifying Exigency. The new regulations introduce an additional reason that eligible employees can take qualifying exigency leave – "parental care". An eligible employee may now take leave to care for a military member’s parent who is incapable of self-care when the care is necessitated by the military member’s covered active duty. The "parental care" qualifying exigency covers an employee's request for leave in order to arrange for alternative care for a military member's parent, to provide care on an immediate need basis, or to attend meetings with staff at a military member's parent's care facility. (A copy of the poster is enclosed with this newsletter)
Rest and Recuperation Qualifying Exigency Extended to 15 days. The amount of time an eligible employee may take for Rest and Recuperation qualifying exigency leave is expanded from 5 calendar days to a maximum of 15 calendar days. Military Caregiver Leave Now Includes Covered Veterans. The definition of a "covered servicemember" has been expanded to include "covered veterans "who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness.” Under the new regulations, a "covered veteran" is defined as an individual who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable at any time during the five years prior to the first date the eligible employee takes FMLA leave to care for the covered veteran. However, the regulations state that the period between October 28, 2009, the date the NDAA was enacted, and March 8, 2013, the effective date of these regulations cannot be counted when determining a covered veteran's five-year eligibility period. Definition of a Serious Illness or Injury of a Covered Servicemember Expanded. Under the regulations, the definition of a serious illness or injury now includes both: (1) an illness or injury incurred in the line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces; or (2) an illness or injury aggravated in the line of duty. Eligibility for FMLA Leave and USERRA. The new regulations clarify the Department of Labor's stance that any period of absence due to or necessitated by USERRA-covered military service must be counted in determining an employee's eligibility for FMLA leave. Minimum Increments of Leave. The Department of Labor has clarified its position that an employer must track FMLA using the smallest increment of time used for other leave. An employer, however, may account for FMLA leave in shorter increments than used for other forms of leave. The regulations also state that an employer may not require an employee to take more leave than necessary. Compliance with GINA Recordkeeping Requirements. The new regulations provide that FMLA documentation covered by the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act ("GINA"), e.g. medical certification forms for family members, must comply with the confidentiality requirements of GINA. In addition, the Department of Labor has published a helpful side-by-side comparison of the 2008 regulations and the new regulations, which is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/ fmla/2013rule/comparison.htm#.URQTloDzU6o.twitter. In light of these new regulations, employers having 50 or more employees should make sure the new FMLA poster is posted by March 8, 2013 and should review existing FMLA policies to make sure references to military FMLA contained in the policies are up to date. Page 1
Why Restaurants Need Mobile Websites As an Indiana restaurant owner you’ve probably noticed how attached your customers are to their mobile phones. From texting at the dinner table to surfing the Internet, mobile phones are engrained into our daily lives. And the rise in mobile usage is projected to continue. With mobile web traffic set to increase 2600 percent in four years, restaurant owners need to consider how a mobile world affects their business. Consider this: 88 percent of all web searches related to restaurants are made from a mobile phone. Put simply, if you’re not adjusting to a mobile world, you’re behind. This is especially true for restaurant owners, as your customers – more than any other industry – turn to their smartphones to connect with you. Customers use their mobile phones to read your menu, find store hours and call you with a click of a button. So, can your mobile customers view your webpage on a small screen? Customers today expect websites to be mobile friendly and easy to navigate with their fingertips, without having to pinch and zoom. And with mobile browsing speeds getting faster, the desktop computer is no longer the access point to the Internet. Mobile websites are the new digital storefront. When you make the move to go mobile, consider the following tips to make your site interactive for your hungry diners: • What’s for dinner? Menus should be accessible on a mobile phone. It should be a web page that is easy to scroll through rather than a downloadable PDF or a menu that requires specific software to preview. • X marks the spot. Your website should sync with mapping features such as Google Maps so that a user can find you in a search and get directions from their current location. Ninety-five percent of searches are for local businesses. And with mobile restaurants, such as food trucks, on the rise in Indiana, a mobile website is a no-brainer to broadcast your location. • Make a reservation. If you offer an online reservation system, make sure it’s easy to use and find on a mobile phone. Your customers will appreciate the ease and convenience of using their mobile phones to make reservations. • Call with one click. It’s important to make it easy for mobile users to contact you. The goal is to turn a search into a reservation. And the simplest way to do this is to enable a “click to call” function on the mobile site. With just one click, patrons can call you from their mobile phones. • The dining room is open. Make sure diners can find your hours of operation so they can plan accordingly. Building a mobile presence will help your restaurant get hungry patrons into your dining room. Once your mobile site is up and running, in no time, your customers will be scrolling through your menu, call with one click and reserve a seat from the palm of their hands. It’s a mobile world, which is an advantage to restaurant owners who see the opportunity to keep connected. Madison Miner is CEO of WompMobile, a company that converts regular websites to mobile ready, making them accessible and searchable on smartphones. For more information please visit: www.wompmobile.com.
Registration Now Open for the NRA Public Affairs Conference: April 17-18, 2013 Spend two days and one night in Washington, DC, with hundreds of your industry peers and colleagues talking about the issues that matter to your restaurant company. Gain valuable political insights and get a better understanding of how today's top legislative issues will affect your business -- and your bottom line -- in the coming year. These two days in Washington, D.C., are the best investment you can make in your business all year. The NRA Public Affairs Conference is THE event for leaders in our industry to join forces and carry the industry's message to Congress on behalf of restaurateurs nationwide. See the agenda and join us April 17 to 18. Register at : http://www.restaurant.org/advocacy/Support-Industry-Advocacy/Events/2013-Public-Affairs-Conference Page 2
Visa and MasterCard Surcharging Law Changes & Potential for State Legislation/Hearings
Endorsed Providers
Last July, a proposed settlement agreement was announced in long-standing antitrust litigation from the merchant community against Visa, MasterCard, and a number of large U.S. banks regarding the way in in which credit card fees, fines, and rules are set. The NRA, and the majority of named plaintiffs in the case, oppose the settlement because it provides very limited, if any, relief to restaurateurs from excessive card fees, and contains overly broad release language. Despite strong merchant opposition, the Judge granted preliminary approval in the case in November, and our appeal of that decision was unsuccessful. The Court will now schedule a Fairness Hearing sometime this year in which they will hear from all parties on the merits of the proposed settlement. The Court will soon send notices to merchants who are part of the class merchants accepting Visa and MasterCard credit cards from January 1, 2004 to November 27, 2012. NRA will provide more information on this front as it becomes available. In the meantime, the first part of the proposed settlement agreement went into effect January 27, 2013, in which Visa and MasterCard lifted their bans on merchant surcharges. The NRA does not think many merchants will begin surcharging [NRA story http://bit.ly/YfV5c2], but we are strongly cautioning NRA members to read the fine print if they are considering surcharges. Our Fact Sheet <http://www.restaurant.org/Downloads/PDFs/advocacy/factsheet_swipefees_ surcharges.pdf> details the numerous complications with the rule changes that make the provisions virtually unworkable. We have provided some attached talking points, as well, regarding the surcharging rule changes.
AH&LA Partners With Clean The World
Members receive savings through soap, bottled amenities recycling Washington, February 11, 2013 – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has joined forces with Clean the World Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization that collects and recycles used soap and bottled amenities from hotels, to offer AH&LA members an exclusive additional five percent discount per room. More than 1,700 hotels across North America currently participate in the program. Since 2009, Clean the World has distributed more than 12 million bars of soap to homeless shelters and in countries suffering from high death rates due to acute respiratory infection and diarrheal disease, the top killers of children under the age of five. Properties that participate in the initiative receive a quarterly impact statement detailing the total weight of the amenities shipped and an Interactive Impact Calculator that calculates the lifesaving impact of their donations. Hotels also are given bilingual training posters (English and Spanish) and access to an online training video for housekeeping staff. Information cards are available for guestrooms, as well as plaques that can be displayed in the lobby educating guests on the program. Additionally, hotels can organize soap drives for their communities, in addition to other volunteer opportunities. “Clean the World’s innovative combination of green sustainability and humanitarian efforts already has attracted support from many hotel chains and resorts,” said AH&LA President/CEO Joe McInerney, CHA. “We are pleased to be able to offer our members an additional discount to participate in such a worthy program.” “The North American hospitality industry puts more than 300 tons of soap and plastic bottles in local landfills every day,” said Clean the World CEO/Co-founder Shawn Seipler. “With this partnership, we are eager to increase the industry’s awareness of our socially-responsible recycling programs and engage more hotel companies and individual properties in our efforts to both prevent needless waste and provide essential hygiene items, as well as stem the tide of deaths due to lack of proper hygiene.” For additional information and to participate in the program, visit www.ahla.com/green. Page 3
February 5, 2013 Board Chair Phil Ray poses with Anthony Brown II, Homewood Suites, Keystone at the Crossing
Bari Kuhlman with colleagues Indiana Memorial Union Bloomington
Samantha Edwards with Scott Wise Scotty's Brewhouse
Aaron Bowles Renaissance North Indianapolis
Dale McCarty acceptiong the award on Rebecca Boles' behalf. Westin Indianapolis
Peter Meyer from Hilton Downtown, Indianapolis
Left: Chenee Shutz from Homewood Suites, Lafayette Ind. with 2009 Miss America Katie Stam
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February 5, 2013 INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Restaurant & Lodging Association (INRLA) hosted its annual “Stars of the Industry” gala on Tuesday at the new Alexander Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. The event honored employees in the hotel and restaurant industry for their hard work and dedication to the business. In attendance was 2009 Miss America, Katie Stam, who presented awards to the winners. Category of Winners: Chenee Shutz from Homewood Suites, Lafayette, Ind. was awarded ‘Lodging Select Service Manager of The Year’ for helping the hotel improve from #6 on Trip Advisor to #2. ‘Full Service Manager of the Year Standout’ went to Peter Meyer from the Hilton Indianapolis Downtown for his high level of skill in the preparation and presentation of food that results in rave reviews from guests. ‘Restaurant Manager of the Year’ went to Bari Kuhlman from Indiana Memorial Union in Bloomington, Ind. for her creative thinking and delivering an awesome and memorable dining experience. ‘Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year ‘Back of House’ honors people whose work may not always be noticed by guests, but their hard work and excellence behind the scenes ensures a high level of guest service. The Full Service award went to Rebecca Boles, the Westin
Indianapolis for her She is more confident, able to delegate and has become a visionary for her department. The 'Select Service Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year' for “Back of House” went to Rosalia Escamilla from Hilton Garden Inn, Northwest for her willingness to help out her fellow employees and the management team. 'Outstanding ‘Front of House’ employees are associates that excel in their front of house duties, providing excellent customer service, a team first attitude and going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure guest service excellence. 'Outstanding Restaurant Employee of the Year' went to Samantha Edwards of Scotty’s Brewhouse for her capability to make each customer's visit enjoyable and finding ways to keep young kids happy while their parents enjoy their meals. The 'Select Service Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year' for the 'Front of House' went to Anthony Brown II, from Homewood Suites at Keystone at the Crossing for his It doesn't matter how small or large the project is, he accepts it with a smile and a cheerful attitude. The final award for 'Full Service Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year' for the 'Front of House' went to Aaron Bowles from Renaissance Indianapolis North for his way to best serve the hotel through his consistency, his customer service and his initiative. For more information on “Stars of the Industry” please go to www.indianarestaurants.org.
Thank You Sponsors!
Digital Dining: How Tablets and Smartphones are Reshaping Restaurants
by Crystal Grave; founder, president and CEO of Snappening.com
Is the old saying “Service with a smile” being lost to technology? Probably not; but it’s safe to say that technology, like the iPad and smartphone, are changing the way restaurants and hotels do business today. Consumers want to see new technology integrated into their dining experience, especially if it means they spend less time waiting for their meals and the bill. TABLET COMPUTERS The iPad While many fine-dining establishments began using the iPad as an impressive display of their wine list, they now see promise in the iPad as an interactive, paperless menu and are beginning to incorporate it into their white table-clothed restaurants. Aptito is a custom app that allows diners to browse the virtual pages of a restaurant’s menu and view delectable photos of entrees, desserts and cocktails. Customers can read dining notes and suggested wine pairings. By the time a customer is done ordering, the server will likely be right back with cocktails because the bartender began pouring before the server ever left the table. That’s because the iPad allows servers to send customers’ orders directly from the table to the kitchen and/or bar. Chefs and management are impressed with the app’s ability to maintain stock levels, eliminating sold-out items from the on-screen menu. Many tout the iPad’s potential as a marketing tool, particularly when used with mobile ordering. Customers must become registered users to place an order, giving personal information that can help restaurants produce more targeted marketing and guest surveys. Getting to know your customers will help you understand your own business, and be able to better produce and serve products to meet their wants and needs. But, most see the iPad’s greatest potential as a portable pointof-sale (POS) device. The iPad offers the capability of tableside payment, which eliminates customers handing over their credit card to a server—a common point of credit card fraud. It also reduces the time customers wait for their card and bill to return. Page 6
The Presto Tablet The “Presto” tablet is another E la Carte product designed to give customers the power to control their dining experience from the comfort of their table. Beyond taking a customer’s order, the Presto calculates when the food will arrive at the table, provides self-checkout, splits checks and even calculates the tip. The customer can opt for an e-mail receipt, or for the server to bring a paper one. The company reports it cuts seven minutes off the average customer’s dining stay. Customers are happy with the faster service, and restaurants can serve more diners during the evening. SMARTPHONES Mobile point-of-sale With smartphones getting smarter and faster all the time, restaurants are taking advantage of every opportunity to make their POS systems mobile. There are a number of POS platforms that the iPhone and Android smartphones support, including Google wallet and other mobile applications. Simply attach a credit-card reader to the mobile device to process the payments, and the bill is paid for in seconds. TGIFriday’s launched an app that allows customers to pay at their table, without a card reader. Customers use a credit card to pay their bill through the My Friday’s app. A receipt is then sent to the restaurant, as well as the customer’s e-mail. An app for that NetWaiter is an online-marketing and ordering provider that offers websites for restaurants that can be customized with their own branding and menu. A NetWaiter site easily can be linked to an existing site, e-mail address, fax machine or POS system. When a customer places an order through a restaurant that uses NetWaiter and then logs into their Facebook account, NetWaiter will post the restaurant’s logo to the customer’s Facebook feed. The post links back to the NetWaiter site for the restaurant. It’s a fun and easy way for customers to “check in” on Facebook, while creating buzz for your restaurant, and hopefully some new business. Mobile ordering Fast-food chains are the fore-runners in this area of the market. Several fast-food chains, particularly pizza restaurants, have launched mobile-ordering apps for customers
Story Continued on page 7...
Digital Dining Story Continued...
who are on-the-go and not likely to phone-in their orders. Domino’s Pizza has had such great success and is so far ahead of the curve, they recently introduced their Spanish-language mobile-ordering app.
Facebook-based ordering One widely-untapped concept is the integration of Facebook-based ordering, because it is still relatively new. However, Forbes Magazine predicts this might be the largest technology leap, as nearly 100 percent of restaurants owners say they plan to have a Facebook presence in the coming year. Investing in loyal customers Some restaurants are ditching the stale plastic rewards cards and taking their customer loyalty programs to a whole new level. Jersey Mike’s Subs recently revamped its loyalty program, complete with a smartphone app and a near-field communication, or NFC, component that sends text alerts to members’ cell phones when they are near a store. Members of Friday’s Give Me More Stripes loyalty program can use the My Friday’s app to manage their accounts and redeem rewards on the spot, instead of printing coupons beforehand. Online coupons More restaurants are using digital coupons—and customers are eating them up. According to a recent Technomic Marketing survey, 58 percent of customers said they have used digital dining coupons. Snappening.com is an online event planning database that contains central Indiana's most comprehensive list of meeting and event venues - including restaurants and hotels. Since its 2011 launch, the site has provided over 85,000 consumers, venues and professional planners with an online service that makes event venue and event planner searches quick and easy, as well as provides highly localized event planning inspiration, tips and tools. Feel free to poke around on the site to see for yourself how helpful we are and perform your own searches. We estimate we'll save you anywhere from 4-8 hours of your own time by bringing all your options together in one well-appointed location.
Feb. 20, 2013
10 - 11:20 a.m. : Issue Briefing at Hilton Room: Circle City 6 11:30 – 1 p.m. : Taste of Hoosier Hospitality in the North Atrium of the State House
RESTAURANTS: Participate in the Taste with a sampling booth and attend for FREE!* *limited space available Call Stephanie Higgins at 317.673.4211 ext. 135 or toll-free at 1.800.678.1957 or email SHiggins@LMVconsulting.com
Meet face-to-face with Hoosier legislators and educate them about your business Network with fellow Hospitality Professionals Learn about issues that affect the Hospitality Industry Enjoy the “Taste of Hoosier Hospitality” lunch with food provided by several popular Indiana restaurants and hotels Thank you to restaurants participating! 120 West Market/ Hilton Barcelona Tapas Champions Sports Bar/ Marriott Harry & Izzy’s Morton’s The Steak House Penn Station
Slippery Noodle St. Elmo Steak House Triple XXX Weber Grill Special Thanks to: RNDC Heartland Payment Systems Coca- Cola
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