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Auburn: Auburn University is fully resuming on-campus operations that were disrupted by the coronavirus last year. All optional remote instruction ended Sunday, and most employees who have been working on a virtual basis will return to campus Monday, the Opelika-Auburn News reports. The decision to reopen was based on multiple factors, said Dr. Fred Kam, director of the university medical clinic. “You’re looking at all the data, all of the information and … you’re forecasting on where you think things will be,” Kam said. The university has seen a downward trend in COVID-19 since 113 cases were reported during the week ending Jan. 17. The university said 75 new virus cases were self-reported during the week ending Jan. 31, three fewer than the previous week. The school also reported a 0.9% positivity rate among those tested through its voluntary sentinel testing, according to data released Tuesday. Multiple safeguards are in
Grocery associations sue Seattle over ordinance requiring grocery stores give workers hazard pay
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Two grocery associations filed a lawsuit against Seattle over the ordinance passed last week requiring some grocery stores in the city to give workers hazard pay throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Northwest Grocery Association (NWGA) and the Washington Food Industry Association (WFIA) in U.S. District Court requests the ordinance be declared invalid and unconstitutional and that an injunction be granted against its enforcement.
It alleges the ordinance excludes other essential workers and grocery workers who have also been working on the frontlines since the start of the pandemic, which it said violates the U.S. Constitution and the Washington Constitution’s Equal Protection Clauses. The lawsuit also alleges the ordinance is preempted by federal law regulating collective bargaining and unfair labor practices.
Food retailer operators worry that local pay mandates will result in more store closures and other consequences.
The pandemic pay mandate issues keeps escalating, with federal lawsuits being filed against local governments passing such laws.
The California Grocers Association (CGA) says it has filed federal lawsuits against the City of Oakland and City of Montebello both in California to challenge ordinances approved by them mandating an additional $5 per hour in extra pay for a select group of grocery store employees.
Meanwhile, the Northwest Grocery Association (NWGA) and the Washington Food Industry Association (WFIA) have filed a lawsuit against the City of Seattle challenging an ordinance approved by the Seattle City Council that took effect Feb. 3. The ordinance mandates extra pay of $4 per hour for many grocery store employees
Grocery industry suing Seattle over new hazard-pay law seattlepi.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from seattlepi.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Zack Budryk - 02/04/21 03:44 PM EST
Two trade groups representing grocery stores in the Pacific Northwest sued the city of Seattle on Wednesday for requiring stores to increase workers’ hazard pay by $4 an hour amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the city ordinance, all large grocery stores with locations bigger than 10,000 square feet and more than 500 employees worldwide must provide the pay increase to all workers through the end of the city’s civil emergency.
“Unfortunately, the council’s unprecedented ordinance, its unilateral action, and unwillingness to work with the grocery industry has left us with no other option than to file a lawsuit against the city,” Tammie Hetrick, president and CEO of the Washington Food Industry Association, said in a statement, according to The Seattle Times.