Among the roughly 215 linen, uniform and facility services operator and supplier partners who attended five, 90-minute online TRSA Regional Town Hall sessions on March 30, 31 and April 1, pretty much everyone could agree on two things. First, they’re relieved that the economy in most parts of the U.S. has begun to emerge from last year’s COVID-19-related shutdowns. However, there also were widespread concerns expressed that a severe labor shortage could stymie the recovery.

Every Friday, John Ross, president and CEO at Mission Linen Supply, Santa Barbara, CA, kicks off his COVID-19 response team meeting with the same question: “Who has good news?”

Next month, Textile Services magazine will roll out a new department that will offer managers and executives in the linen, uniform and facility services industry a fresh source of insights on diversity, equity and inclusion. These topics recently have drawn intense scrutiny amid civic unrest fueled by concerns about equal justice and opportunity for people of varying racial, ethnic and social backgrounds. The inaugural edition of this new column will feature an interview with Ann Berry, one of three female members of the Board of Directors for PureStar™ Group. This company is a major player in the hospitality sector of the linen, uniform and facility services industry with 11 regional brands operating 30 facilities in three countries.

As businesses across the United States are in various phases of opening up after COVID-19-related restrictions, Fisher Phillips LLP, a labor law firm based in Atlanta, recently provided a checklist for members of the linen, uniform and facility services industry to consider as you move toward opening up your operations. The first part of this checklist ran in the June 8 edition of Textile Services Weekly.

As businesses nationwide are in various phases of reopening after COVID-19-related restrictions in the United States, Fisher Phillips LLP, a labor law firm based in Atlanta, recently provided a checklist for members of the linen, uniform and facility services industry to consider as you move toward opening up your operations. The second part of this checklist will appear in the next edition of Textile Services Weekly.

TRSA Hospitality Committee members have begun sharing information about the possibility that workers’ compensation claims from employees contracting COVID-19 will grow. Chairman Harry Kertenian, Magic Laundry Services, Montebello, CA, has prompted the committee’s attention to the matter in his state, where Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order making it easier for essential workers to obtain such benefits.

Adding to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) that became law on March 18, the Senate voted on March 26 and the next day, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the largest economic-relief bill in U.S. history, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. President Donald J. Trump quickly signed the final measure.

Highlights of a forthcoming article in Textile Services magazine. This report looks at employee safety/compliance issues in the wake of COVID-19.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently released its final regulation defining when two employers would be joint employers for National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) purposes. The final regulation issued on Feb. 25 is very close to what was proposed and what TRSA supported. The main point of the regulation is to restore the longstanding definition of joint employment that was in place before the Browning-Ferris decision, i.e., it reverts to “direct and immediate” control of another employer’s employees as the requirement for a joint-employment relationship. However, the regulation, provides greater clarity and explanation than a decision from the NLRB could. The new rule takes effect on April 27.

In a reversal of a ruling from the Obama era, the majority-Republican National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under President Donald Trump recently approved restrictions on union organizing efforts related to the use of employer email systems, according to news reports.