“How Much Coverage Would I Have to Provide & Must I Do This Immediately for New Employees?”

As you weigh the options of your restaurant’s offering health care insurance to employees, here are two important questions to consider.

How Much Health Insurance Do I Have to Offer if I Choose to Do This?

You already know this is a choice: if you have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, the health care reform act doesn’t require you to offer insurance to them. If you decide to do this — or have 50 or more FTEs — then you must offer “minimum essential coverage.”

The rub is that this has yet to be defined, beyond the idea that it offers “required essential health benefits.” There ultimately may be multiple definitions for this term — one from the federal government and a different one from the state where you operate.

However this eventually turns out, there are two requirements of you as an employer.

• First, you must cover at least 60 percent of the actuarial value of coverage.
• Second, the total cost to your employees can’t be more than 9.5 percent of their household income. This point poses a difficulty. There is no way for you to know what your employees’ household income is, or how many people there are in the household. Ultimately, each state exchange and the IRS are supposed to determine this — although it’s uncertain how that information will be conveyed to you. Realistically, that means all you can do for now is to meet the first requirement.

Do I Have to Provide Coverage to Full-time Employees from Day One?

The simple answer is “no.” When the reform act becomes law on January 1, 2014, you will have up to 90 days after a person is hired to provide insurance coverage to him or her. What happens on that 91st day depends upon the size of your company.

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NO CHANGES: Administrative Rule Affecting Restaurants and Method of Calculation for the Required 51% Food Service Remains Unchanged

By Richard Turner

A rules workshop was held July 11, at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages, regarding “Special Restaurant Licenses” (SRX). The purpose of the workshop was to consider administrative changes to Rule 61A-3.0141, Florida Administrative Code.

At the conclusion of the rules workshop, it was a consensus of the participants that NO CHANGES to the current administrative rule was required at this time.

FRLA is extremely pleased with this result. This is a good time to remind all “SRX” holders they should ensure their business operations are sufficient to meet the requirements of their “Special Restaurant License.”

Finally, any vendor who serves alcoholic beverages should train their staff and conduct their operations in a manner to meet the requirements of the “Responsible Vendor Act,” Sections 561.701-706, Florida Statutes.  
To avail oneself of the benefits under the” Responsible Vendor Act” very specific requirements must be met.  FRLA, through its training company, Regulatory Compliance Services (RCS), provides this service at reasonable rates.   

If you have any questions about this or alcoholic beverage training services available through the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, or its affiliates, please contact:

Richard Turner at: Rturner@frla.org; (850)224.2250 ext. 248

Geoff Luebkemann at: Gluebkemann@frla.org; (850)224.2250 ext. 249

BP Update Economic and Property Damages Settlement Class

By Amanda S. Barr

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association retained the law firms of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty and Proctor, P.A., Cooney and Conway and Weitz and Luxenberg, P.C.  to represent it with regard to losses sustained as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. There have been some notable developments in the BP oil spill litigation that may impact the rights of certain FRLA members.  A class settlement has been reached between the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and BP for certain individuals and businesses impacted by BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  The settlement will compensate hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses who suffered an economic loss as a result of the BP oil spill.  The settlement class includes individuals and businesses located within the “Gulf Coast Area” between April 20, 2010 and April 16, 2012.  The “Gulf Coast Area,” as defined by the settlement, includes the State of Louisiana, the State of Mississippi, the State of Alabama and certain counties located in the States of Texas and Florida.  

The Florida counties included in this class settlement are: Bay, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Manatee, Monroe, Okaloosa, Pasco, Pinellas, Santa Rose, Sarasota, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton and Washington.  Individuals and businesses located in counties other than those enumerated above are excluded from this settlement.

The “Gulf Coast Area” is further broken down by geographical zones A through D.  Zone A represents the areas closest to the Gulf of Mexico and moving inland through Zones B, C and D.  A business’ zone classification is based upon the physical location of the business in 2010.  For those individuals and businesses located within the “Gulf Coast Area,” eligibility also depends on whether the business or individual meets one of the causation requirements.  The causation requirements vary depending upon the zone and business type applicable to a specific claim.  

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DBPR Secretary Ken Lawson Addresses FRLA Members

Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association members and partners were recently treated to an exceptional opportunity to hear directly from Department of Business & Professional Regulation Secretary Ken Lawson, who shared his perspective on the regulator-industry relationship.

Secretary Lawson spoke to the Broward Chapter on May 8th and the Miami-Dade Chapter Executive Committee on May 9th.  Additionally, the May 9th event included Secretary Lawson providing keynote remarks to several hundred industry members attending the Sysco South Florida Food Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

During his talk, titled “We Are In This Together,” Secretary Lawson spoke on “smart de-regulation, strong but fair enforcement, and maintaining effective, open lines of communication” with the Department’s customers.  Highlights of his remarks included news that:

• All DBPR license renewals and most initial applications are now available online, reducing time to process applications
• The average time for a DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants plan review has dropped from more than 17 days to eight days over the past two years
• Plan Review email help is now available to customers at dhr.planreview@dbpr.state.fl.us
• Many DBPR services are now available on their website, www.myfloridalicense.com
• Licensees can even follow DBPR on Facebook and Twitter, accessible from the website

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Expecting the Unexpected: Protecting Your Business

By: Stephen K. Talpins and Jacey Kaps

A  Miami attorney is proving once again that people can and will sue for almost anything.  Mark S. Gold visited the Gold Rush strip club in Miami on November 27, 2010 and spent almost $19,000.  When he sobered up, he demanded that the club return his money.  Not surprisingly, the club refused.  Gold then sued the club, seeking a full refund, attorneys’ fees, costs and punitive damages.  

Gold alleges that Gold Rush engaged in unfair, deceptive and “unconscionable” trade practices by intentionally “causing” his intoxication to “charge his credit card excessive amounts of money.”  Gold argues that he is entitled to a refund because he was so drunk that he “had a complete loss of judgment, rational thought or the ability to enter into lawful contracts or agreements.”  

While this case sounds frivolous and is a comedian’s dream come true, it is no laughing matter to the establishment that now must spend money defending itself.  Thus, it begs the question: how can establishments protect themselves?  

Every licensee that serves alcohol should obtain appropriate insurance.  General liability policies typically exclude coverage for negligent service and, in any event, only provide coverage for harms occurring on-premises.  Licensees should consider protecting themselves with liquor liability policies that cover them and their employees for:

• Assaults and batteries occurring on premises;
• Suits brought by third parties who are injured off premises by a patron served at the establishment;
• All available types of damages (ie. bodily injury, mental, etc.);
• Employee drinking (some insurance companies will exclude them); and
• Defense costs.

In addition,

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