SAN DIEGO, CA – February 24th, 2020 – Nicole Cote, of Hannaford Supermarkets in Bar Harbor, won the National Grocers Association’s 2020 Best Bagger Championship and a grand prize of $10,000. Nicole defeated more than 20 other contestants from across the country.
Update: As of January 15th, 2020 the FDA has released an additional statement. On December 20, 2019, the President signed legislation to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and raise the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years. It is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product – including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes – to anyone under 21. FDA will provide additional details on this issue as they become available.
For more information, visit: FDA.gov
This Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued guidance to help retailers and grocers understand the new law taking effect in April of 2020. Please see the link for the guidance Q&A PDF. The plastic bag ban guidance describes 38 MRSA §1611, a statewide law regulating carry-out bags that includes a ban on point-of-sale single-use plastic bags and a small fee on recycled paper bags and on reusable bags made of plastic. The Department of Environmental Protection will update this guidance document as additional questions are received.
AUGUSTA, MAINE – October 11th, 2019 – The Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association is proud to announce their respected 2019 award recipients. Will’s Shop ‘n Save of Dover-Foxcroft as the 2019 Grocer of the Year; Coastal Maine Popcorn Co. of Boothbay Harbor as the 2019 Food Producer of the Year; and C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. of Keene, NH as the 2019 Associate of the Year.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced their final rule regarding overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Effective January 1, 2020, the one-year salary threshold to qualify for executive, administrative, or professional employee exemptions will be raised to $35,568 (up from its current $23,660). The Department also made three changes to existing regulations: the rule (1.) raises the total annual compensation level for highly compensated employees from $100,000 to $107,432 per year; (2.) allows employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive pay to satisfy up to 10% of the standard salary level; and (3.) revises the special salary levels for workers in U.S. territories.
The final rule also abandoned a proposed provision that would have mandated salary threshold increases every four years; however, they did note their intention to address future increases more regularly than before. Overall, they mark a stark change from the previous administration’s attempt to increase the salary threshold to over $47,000, which was blocked by a federal judge in 2017.
Courtesy of FMI
