Pizzamarketplace.com - On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced that the Obama Administration is delaying a provision of the Affordable Care Act that mandates employers with 50-plus employees provide health insurance or pay a penalty. Initially these businesses were expected to start reporting their coverage in 2014. This has been delayed until 2015.

The announcement "bodes well" for the restaurant industry, as it's expected to be hit hard by the legislation because of its high employee-to-sales ratio, according to Seeking Alpha. Many restaurant leaders have vocally opposed the mandate, claiming it will stifle hiring, cause them to raise menu prices or force layoffs/reduced hours. Continue

Orlando Sentinel - Orlando-based Darden Restaurants is among 21 companies that New York's attorney general is questioning about prepaid cards used as worker paychecks.

The agency would not give specifics about why it launched the investigation. Other companies it is looking at include Wal-Mart Stores, HomeDepot and Wendy's.

In letters to the companies dated Tuesday, the attorney general's office asks for information about fees associated with the cards, as well as proof that employeeshave been told they don't have to accept the prepaid cards in lieu of a paycheck or direct deposit.

"We are concerned about excessive or insufficiently disclosed fees which may unduly reduce employees' take-home pay," the letters state.

Darden, the owner of restaurant chains including Olive Garden and Red Lobster, said in an emailed statement that it considers its policies to be in compliance with New York law. Workers can choose to be paid with payroll cards but also have the option of receiving their earnings in paycheck form or through direct deposit in a bank account, the company said. Continue

PRnewswire - In celebration of the nation's growing cocktail culture, OpenTable, the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations, is pleased to announce the 2013 Diners' Choice Award winners for the Top 100 Hottest Restaurant Bars in the United States. These awards reflect the combined opinions of more than 5 million reviews submitted by verified OpenTable diners for more than 15,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Continue

NJ.com - A Florida man filed a lawsuit today claiming he suffered serious burns from a spilled cup of hot coffee while dining at a McDonald's restaurant in Bergen County, according to a Bergen Record report.

The 54-year-old plaintiff is seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages, the report said. Continue

Pineapplenewspaper.com - It’s a local source of pride how South Florida’s own football legend and powerhouse restaurateur Don Shula translated his accomplishments on the gridiron to the grill. For more than twenty years, Shula’s signature steak houses and high end dining concepts have taken off around the country – over 34 locations and counting.

Now, yet another Shula win – a fast casual, gourmet burger restaurant called Shula Burger. The first prototypical Shula Burger franchise location in the country opens its doors in Delray Beach next month, incorporating the hot restaurant trends of gourmet burgers in a fast casual setting with a transparent, wide open view of the kitchen and meal preparation. Continue

Newstimes.com - An Augusta woman who police said was upset about a Columbia County adoption proceeding Thursday morning attacked members of the adopting family with a crowbar and stun-gun at an Evans restaurant before finally being subdued and arrested.

Police said Iyana Nicole Herbert, 23, of the 3500 block of Windsor Spring Road, followed Lisa Harrison into the Cracker Barrel at 522 N. Belair Road after damaging the family car in the parking lot. Continue

Courant.com -  — A New Hampshire man who was stabbed and seriously wounded because his attacker thought he was a Boston Red Sox fan won a $4.3 million verdict against a Branford restaurant after a trial in Superior Court.

Monte Freire, 45, of Nashua, suffered permanent damage as a result of being stabbed in the neck by John Mayor, 47, who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence for the crime.

Freire sued The U.S.S. Chowder Pot III restaurant, where the incident occurred, for negligence and for failing to protect him. Continue

LAtimes.com - Chief executives at the nation’s top restaurant companies earn more in a single morning than the average minimum-wage cook, dishwasher or server does in an entire year, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.

Postandcorier.com -

A former restaurateur in North Charleston was sentenced to prison today for employing illegal immigrants and tax evasion.

Ji Duan Fang, 35, of Hanahan pleaded guilty to failure to pay employment taxes and harboring illegal aliens. A federal judge in downtown Charleston sentenced him to a year in federal prison, another six months in a community corrections center and three years on probation.

Federal investigators said Fang hired at least 14 illegal immigrants at Jade China Buffet at 7800 Rivers Ave. in North Charleston. He paid them cash and did not collect or pay $212,225 in employment taxes from 2008 to 2011.

Fang also housed and transported workers to his restaurant, the authorities said.

Officials from the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office pointed at people like Fang as the reasons for the erosion of employees’ future benefits and for government budget deficits.

WISTV.com - Restaurants and diners are reacting after learning that a waitress in the Grand Strand was charged with forging receipts and allegedly stealing from patrons.

According to J. Reuben Long Detention Center, 33-year-old Shannon Renee Vereen was booked on forgery charges after accusations that she forged the tip amounts on credit card receipts, increasing her pocketed pay.

The Horry County Police report states the Ultimate California Pizza on Lake Arrowhead Road reported the possible forgery on June 14. The restaurant's main office had notified them that credit card receipts had been altered, leading them to find 70 different receipts with totals not matching the original Continue