Operations

The restaurant industry gets 2 big wins

Working Lunch: This week's political podcast gives an update on a federal ruling in Illinois on the credit-card-fee lawsuit, and another in Oregon blocking enforcement of plastic pollution regulation there.

In this week’s Working Lunch, Joe Kefauver and Franklin Coley of Align Public Strategies discuss restaurant industry wins in federal court on two different issues.

In Illinois, a federal judge ruled that Visa and Mastercard are not protected by federal preemption on credit card swipe fees, and neither are banks. This clears the way for continued state-level efforts by the industry to rein in out-of-control swipe fees.

And a federal judge in Oregon ruled that the state’s Extended Producer Responsibility legislation likely violates the U.S. Constitution. The decision partially blocked the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality from enforcing the state’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act, which would have required producers of packaging material and paper products to pay a fee to cover recycling costs. The ruling also calls into question the validity of similar laws in other states. Could this be the end of Extended Producer Responsibility as we know it?

 

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Workforce

How P. Terry's Burger Stand is protecting its legacy, and preventing a private-equity buyout

The 38-unit family owned chain is transitioning to an employee-ownership trust model that its founders believe will keep its people-first culture in place long after they are gone.

Financing

Restaurant operating expenses have jumped by 36% in 6 years

According to new data from the National Restaurant Association, increases have impacted the entire P&L, from food and labor to utilities and swipe fees.

Financing

The number of franchisee bankruptcies has soared this year

The Bottom Line: More restaurant franchisees have declared bankruptcy so far this year than in all of 2025. And more of those filings suggest a business that is just not profitable.

Trending

More from our partners