INDUSTRY NEWS Updated Kids LiveWell 2.0


The National Restaurant Association says the modernized program, originally launched in 2011, will make it easier for caregivers and children to choose ‘better-for-you’ meals when dining out because the new guidelines follow updates made by the USDA and other dieticians. Restaurant operators with qualifying meals and sides certified by Kids LiveWell are validated by an approved third-party registered dietitian and are designed to help increase a child’s consumption of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy while limiting unhealthy fats, added sugars, and sodium. The 2.0 version expands the number of certified menu items to require that two meals and two sides are certified to meet the criteria. The new criteria also feature a new beverage policy, whereby the default beverage policy for the kid’s menu can only include water, low-fat or non-fat milk, or 100% fruit or vegetable juice. Kids LiveWell 2.0 also eliminates artificial trans fats and no longer assesses total fat calories but continues to limit calories from saturated fat. The new program no longer focuses on calories from total sugar and instead shifts to limits on added sugars. In addition, the new criteria lowers the sodium threshold for both meals and sides in an effort to reduce sodium by 10% according to public health recommendations (see opposite page). Nearly 13,000 restaurants across the country have Kids LiveWell approved menu items, including major chains Applebee’s, Panda Express, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill and Silver Diner. Restaurants with items certified in the original program must have them re-certified by January 1, 2022.


New rules on tipping


The US Department of Labor released the final rule, effective December 28, on the issue of tipped work. The rule sets limits on the amount of time tipped employees can spend in non-tipped activities when the employer receives a tip credit. An employer may only take a tip credit for the hours when an employee is doing work that is tip-producing or engaged in tasks that directly support tip-producing work. The final rule also amends the regulations in Executive Order 13658, which address the hourly minimum wage paid to employees performing work on, or in connection with covered federal contracts, consistent with the amendments to the dual jobs regulations. Under the final rule, an employer can take a tip credit only when the tipped employee is performing tip-producing work or when the tipped employee is performing work that directly supports tip-producing work as long as the tipped worker does not spend a substantial amount of time doing tip-supporting work. The rule defines substantial amount of time as more than 20% of the hours worked during the employee’s workweek or a continuous period of time that exceeds 30 minutes. Wage and Hour Division acting administrator Jessica Looman said in a release that the final rule is meant to enhance protections for women, people of color and immigrants who represent more than half of all tipped workers.


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