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Lawsuit targets pay practices at Olive Garden’s parent

A group that seeks higher guaranteed wages for restaurant workers is suing Olive Garden’s parent company, saying its pay policies make workers more likely to ensure harassment and discrimination. One Fair Wage filed the lawsuit Thursday against Orlando, Florida-based Darden Restaurants. Darden employs more than 167,000 hourly workers at 1,800 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to the Olive Garden chain, it owns Longhorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House and The Capital Grille. The lawsuit says Darden has a policy of paying its tipped workers ...

Plankenhorn, Keystone Advertising merge

New and exciting things are happening at the Plankenhorn Stationery Co., the legendary Center City landmark that merged at the beginning of the year with award-winning Keystone Advertising Specialties. “Plankenhorn’s will stay the same as everyone has loved for 122 years, but with a ...

Mid-State, Diageo donate $30k to local food bank

Mid-State Beverage Co. along with Diageo donated $30,000 to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Each year Diageo recognizes a “Distributor of the Year” based on sales and growth. This year Mid- State Beverage Co. was honored to receive the Golden Bar Award. This award gave Mid-State Beverage Co. the opportunity to partner with a local charity. These funds will provide more than 180,000 meals throughout the 10 county footprint that Mid-State Beverage actively distributes Guinness and Smirnoff products. “As a local family owned company based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania we ...

State promises better jobless claims system

HARRISBURG — After a year of frustration over long waits for checks, jammed phone lines and confusing online filing procedures, Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry is promising a much quicker and easier unemployment compensation claims filing system in two months. The new system, scheduled to launch on June 8, is based on what the department said Thursday is modern software to replace an “obsolete 40-year-old mainframe legacy system.” It arrives after a series of bungled efforts to replace the system began in 2006 and culminated in a 2017 lawsuit that is still ...

Pandemic-weary chefs, cooks enjoy serving from home

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When COVID-19 shutdowns hit in March 2020, Mike Winneker, a hotel executive sous chef, found himself without work for the first time in years. Between caring for a 6-year-old son and waiting for unemployment benefits, days now spent at home in Scottsdale were stressful. One night in June, Winneker, 33, cooked up some tacos with beef chuck and beef cheeks. Seeing what a large quantity he had, he came up with the idea of selling tacos. His first test run was a post on the NextDoor app offering brisket barbacoa tacos in his driveway. Winneker decided he would only ...

Milton Savings Bank announces new CEO

Milton Savings Bank’s board of directors recently announced a change to the executive management of the bank. Effective March 22, Robert “Bob” Crane has been appointed chief executive officer of Milton Savings Bank. Crane will be replacing Scott Pfaff who was with the bank for over ...