ASSOCIATION UPDATE

April 24, 2014- The Northshore Chapter's 2nd Annual beach volleyball tournament, Serve it Up for Education, will be Saturday, June 7, 10 a.m. at Digs Volleyball Complex in Covington. There will be three divisions: beginner, intermediate and open. Proceeds benefit the LRA Education Foundation. Come out and play for a great cause! More info here.

April 22, 2014- The NRA offers training DVDs on harassment, social media use and customer service. Read more.

April 21, 2014- The LRAEF is extending the deadline for the 2014 LRAEF Scholarships to Wednesday, May 21, 2014. Interested students should complete this application and mail by the deadline. For more info about the LRAEF Scholarship Program, click here.

April 17, 2014- Area restaurants are "taking it on the chin," rather than raising menu prices on beef, despite record highs. LRA VP of Communications Wendy Waren was interviewed by WWL Radio. Read more.

April 16, 2014- The LRA Education Foundation has named Carolyn Senac of Mandeville as its 2014 ProStart Educator of the Year. Read more.

April 14, 2014- Today, Gov. Jindal and the Louisiana Dept. of Health & Hospitals Secretary Kathy Kliebert were joined by dozens of local supporting organizations, including the LRA, to launch the Well-Ahead Louisiana initiative, which will designate healthy places around the state that voluntarily champion and embrace health and wellness. Read more.

April 10, 2014- The LRA is pleased to name 17 Restaurant Legends from Galatoire's Restaurant in New Orleans. The recipients, with a combined 557 years of experience and service, will be recognized at a special ceremony at the restaurant Monday, April 14, 2014 at  6 p.m. Read more.

April 10, 2014- Join the Greater New Orleans Chapter Thursday, May 8 at Generations Hall to help decide who will be crowned "King of Crawfish." Restaurants from the area will be serving up their best crawfish dishes and attendees vote to decide who has the best. General admission tickets are $25 per person and you receive one voting ticket and one drink ticket; entry at 7 p.m. VIP admission is $35 per person you receive two voting tickets and an open bar from 6-7 p.m.; early admission at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here. Enter "King of Crawfish" in the search box.

April 3, 2014- Although we have warned of this scam before, it never hurts to be reminded. If anyone calls your business threatening to cut your electricity unless they are paid immediately, you should hang up and notify Entergy. This is the Entergy disconnect scam and it is spreading across the nation. We have had several members in the New Orleans area inform us that they have been targets. Read more. 

April 1, 2014- The LRA SIF Safety Seminar Webcast, "Chemical Hazards in the Workplace," is now live. Click the red box above, titled LRA SIF Safety Seminar, to get started. Participating in the webcast will satisfy the Safety Seminar requirement if a SIF member cannot attend a seminar in person.

March 27, 2014- Congratulations to our winning teams at the LRAEF Louisiana Seafood ProStart Student Invitational: Lakeshore High School in Mandeville won first place in Culinary and Hammond High Magnet School won first place in Management. Both teams will represent Louisiana at the National ProStart Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., May 3-5, 2014. Click here to read more about the competition and other winners.

March 14, 2014- SCAM ALERT: Oregon company calls to solicit sales for "mandated" food handler training. Read more.

February 12, 2014- The Obama Administration recently announced that employers with 50-99 employees will receive Affordable Care Act transition relief. These employers have until 2016 to comply with the employer-mandate rule. Read more.

January 2, 2014- Effective January 1, 2014, the IRS will classify an automatic gratuity as a service charge, not a tip. The IRS regards service charges as regular wages, which must be reported for payroll tax withholding. This rule was issued in June 2012, but implementation has been delayed until now. Read this informative article about what is defined as a tip, what to tell your staff and why you may opt to eliminate automatic gratuities in the future.