• BUSINESS. Williams & Jensen signed seven new clients recently, including the Center for Prison Reform; the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association; and the Health Data Consortium, a public-private partnership that promotes an increase in the sharing and use of healthcare data. The firm also registered to lobby for Hardwick Clothes, Stewart Engineers and the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement Systems and signed a subcontract with Locke Lord to represent The Friedkin Group on “conservation and anti-poaching initiatives in Tanzania.”
• EMPLOYMENT. Levick Strategic Communications is lobbying on employment regulation issues for the restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse, according to disclosure forms. The restaurant has come under fire in the past for allegedly not paying its employees the minimum wage, settling one class-action lawsuit for $5 million. It has also been accused of refusing to hire older workers. The company has denied those accusations and has sued for the government documents to support these claims. Last week, the Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against a manager at a Texas Roadhouse in Columbus, Ohio, alleging sexual harassment of female employees.
{mosads}• APPROPRIATIONS. LHD & Associates, a firm run by Linda Daschle, is working together with the Doerrer Group on a lobbying contract for the City of Cleveland. Together, they are trying to secure “federal support for safety and security funding related to a national special security event.” Daschle is the former acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and wife of former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). The Doerrer Group is led by Paul Doerrer, a former staffer to a Senate appropriations panel and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).
• AVIATION. American Airlines added another firm to its advocacy roster, hiring SBL Strategies to work on “aviation policy [and] merger issues.” American Airlines merged with US Airways last year, creating labor tensions. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has been negotiating with US Airways over a contract for two years. Customer service workers for the merged airlines have also agreed to unionize.
— This post was updated on Sept. 30.