News
ISSA LARU—ISSA Urges Congress for Overtime-Pay Flexibility
March 15, 2024
Welcome to the latest ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update, a biweekly roundup of the public-policy issues currently impacting the full cleaning supply chain. This update touches on ISSA urging Congress to support the Overtime Pay Flexibility Act, implementation of DOL’s new independent contractor rule, ISSA’s new Regulatory Affairs Manager, and more.
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ISSA Advocacy
ISSA Urges Congress to Support Overtime Pay Flexibility Act
ISSA, along with 83 other organizations, urged Congress to support the Overtime Pay Flexibility Act (H.R. 7367) in a recent letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives. If enacted, the legislation would prohibit the Department of Labor (DOL) from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing its proposed rule, titled “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees,” published in the Federal Register in September 2023. This bill, introduced by Representative Burlison (R-7-MO), would, according to the letter, “protect workers, employers, and the economy from this ill-considered and ill-advised regulation while preserving DOL’s authority to make future adjustments to the overtime rules as appropriate.” Learn more
New Independent Contractor Rule Now in Effect
As a reminder, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a final rule defining independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The final rule rescinds the Trump administration’s 2021 rule and adopts a six-factor test focused on the “economic reality” of the relationship between a potential employer and worker. This final rule went into effect on March 11. Learn more
Meet ISSA’s New Regulatory Affairs Manager
Meché Ragland recently joined ISSA’s Government Affairs Team as the Regulatory Affairs Manager. Meché will lead ISSA’s proactive regulatory efforts, with a focus on the activities of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and comparable state agencies that impact the cleaning industry. She will work to strengthen relationships with allied trade associations, industry coalitions, nongovernmental organizations, regulators, and elected officials, as well as deliver value to our members by helping them navigate an ever-changing regulatory environment.
Meché brings more than a decade of knowledge and experience in the U.S. and internationally with personal care and cosmetics, OTC, home and health care products, pharmaceutical, and medical device regulations. Most recently, she worked for a manufacturer of industrial chemicals and ingredients, and she also has experience working for product manufacturers like Burt’s Bees and Procter & Gamble. Additionally, Meché has served on various committees as a member of the Personal Care Products Council, American Chemistry Council, and Regulatory Affairs Professional Society. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Drexel University and a Master of Legal Studies with a specialization in Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, and Medical Device Compliance from Seton Hall University School of Law. Meché can be reached at [email protected].
Time Is Running out – Register Now for ISSA’s Clean Advocacy Summit
Time is running out to register for the 2024 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit, April 10-11 in Washington, DC! Join your fellow cleaning-industry leaders as we impact legislation and regulations important to you and our industry.
Five Reasons Why You Should Attend
- You’ll meet in-person with your congressional delegation about the issues that impact your business, including labor shortages, EPA funding, workforce-training incentives, and cleaning-product regulations. As the old adage goes, if you aren’t at the table, you’re probably on the menu!
- Network with 100+ cleaning-industry leaders–70%+ of summit attendees are business owners or at the c-suite level. Businesses that will be represented at the 2024 summit include Imperial Dade, Tork, BradyPlus, Midlab, Verde Clean, Spartan Chemical, Pritchard Industries, Servepro, and many more.
- ISSA will schedule all of your congressional meetings, as well as train and brief you, so that you can advocate effectively. Participating in our democratic process is one of the most exciting and rewarding endeavors that you can do for your profession.
- The 2024 election could be the most consequential of our lifetime. Hear from Washington insiders about the election and what it could mean for your business and the cleaning industry.
- Only a few seats remain for this year’s summit and the registration deadline of April 3 is fast approaching!
EPA to Host Webinar on Best Practices for Antimicrobial-Product Registration
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a free webinar on March 20, from 12 pm to 1:30 pm CT on the pesticide registration process for antimicrobial products. Learn more
Spring Cleaning with Safer Choice
Spring-cleaning is here! Celebrate actions that help pave the way to a cleaner future with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Safer Choice, which ISSA, as a 2023 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award recipient, proudly supports. By seeking out cleaning products with safer ingredients, like those with the Safer Choice label, you are supporting companies that are investing in your safety. Look for the Safer Choice label! Learn more
Legislative
Biden Signs Spending Package
President Joe Biden signed a US$460 billion package of spending bills approved by the U.S. Senate in time to avoid a shutdown of many key federal agencies, AP reports. The legislation’s success gets lawmakers “about halfway home” in wrapping up their appropriations work for the 2024 budget year. Learn more
Hearing on White House Role in Pandemic Preparedness and Response
The U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing on March 6 entitled “Examining the White House’s Role in Pandemic Preparedness and Response” to discuss the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy’s (OPPR) role in responding to and preventing future pandemics. The newly-appointed Director of OPPR, Major General Paul Fredrichs, explained that the office’s main purpose is to convene pandemic preparedness and response groups from across the federal government and integrate their ideas into a comprehensive pandemic-response plan. Learn more
Regulatory
EPA Revises List of Disinfectants for Combating Bloodborne Pathogens
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) combined and updated information from several disinfectant lists to create a new list titled EPA-Registered Antimicrobial Products Effective Against Bloodborne Pathogens (HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C) [List S], Cleaning & Maintenance Management reports. Learn more
US Seeks Collection of Delinquent Loans to Small Businesses
U.S. federal officials have begun holding small businesses and nonprofits accountable for the roughly one million delinquent governmental loans that were handed out during the pandemic and which carry a value of as much as US$20 billion, the New York Post reports. The U.S. Small Business Administration last week began referring neglected COVID-19 disaster loans with balances of $100,000 or less to the U.S. Treasury Department for collection. Learn more
Biden Tightens Chemical Plant Safety Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tightened safety rules for chemical plants loosened under the Trump administration, according to The Hill. The new rules are designed to prevent chemical accidents and EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said that they are the “strongest safety requirements ever for industrial facilities.” Learn more
SEC Finalizes Rule for Disclosing Climate Information
The federal government will require some of the largest publicly-traded companies to disclose their levels of greenhouse-gas emissions under a new rule from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Hill reports. Learn more
Judicial
Federal Court Strikes Down Corporate Transparency Act
A federal judge presiding over the case testing the validity of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) struck down the CTA as unconstitutional, The National Law Review reports. Through the CTA, Congress imposed mandatory reporting obligations on certain companies operating in the United States in an effort to enhance corporate transparency and combat financial crime. Specifically, the CTA, which took effect on January 1, 2024, requires a wide range of companies to provide personal information about their beneficial owners and company applicants to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Learn more
Lawsuit Accuses Company of Polluting with PFAS
A proposed class-action lawsuit filed by Connecticut residents near a facility where Kimberly-Clark makes Kleenex accuses the consumer-goods company of contaminating their properties and drinking water with “forever chemicals,” according to NBC News. The lawsuit, which was filed in Connecticut federal court, alleges that the company has used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to make tissues at its plant in New Milford. Kimberly-Clark says that it does not use PFAS in its U.S. consumer products and plans to “vigorously” defend itself against the allegations. Learn more
State News
States Consider Limiting PFAS Definition
State lawmakers are considering narrowing the definition of “forever chemicals,” a move criticized by some for increasing exposure risks, E&E reports. At least two states–Delaware and West Virginia–enacted laws that exclude thousands of chemicals from being classified as PFAS and more legislators are considering embracing the new definition. Learn more
VA Bills Requiring Identification of PFAS Sources Advance
Legislation to set up a state process to identify sources of high levels of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” is moving swiftly through the Virginia General Assembly, according to the Virginia Mercury. Learn more
Legislation Raising VA’s Minimum Wage Heads to Governor
The Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed bills to raise Virginia’s minimum wage to US$15 per hour by 2026, a top priority for the party that faces an expected veto from Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, ABC 8 News reports. Learn more
