News

ISSA LARU Update—Double Your Impact With an ISSA Advocacy Fund Contribution

Welcome to the ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update (LARU), our biweekly roundup of the latest public policy issues impacting the full spectrum of the cleaning industry. This update touches on a matching opportunity for a limited time with the ISSA Advocacy Fund, the 2022 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit, staving off a partial federal government shutdown, and more.

Want to stay informed about critical government affairs impacting the industry? Sign up here to have the ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update emailed to you every other week!

And be sure to check out the latest installment of our new video series, ISSA Advocacy Cleaning Industry Alert, with ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft to learn about the top three advocacy issues impacting the cleaning industry right now, including the government funding bill, infrastructure, and the next ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit.

ISSA Advocacy

Double Your Impact 
Double your impact and help ISSA strengthen the full spectrum of the cleaning industry by contributing to the ISSA Advocacy Fund (IAF). IAF Founding Supporter Products Chemical Co. LLC has generously agreed to match contributions to the IAF up to US$5,000 through November 30, 2021. Double your impact—contribute to the IAF today!

Register for the Virtual Cleaning Products-A Regulatory Update
Stay ahead of the regulatory curve.  Register today to participate in the ISSA-HCPA Cleaning Products: A Regulatory Update, a one-day workshop on November 15, 2021, covering the latest regulatory issues that impact the manufacturing, packaging, marketing, and sale of household and commercial cleaning products. This workshop has been converted to a completely virtual event for your convenience!

Save the Date for ISSA’s 2022 Clean Advocacy Summit
ISSA will host its signature advocacy event for industry leaders, the Clean Advocacy Summit, March 30-31, 2022, in Washington, D.C., as part of National Cleaning Week and in conjunction with the Independent Office Products and Furniture Dealers Association’s (IOPFDA) Workplace Solutions Summit. Participants will spend the first day of the summit getting up to speed on the pressing policy issues for the industry and sharpening their advocacy acumen. On March 31, they’ll apply their new knowledge and skills meeting with their congressional delegation to advocate for clean.

Legislative

Biden Signs Government Funding Bill to Prevent Shutdown
The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate both approved a short-term government funding bill that keeps federal agencies open through early December and staves off a partial government shutdown, CBS News reported.

Infrastructure Vote Delayed in House
The House of Representatives delayed a vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill as U.S. President Joe Biden pushed congressional Democrats to forge a consensus on a broader spending deal, according to CNBC. Congress approved a 30-day extension of transportation programs that would have been reauthorized in the infrastructure bill but lapsed on October 1, and, thus, set a new one-month timeline for Democrats to resolve their intraparty differences.

House Democrats Offer Bill to Create Tax on Single-Use Plastics
Representative Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) introduced legislation to create a tax on the sale of new plastic used in single-use products, which he hopes to get included in Democrats’ $3.5 trillion social spending package, The Hill reported. Suozzi offered the legislation after Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced a version of the bill in the Senate in August. 

Regulatory

Both Products and Packaging Can Be USDA Certified Biobased
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred Program has a unique label for situations when both a product and its packaging are certified biobased. This is referred to as the “double label” stamp. Currently, 15 products have earned labels for both packaging and product content.

CDC Approves Boosters for At-Risk Workers
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky authorized third doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for people 65 and older and people ages 18 to 64 who live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, or work or live in environments with a high risk for virus spread.

Start Date of Joint Employer Rule Extended
The U.S. Department of Labor extended the effective date of a final joint employer rule that is intended to ensure that workers receive the minimum wage and overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Cleaning & Maintenance Management reported.

EEOC’s Move on Long COVID-19 Likely to Create Liability for Employers
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) recognition that long COVID-19 may be considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is expected to increase employers’ potential liability, according to Business Insurance. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Justice Department issued joint guidance on treating long COVID-19 as a disability under the ADA in June and the EEOC said in a notice on its website that the commission expects to issue similar guidance.

OSHA Awards $11M in Grants for Workplace Safety Training
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) awarded $11.6 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to 93 nonprofit organizations, Cleaning & Maintenance Management reported. OSHA’s annual Susan Harwood Training Grant program funds in-person safety and health training for workers and employers in industries with high injury, illness, and fatality rates; underserved youth; workers with limited English proficiency; and small businesses.

Biden Takes New Steps to Preserve DACA
The Biden administration took steps to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that shields hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation, according to CNN. The DACA program has been the subject of ongoing litigation since the program was established in 2012.

Judicial

Court Upholds Right of Private Employers to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccine
Private employers considering vaccine mandates for their workers may have ammunition thanks to a federal court that found a Cincinnati area health care provider could require that its employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs, Cleaning & Maintenance Management reported. The case appears to be the first ruling of its kind for a private employer in the United States.

State News

Limited Exemption to PAGA for Some Janitorial Employees
California Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 646, which limits janitorial employees represented by a labor organization and covered by a collective bargaining agreement in effect before July 1, 2028, from filing suit under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA), The National Law Review reported.

New Jersey Offers Cash to Get Workers Training, Small Business Jobs
New Jersey is offering a $500 incentive to unemployed people who go back to work at businesses with 100 or fewer employees and receive job training, according to The Associated Press. The incentive, dubbed the “Return to Earn Program,” will be financed with $10 million of federal COVID-19 funds.