SUCCESSES AND SETBACKS ON WAGE THEFT LEGISLATION
CURBING USE OF LEAD AND MERCURY WHEEL WEIGHTS
$15/HOUR MINIMUM WAGE BALLOT INITIATIVE
INSURING 40-YEAR OLD USTs
GAS TAX INVENTORY FORMS DUE TODAY!
REMINDER….DIESEL TAX INCREASES JANUARY 1, 2017
 

The first issue that NJGCA tackled this week was a piece of legislation regarding “wage theft” which was introduced in June.  It was first heard in the Senate Labor Committee and I had many concerns about the bill.  Although I was shut down in the Senate, that didn’t stop me and my colleagues at the NJ Civil Justice Institute from jumping into a tough fight to block this bill. If left alone, this bill would've effectively allowed your employees to file criminal complaints in municipal court if they felt cheated out of any wages (not paid for enough hours, not paid proper hourly wages, or not paid overtime). 
 
Throughout the summer, NJGCA and the NJ Civil Justice Institute went to work on the Assembly side, and had meetings and multiple conversations with Assembly sponsor of the bill, Annette Quijano, and her staff.  The bill was in the Assembly Labor Committee on Monday and I felt much more confident given the work that had been done through- out the summer and fall. The provision allowing employees to file criminal complaints in municipal court has been removed, however, the legislation still contains what I feel are “harsh and unreasonable penalties” for people who may unknowingly or negligently make errors when doing their payroll.
 
Even though I'm very pleased that the criminal provision was removed, I had to oppose this legislation on Monday morning.  Although it would be interesting for you to listen to the entire hearing (to hear what our opponents, mostly labor unions, community groups and immigration advocates, had to say about YOU the small employer) I encourage you to at least listen to the testimony that I gave in defense of you.  CLICK HERE to listen to my testimony and CLICK HERE to listen to the question and answer discussion that occurred between myself and various Legislators after my testimony.
 
The bill is improved from where it started in June, however, as I said in my testimony, we remain unsatisfied, and I have already reached out to the bill’s prime sponsor to begin the task of amending it further.  I will keep you posted.
 
The second bill that would be of interest to you, which was heard on Monday afternoon in the Assembly Environment Committee, would ban the sale or installation of wheel weights that contain lead or mercury.  There are 8 states, including NY and CA, which have already passed this ban, and the EPA has considered a nationwide ban, since wheel weights have a tendency to pop off on the road and end up polluting water sources.  One study found that 12 tons of lead is deposited on NJ roads each year through wheel weights.  If the bill becomes law you would have six months to reduce your inventory and then switch over to steel, zinc or other wheel weights.  Eric attended the hearing to monitor the proceedings, but we did not testify or take a position. We called several members prior to the hearing and learned that purchasing substitute wheel weights of a different material would not be a burden, as the costs are comparable.  We simply want to inform you to start considering a transition away from lead/mercury wheel weights.  Although this has not been signed into law, we anticipate that it will be sometime in the next year.  You will then have six months to deplete your inventory and transition to another material.

Next, I am reluctant to get too excited too early, however, it appears that $15/hour minimum wage will NOT be on the ballot in November 2017 for NJ voters to decide. To be on the ballot next November, the Legislature has to pass the resolution with a simple majority in both houses by December 31, 2016.  The same resolution must then be passed again by a simple majority before next August, to go on the November 2017 ballot.  It seems that our coalition’s strong opposition has created an enormous amount of disagreement amongst legislators. Monday is the last scheduled voting session of 2016, and it looks like we have a victory, for now. 
 
However, I caution you, this does not mean we have won the war.  Even if this is not on the ballot in November 2017, I would bet a paycheck that it’ll quickly be on the 2018 legislative calendar.  If a Democrat wins the Governor’s seat next year, it is extremely likely that $15/hour will be signed into law sometime in early 2018.  Yes, that’s better than the voters amending the NJ Constitution, and it does delay the pain for another year, but it is still a problem that we will have to continue fighting.

THREE IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

1. This week a member was notified that his UST insurance was not going to be renewed next year.  This is very important for those of you with 40 year old tanks. When your policy is up for renewal in 2017, your insurance company will not renew your coverage!  You will get a 60 day notice from your insurance company that they are not renewing, and at that point you have two months to replace your tanks or face a fine of $1,500 per day per tank.  It’s not worth it and you simply cannot operate without UST insurance, so start thinking about this now!  Please re-read the July OTR Newsletter that has the first notification from NJGCA regarding 40 year old USTs by clicking here.  Also please read my follow up in the August 18 Road Warrior by clicking here. Please call the office if you have questions. Our UST Insurance expert Dana Tank Insurance has been working on this issue and cautions that insurance companies will not renew tanks that are 40 years old. Over the years, Dana has been able to perform magic by persuading insurance companies to construct special programs for NJGCA members when others could not perform. In fact, other insurance agents contact Dana when they run into brick walls for their own clients. At the moment, Dana is also running into the same brick wall.
2. TODAY, December 15^th, your gasoline inventory forms are due back to the State of New Jersey as a result of the gas tax increase that went into effect on November 1, 2016. The form is available HERE. All you need to submit is the amount of gallons of inventory you had at close of business on October 31^st or the amount of gallons of inventory you had at midnight, if you run a 24-hour operation.  We suggest keeping a copy of the inventory records for October 31, 2016 in your files, and making copies of the completed forms before submitting them to the State. You should also send your forms Certified Return Receipt.
3. This morning the Division of Taxation finally announced what the diesel tax increase will be starting January 1.  At the close of business on December 31, you will need to record how much diesel fuel you have in the ground and pay the State an additional 15.9¢ per gallon. The process will be the exact same as what you’ve already gone through for gasoline, including the same deduction for fuel in dead storage. We are still waiting for the Division to approve the forms you will use. The inventory report will be due January 31^st and the actual tax revenue itself will be due June 1,  2017.  There will be a second increase in the diesel tax that will go into effect July 1, 2017 and it will be about 10.5¢ a gallon.

With questions on any of these issues, do not hesitate to call NJGCA at 732-256-9646.

Thanks for reading -- See you all next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director