We’re starting off this week with the issue of wage theft due to a surprising bill posted in the Senate Labor Committee hearing called this past Monday, the first of the new session. We learned about it late last week and I testified in support of the legislation. The legislation that was introduced simply raises already existing penalties and does not add any of the burdens that we fought so hard to prevent being signed into law last year. I felt it was a good idea to show the Committee good faith since it is deservedly difficult to defend dishonest employers and those who purposefully cheat their employees. We of course want to prevent wage theft, but we also want to prevent overly burdensome and punitive penalties against honest employers. We do not want dishonest employers to gain any advantages over honest employers. I still fear that the more horrendous version of this legislation will pop up, but the fact that we showed support through our testimony for efforts to stop actual dishonest employers should give us greater credibility. Please follow as we report more on this issue as it moves forward.
 
For those of you who own convenience stores, the plastic bag issue popped up again this week. Efforts will be made to either ban them all together, or impose a fee on every bag you issue to a customer. We believe that better recycling efforts will go a long way to solving the environmental issues plastic bags create. There is no need to impose costly regulations on small business owners. To learn more about where this issue is headed, see the below article from the Asbury Park Press:
 
Plastic bag ban: Will Phil Murphy get involved in NJ?
 
From time to time, I speak about the growing acceptance of electric vehicles (EVs) in the motor vehicle industry. Their growth has been somewhat stunted due to the relatively low cost of gasoline and other petroleum-based fuels, however, their popularity seems to be poised for a growth spurt. There are more government efforts underway to provide funding and incentives for the installation of charging stations. There are also plans by the major auto manufacturers to increase production of EVs. Every customer that drives an EV is a customer that will never buy another drop of gas from you. For repair shop owners, it is time to begin marketing to the owners of EVs. These cars will still require maintenance and service, including tires, brakes, and suspension. It may be true that these customers will never need a valve job again, but when electric motor repairs are needed, they should still be profitable for your shops. For you convenience store owners, you should look at this as a big opportunity. EV owners will need places to park and charge their vehicles, with charging time anywhere between 10-30 mins. Not only will these customers need to purchase your electricity, but I imagine that while they are waiting, they will need a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Look for me to start sharing more information on this subject in 2018.
 
I want to discuss a subject that is extremely distasteful, but affects every single business in today's world of computers and technology. That is the subject of malware and ransomware. You all have sales and expense data filed on your computers, as well as customer repair history and information. It is becoming more prevalent for hackers to be able to gain access to your files and plant bugs in your computer, blocking your access unless you pay them a ransom. We have had members report as little as $500 ransom, to as much as $20,000 in ransom. It is vitally important that you have a good IT consultant protect your computers to avoid being infected. The difficult part of this warning is that even if you are well protected and have multiple layers of security on your computers, you are still only about 90% protected. Hackers are constantly inventing new ways to get around security. Think of the highly publicized breaches that you hear about in both government agencies and financial institutions such as Equifax. These are entities that have layers upon layers of security, and still they have experienced a data breach. Recently, the staff here at NJGCA participated in a number of seminars and webinars to keep us alert of this growing problem. I’m bringing this to your attention right now, and hopefully will be able to provide you with some technical assistance to minimize your exposure. For now, I’m simply trying to raise your level of concern. Please call the office so we can share some of the internet security experts that we have come across with you. Don’t ignore this issue thinking it can’t happen to you! It can and sooner or later it will.
 
For more information on ransomware and how this may affect your business, see the below article:

Ransom Ware Threatens Marketers

Finally I want to close by bringing your attention to an article published in the Asbury Park Press. The paper actually gave me a forum to express our views on self-serve gasoline. This is the second paper that has given a fair account of the subject in their reporting.  You can read the article here:
 
Q&A: RISALVATO: To pump or not pump your own gas?

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director