Impact Of New & Existing Government Regulation On Your Business

REGULATIONS! REGULATIONS! REGULATIONS!

Waste disposal regulations, OSHA regulations, D.O.T. regulations, I.R.S. regulations, Wage and Hour regulations, Labeling regulations, Sales Tax regulations, F.T.C. regulations, Insurance regulations, Federal regulations, State regulations, Local regulations, Employee rights, Consumer rights, Civil rights, and on and on!

 I'm not sure how you feel about regulations, but I suspect that you resent them or at least the majority of them. And...you will find that you have a lot of company, you can bet on that! However, if you are like me, [ and, again I suspect that you probably are ], you don't resent ALL of the regulations, just the ones that are a pain or irritation in operating your business.

For example: If you are an avid fisherman, you probably fully support all regulations designed to clean up our lakes and streams. Or, lets suppose you have teenagers working after school and weekends. I'm quite sure you fully support Federal Wage and Hour regulations for children! Do you get my drift?

 You have probably asked yourself more than once why it is so important that you and your little company comply with the seemingly never ending array of regulations directed toward your business. The example of motor vehicles and roads comes immediately to my mind. We are required to comply with regulations concerning licensing, speed limits, traffic regulations, insurance requirements, seat belts, inspection requirements, etc. for one very basic reason. These regulations have been developed to ensure the safe and orderly function of our national roadway transport system for people and goods. When people ignore certain regulations that they feel don't apply to them, the orderly function breaks down and accidents with injury, loss of life and / or property occur. It becomes quite obvious that when each of us observes these motor vehicle regulations all of us benefit.

 Please don't get the idea at this point that I'm suggesting that you blindly follow all regulations without question, because that is not what I am trying to get across to you. However I strongly advise you to comply with all regulations that are directed at your business, and work through the " system " to change those you feel to be unfair.

A LOOK AT SOME VERY IMPORTANT REGULATIONS.....

You really should make a concerted effort to learn why each of these regulations exist and who benefits from them. Some of the regulatory requirements actually link one regulation to another from another agency! A good example of this is the link between regulations from 'RIGHT TO KNOW ' laws that effect both employee and community, and ' OSHA ' regulations which cover the employee only. The D.O.T. regulation for transportation of chemicals also links with 'RIGHT TO KNOW' and 'OSHA'. Once you recognize the relationship the confusion you initially feel goes away.

The regulation for MSD sheets and label requirements for every container in your shop, vehicle or on the job is one of the best requirements to come along in years, but very few cleaners are in full compliance with these regulations! Your health and the health of both your employees and you customer are affected by these regulations.
If you need help in this area, you have a right to get it from your distributor and your trade association. If you can't , then get a new distributor and / or a new trade association! You are not in this alone.

Waste disposal is another area that you cannot ignore! And you can't just look for the answer you like best and use it with idea that if its wrong you can plead ignorance. Ignorance is not acceptable and usually can be quite expensive. Keep in mind that the budgets of these agencies have been drastically reduced, with fines becoming a serious source of income for them, [ unless you feel that fines are cheaper than compliance ]

Subcontractor relationships are another area under very close scrutiny at this time for several reasons. This happens to be an area where a substantial amount of Social Security taxes are evaded as well as income taxes. Another related area that interests both these agencies is that of commission payment instead of hourly wages. If you are paying by either of these methods or a combination of { as is also quite common } of these, I strongly suggest that you visit an attorney who specializes in this field and have him review your situation. Don't take your buddies advice and, your accountant may not be knowledgeable enough to advise you. Remember, when you get caught , you pay all the fines and back taxes, not your buddy!

Additional regulations are on the horizon as the EPA focuses on interior air quality. Right now a number of states are looking at new regulations regarding the application of pesticides. You say you don't get involved with pesticides? Here's a surprise for you, the EPA defines the antimicrobials that you are currently using as pesticides!

 States are also regulating the content of the cleaning compounds that you use on the job in some instances. There is no predictability to this and even your distributor is probably confused. But remember, ignorance is not an excuse!

Finally, you need to be aware of the Consumer Protection Agency. I hope that you are aware of your obligation to use cleaning products and procedures that comply with the manufacturers warranty stipulations. You do have responsibilities and rights as a professional who cleans these goods, but disclaimers, verbal or written do not absolve you from the responsibility of a professional.

Obviously this article is dealing with serious issues that directly affect  you and your business. My sincere advice to you is to read industry notices, make your distributor aware of your concerns, and take the lead in your local or regional association to help both yourself and your peers to be aware of and comply with regulations that affect the industry. Also take the lead in fighting unreasonable regulations, because it does work!