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Dear PEI Member:
On Aug. 31, a federal court in Texas overturned a 2016 U.S. Department of
Labor (DOL) regulation that raised the overtime eligibility wage threshold
for most workers from $23,660 to $47,476 (see June 1, 2016 TL). Last
November, the same judge had issued a temporary injunction against the
regulation, which had been scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, 2016 (see Nov.
29, 2016 TL).
According to DOL estimates, the change
would have brought overtime protection to 4.2 million workers not currently
eligible for overtime pay.
In his Aug. 31 summary judgment
ruling, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant concluded that the DOL rule had
given undue weight to employees’ income and not enough consideration to the
employees’ duties: “Congress intended for employees who perform ‘bona fide
executive, administrative or professional capacity’ duties to be exempt from
overtime pay. … Nothing in [the governing law] allows the Department to make
salary rather than an employee’s duties determinative of whether a ‘bona
fide executive, administrative or professional capacity’ employee should be
exempt from overtime pay.”
On Sept. 5, the Trump administration,
as expected, notified the court that it would not appeal the ruling.
However, the administration has set in motion a new rulemaking process that
may well result in a more modest overtime expansion. Through Sept. 25, the
DOL is accepting
public comments
on a wide range of factors and variables including:
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Whether some increase in the threshold salary is warranted;
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Whether non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments should be
included when calculating the salary level;
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Appropriate standards for the executive, administrative and
professional employee exemption;
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Cost-of-living differentials across the United States;
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The possibility of automatically adjusting the salary threshold by an
inflation index.
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Overtime Rule Overturned
PEI Foundation Hurricane Relief
Convention Session on UL Standards
ASTSWMO State Assurance Fund Survey
Respond to this Newsletter
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Every PEI member that engages in
interstate commerce or generates annual revenue greater than $500,000 is
subject to federal overtime law. Because any expansion of overtime
eligibility would increase members’ wage costs, we will continue to monitor
and report on developments in this area.
PEI FOUNDATION LAUNCHES HURRICANE
RELIEF EFFORT
Calls into PEI headquarters
have confirmed that Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma left their mark on
the PEI community, with high winds and high waters damaging property,
flooding homes and disrupting lives and livelihoods of individuals along the
Gulf Coast, in Florida and in other locations in the Southeast.
In response to these needs, the board
of governors of the PEI Foundation has authorized a hurricane relief fund
for full-time employees of PEI member companies who suffered loss as a
result of either storm. Here’s how you can be a part of the effort:
Donate:
From now until Oct. 19, help your
fellow members by making a tax-deductible gift to the PEI Foundation, a
501(c)(3) corporation. Every dollar raised will go to individuals in the PEI
community who have suffered loss. PEI members have long shown themselves to
be caring and generous people. This is the perfect opportunity to turn that
spirit into action. For more information and to make your contribution,
click here.
Apply for Aid:
If you suffered at least $1,000 of
unreimbursed losses from or as a result of Harvey or Irma, the PEI
Foundation and your fellow members want to help. To be eligible for aid, the
only requirements are that you be a full-time employee of a PEI member
company and that your supervisor, a corporate officer or your company’s
official PEI representative attest to your loss.
Click here
to complete the simple, one-page aid application.
Totals on the funds raised and the
numbers of individuals helped through the PEI Foundation hurricane relief
drive will be announced during the annual membership meeting at the 2017 PEI
Convention in Chicago.
ASTSWMO
PUBLISHES STATE ASSURANCE FUND SURVEY
The Association of State and Territorial Solid
Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO), in cooperation with the Vermont
Department of Environmental Conservation, has released its annual survey of
state financial assurance fund programs. Downloadable data tables on the
ASTSWMO site summarize the findings
on state fund design characteristics, funding mechanisms, fund activities
and cost control measures.
UL
STANDARDS FOR SUMPS, FIBERGLASS TANKS AT PEI CONVENTION
A new PEI 1-on-1 session has been added to the
education lineup at the
2017 PEI Convention.
“Evolving UL Standards for Sumps, Fittings,
Accessories and Fiberglass Tanks” (Wed., Oct. 18 at 3:00 p.m.) will
help PEI members better understand the new UL
2447 (sumps, fittings and accessories), as well as coming revisions to UL
1316 (fiberglass tanks). Five UL staff members directly involved in the
development of these standards and related certifications will be on hand to
explain the latest requirements and answer your questions:
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Roland Riegel, principal engineer for flammable liquids containment
products
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Jeff Prusko and Caitlin D’Onofrio, UL and ULC standards project
managers
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Bryan Michalik, certification engineering manager for gas and oil
products
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Jerilyn Merrill, business development manager for gas and oil
products
FREE RP900
WEBINAR, SEPT 19
Spots are still available for the upcoming
webinar on the just-released
PEI/RP900-17: Recommended Practices for the Inspection and
Maintenance of UST Systems. The free, one-hour presentation
will summarize the key provisions of this important document, which the EPA
has said may be used to comply with the periodic walkthrough requirements in
the 2015 federal UST regulations. The webinar (10 a.m. CST on Sept. 19) will
be presented by four members of the committee responsible for drafting
PEI/RP900-17: Ryan Haerer, EPA Office of Underground Storage Tanks; David
Piercey, JD2 Environmental Inc.; Ben Thomas, UST Training; and Brian Wiegert,
Rounds & Associates. Learn more and register
here.
FROM THE
STATES
Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of
Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is seeking public input for development of a
plan to cut emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in Arkansas, as part of
Volkswagen Automotive Group’s nationwide settlement for violations of the
federal Clean Air Act. Additional goals for the plan include reduction of
other pollutants, economic development and increased adoption of alternative
fuel-powered vehicles in Arkansas. The request for information can be found
on the
ADEQ website.
New York. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(NYSDEC) has drafted a proposal for regulatory changes to 6 NYCRR Part 230:
Gasoline Dispensing Sites and Transport Vehicles. In addition to updating
various out-of-date provisions, the proposal adds new Stage I vapor recovery
regulations and eliminates Stage II vapor recovery requirements in light of
the advances in onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR). For more
information on the draft plan or the schedule of public hearings, email
Denise Prunier of NYSDEC at
denise.prunier@dec.ny.gov.
Oklahoma. Rule changes for fuel inspection, underground storage
tanks, aboveground storage tanks, the state’s indemnity fund and corrective
action for releases took effect Sept. 11. Unofficial copies of the rule
changes can be downloaded from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s
website.
PEI MEMBER NEWS
BJM Pumps announced that Jay Gallagher, Atlantic regional sales
manager, has retired after 15 years with the company. Steve Mosley,
who has served as application engineer for the last five years, will replace
Gallagher. Mosley is a graduate of the University of Hartford and holds a
B.S. in civil engineering.
Dixon Pumps appointed Patrick McAndrew sales manager. McAndrew
was previously vice president of sales and marketing for Container Products
Corporation and national sales manager for Chemtrol.
Freedom Electronics, LLC named Bob Shepard vice president,
marketing. Shepard most recently was vice president of sales and marketing
for BETA Fueling. Prior to that, he spent almost 28 years at Gilbarco Veeder-Root.
Seneca Companies’ Waste Solutions division tapped Jeff Preston
as operations manager for its Davenport, Iowa, branch. Preston was an
outside sales representative for Waste Solutions from 2012 through 2014.
Tanknology Inc. named John Harris vice president of operations
and Ric Young regional sales manager for the southeastern region.
Harris is a five-year Tanknology veteran and has been in the oil and gas
industry since 2008. Young is a Steel Tank Institute (STI) Certified SP001
AST Inspector and a member of STI’s Standards Committee. Both Harris and
Young are based in Tanknology’s Suwanee, Georgia office.
DEATHS
Philip Cruzen died September 9, 2017, at age 64.
Cruzen served as president of PEI in 2000, 38 years after his father, Warren Cruzen, was PEI president. Philip began his career in 1975 as an assistant
branch manager at Cruzen Equipment Company, Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee, and
served as the company’s president/CEO from 1982 to 2006. Most recently, he
was an institutional registered representative at Duncan-Williams, Inc.
As a boy, Cruzen earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and as an adult he was
active in the Chickasaw Council. He was a member of the Memphis Rotary Club,
an avid hunter and conservationist and a lifelong supporter of his college
alma mater, the University of Mississippi. He also held leadership positions
with the Germantown (Tennessee) Planning Commission, the Germantown Board of
Zoning Appeals and the Children's Charity Initiative Committee for Carnival
Memphis.
Cruzen is survived by his wife of 41 years, Kathleen Baker Cruzen; son
Philip Warren Cruzen, Jr. and his wife Whitney; son Stephen Baker Cruzen and
his wife Vickie; daughter Julia Cruzen Scales and her husband Mark; two
grandchildren; and his sister, Betty Coe Manuel.
BRIEFLY
NOTED
“The comment period on the U.S. EPA’s proposed rule to set 2018 renewable
volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard,
along with the 2019 RVO for biomass-based diesel, closed at midnight Aug.
31. More than 44,000 comments were filed on the proposal. … Under statute,
the EPA is required to issue a final rule setting 2018 RVOs by Nov. 30.”—Ethanol
Producer Magazine, Sept. 1, 2017
“Latin America’s biggest economy is out of recession but not out of
trouble. Brazil’s economy eked out 1% growth during the first quarter of
the year, after spending the past two years mired in the steepest economic
slump in its history. Strong growth in Brazil would stimulate the whole
region in 2018 and 2019. But political uncertainty all but ensures that
growth will stay meager this year.”—The Kiplinger Letter, Sept. 1,
2017
“Chevron will open 10 Chevron-branded retail fuel stations in Northwest
Mexico before the end of this year, and up to 250 in the next three years
in the states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Baja California and Baja California Sur, a
company spokesman told OPIS.”—Oil Express Alert, Sept. 11, 2017
“Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell opened its first gas station in
Mexico on Tuesday. … Shell said in a statement it plans to open an
unspecified number of additional service stations and that investment in
Mexico’s fuel sector could reach about $1 billion over the next decade ‘if
current market conditions are maintained.’”—Reuters, Sept. 5, 2017
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Ontario distributor. Ingersoll Petroleum Services Ltd., 1245 Port
Britain Road, Port Hope, Ontario L1A 3V7, has applied for affiliate division
membership. Roderick Ingersoll is president of the firm, which was
established in 1999. The company provides automated fuel management systems,
commercial refueling equipment, pumps and dispensers. Sponsored for PEI
membership by Bob Hayes, OPW-FMS, Hodgkins, Illinois.
www.ingersollpetroleum.ca
Massachusetts fuel testing products provider. Conidia Inc., 60 State
Street, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02109, has applied for affiliate division
membership. Mike Devine is channel manager for North America for the firm,
which was established in 2002. The company provides fuel testing products
that can be used wherever fuel is manufactured, stored or dispensed.
Sponsored by PEI membership by Sally Locke, Leighton, Cypress, Texas.
www.conidiainc.com
ADMITTED TO PEI
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ARXO Industrial Do Brasil SA, Picarras, Brazil (mfr)
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Van Lock Company, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio (mfr)
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Canary Compliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (aff)
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Synergy Environmental, Royersford, Pennsylvania (aff)
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Bazo Construction, Dearborn, Michigan (S&C)
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ISO Fuel Control Systems/Patco Electrical Services, Duncan, Oklahoma (S&C)
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