On March 25, 2020, Governor Jim Justice signed into law an amendment to the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act (“WPCA”) that provides a “safe harbor” to employers, allowing them an opportunity to correct underpayment or nonpayment of wages and fringe benefits due to separated employees prior to the start of lengthy - and costly - litigation.
The Department of Labor announced that the First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), also known as “Phase 2” of the stimulus package, will go into effect on April 1st. Furthermore, DOL has published the model notice that employers will be required to post to advise employees of their rights under the FFCRA. Click here to view the poster.
The NGA Online training center is offering COVID-19 relevant courses free and widely available. To support your safety training needs, click HERE to access these NGA Online Training Center courses.
IHS Markit believes gasoline demand will drop 50%, even more than during the 2008 recession, due to the coronavirus health pandemic. IHS Markit also believes demand for internal combustion engines (ICE) will decline. Additionally, EVs are expected to take a hit given that oil prices are down, therefore making EVs less competitive. Click here to view the full article from IHS Markit.
One industry bracing for the coming COVID-19 recession is convenience stores. The country has 150,000 of them, most connected to gas pumps.
As previously reported, we have joined several states requesting that the May 1 RVP deadline be extended. The extreme demand destruction for gasoline has meant that there is more conventional fuel in the system than can possibly be sold before the current deadline. Attached is information from EPA extending the deadline for three weeks. The release may be found here.
Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released updated guidance regarding critical infrastructure. While the information is advisory in nature, NGA and other groups are working to make sure that various states and localities use this guidance when implementing shelter-at-home and other public health declarations. To view the new guidance, please click here. To view and download sample letters for your trucking-delivery employees and for grocery workers in case of a strict shelter-at-home ordinance, please click on the following links: for deliveries, for grocery workers.
The global payment card networks – VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover – are delaying their planned interchange fee pricing schedules until July. Retail groups and Members of Congress have been calling on the card networks to address the impact that COVID-19 has had on various retail industries due to many states and localities requiring “non-essential” businesses to remain closed. The card networks’ delay may prove helpful as VISA in particular is planning to increase interchange rates on Card-Not-Present (CNP) transactions. Customers choosing card payments instead of cash, and others shifting their purchasing to online and other e-commerce platforms, retailers are bearing the brunt of swipe fees and higher interchange rates already. Retail groups are also asking EMVCo to delay its planned October 2020 liability shift for card-accepting fuel pumps.
The U.S. EPA issued general enforcement discretion policy this week designed to address difficulties regulated parties may have maintaining certain routine compliance requirements due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, the U.S. EPA will not seek civil penalties for the following: Routine Monitoring and Reporting; Integrity Testing; Sampling; Lab analysis, Training and Certification. Click here to view the full report from PMAA Regulatory Counsel Mark Morgan.
