CATA News

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has unveiled its semi-annual regulatory agenda. The agenda sets an April 2024 date for release of the DOL’s anticipated final rule.

The DOL has released its proposed rule Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional Outside Sales and Computer Employees. As proposed, the rule sharply increases the minimum salary requirements for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional (EAP) exemptions to apply. The salary threshold would increase from the current $684 per week ($35,568 per year) to $1,059 per week ($55,068 per year). The minimum salary for application of the Highly Compensated Employee (HCE) exemption would jump from $107,432 per year to $143,988 per year. However, the DOL has indicated the actual salary threshold will be based on earnings data as of the date the final rule takes effect — which means the salary floor may be even higher than the projected $55,068. That could lift the operative threshold to more than $60,000 annually.

Whether the DOL will meet its April 2024 target date remains to be seen. The DOL will have to review more than 33,000 comments received in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking, and to address substantive comments in the final rulemaking. It’s also uncertain how closely the final rule will conform to the rule as proposed, and when the final rule, once published, will take effect. The DOL’s proposed rule did state the rule would become effective 60 days after publication of a final rule (the minimum timeframe mandated for “major” rules under the Congressional Review Act). The DOL specifically sought comments on the proposed effective date and on whether to apply different effective dates to different provisions of the proposed rule. (Past rulemaking is not a useful predictor: the DOL’s Obama-era white-collar rule revision took effect more than 6 months after the final rule was issued; the Trump DOL’s final rule took effect 3 months after publication.)

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule to clarify who is an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Final Rule also rescinds a 2021 rule in which two core factors-control over the work and opportunity for profit or loss-carried greater weight in determining the status of independent contractor. The 2021 rule, which is still in effect, made it easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors, rather than as employees.

Join Ms. Jamie M. Hasty, Vice President of SESCO Management Consultants, to review how this change in regulation impacts your organization. She will discuss the specific changes to the regulation with a focus on the six (6) determining factors for an Independent Contractor. Further, she will explain the importance of this change and how your organization can review and gain compliance with the DOL. Last, she will cover a few basics on Wage and Hour compliance and review how the FLSA play a part in this upcoming change.

Presenters include:

Tuition:

(Tuition includes a copy of the PowerPoint presentation and live recording emailed to registered individual(s).)

Schedule:

Please click HERE to register for this special webinar.

Automotive News is seeking young standouts making an impact at dealerships nationwide. For the 13th consecutive year, Automotive News will feature honorees in a special section on July 10. If you are under 40 and making things happen at a dealership, or if you know someone who is, we want to hear about them!

Deadline: March 15, 2024. Nominees must be born after July 8, 1984. Only one nomination is needed for each nominee.

Click HERE to nominate someone today!

The 2024 Chicago Auto Show is officially opened to the public on Feb. 10 and continues to run through Monday, Feb. 19, Presidents Day, at McCormick Place.

“We are excited to once again open the doors on another fun-filled show,” said Chicago Auto Show Chairman JC Phelan. “The Chicago Auto Show is a winter tradition for so many and we look forward to welcoming hundreds of thousands of auto enthusiasts and families alike to McCormick Place over the next 10 days.”

The 2024 show features many interactive elements and engaging activations, including three indoor test tracks and three outdoor ride-and-drives.

Indoors, attendees can take a ride on the expanded Chicago Drives Electric EV Track, featuring latest EVs from BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Kia, Lucid, Nissan, Tesla and Volkswagen. Ford presents “Built Wild” showcasing the capability of Ford’s Bronco family of vehicles. At the Hyundai track, attendees can experience the Kona Electric, IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 first-hand, which participants will be driven by a professional driver around the course highlighting the vehicle’s awarding winning features.

In addition to the indoor test tracks, manufacturers will offer plenty of opportunities for fans to jump behind the wheel and take a test drive outdoors on city streets. Participating brands include Ford, Kia and Subaru.

Tonight, the final Friday of the show, Friday Night Flights – a local craft beer sampling event inside the show – will take place from 5-8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or onsite at the box office.

The final day of the show, Feb. 19, is Family Day hosted by the Daily Herald. The day will feature fun-filled activities for children and families. Visit the website for more information.

Do you struggle with retaining and attracting the best technicians? Like it or not, you are competing with other dealerships and aftermarket shops for the same talent.  But just like a sports team, what if you had the highest payroll, with no luxury cap, AND it didn’t hit your bottom line? Would you be able to hit it out of the park?

Dynatron Software can show you how we have made this possible for automotive dealerships across the country. Check out our latest BLOG for more information.

Joseph Alfirevich, 90, of Homer Glen, was born on January 5, 1934, and passed away peacefully on February 10, at the age of 90. Affectionately known throughout his life as “Alfee,” he was the long-time owner of Apple Chevrolet in Tinley Park.

As Alfee's dealership business grew, so did his responsibilities to the auto industry he loved. He served on the board of directors for the Chicagoland and NW Indiana Chevrolet Dealers Association from 1985 to 1998 where he was also elected vice president of the group’s advertising association (LMA). Additionally, he was a board member of the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association (IADA) from 1989 to 2013, serving as the organization’s Chairman in 1997.

Joe’s son, John (also affectionately known as “Alfee”), has taken over as owner of Apple Chevrolet and continues his father’s legacy. John Alfee was a former CATA Board Member and follows in his father’s footsteps as current IADA Chairman.

Read Joe’s full obituary HERE.

[Source: Crain’s Chicago Business} A decade ago, social and digital media were considered serious threats to the [Chicago Auto] show’s future. With a new generation of consumers negotiating to buy cars online and not visiting traditional retailers at all, why visit a trade show? But crowds were up by nearly 100,000 last year and are expected to be up close to another 100,000 this year. Social media has only expanded the show’s reach.

In preparation for the Chicago Auto Show, the offices of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association will close on Feb. 1. The office will reopen Feb. 20. During that time, no dealer forms will be shipped. However, office staff will be available for questions via CATA’s phone number, 630-495-2282. All staff extension numbers will be functional as well.

A new Illinois data privacy law specifically tailored to motor vehicle-secured financing transactions became effective on January 1, 2024. The law, Senate Bill 800, amends the Illinois Collateral Recovery Act and requires licensed repossession agencies to clear, erase, delete, or otherwise eliminate personal information collected or stored in a vehicle after repossession.

The law defines "personal information" as information that is associated with an owner, driver, or passenger of the collateral and that is collected and stored by electronic means in or by the collateral (this appears to include information saved to the cloud that is accessible-and erasable-from the vehicle) during the course of use of that collateral. The law specifically refers to several examples of covered personal information, including, but not limited to:

The law also expressly covers information that is deemed "sensitive personal information" by the Federal Trade Commission, "personally identifiable information" under federal Illinois law, and "individually identifiable health information" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. To ensure that the Jaw covers all bases, the Illinois legislature added a broad catch-all to cover "information that a licensed repossession agency reasonably believes would be deemed confidential or private by the person who is associated with the information."

A repossession agency that has cause to believe that a repossessed vehicle collects personal information must delete or otherwise clear this information from the repossessed vehicle as soon as practicable upon repossession of the vehicle and prior to release of the vehicle. (As an aside, the law does not make an exception to the requirement to delete information when the vehicle is released back to the consumer, perhaps upon reinstatement). The repossession agency must use a standardized electronic solution approved by the American Recovery Association to delete covered information.

Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) recently introduced the “FTC REDO Act” (H.R. 7101) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would nullify the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Vehicle Shopping Rule and require the agency to follow basic regulatory safeguards it failed to follow should the agency choose to redo the rule. A companion bill (S. 3014) was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) last October.

The is also NADA supporting a provision in a House appropriations bill (H.R. 4664) that would deny funding to the FTC to implement or enforce the rule this fiscal year. This bill could be considered in the next few weeks. Concurrently, the NADA and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association are challenging the rule in court. On Jan. 18, the FTC issued an order stating that “it is in the interests of justice to stay the effective date of the [Vehicle Shopping] Rule to allow for judicial review.” While the FTC’s retreat is welcome news for dealers and their customers, the Vehicle Shopping Rule remains the law.

What’s next: Dealers should urge their representatives in Congress to cosponsor the “FTC REDO Act” to stop the Vehicle Shopping Rule, which will add massive amounts of time, complexity, paperwork and costs to the car buying process.