ESFPA E-News Volume 2 - Issue 45December 23, 2021A round-up of our interesting stories from the past week. Holiday Wishes As we head into the holiday week, ESFPA will be taking a week off in publication of our E-news so we can take time with family and friends. We can still be reached if you need anything just give us a call or send an email. We have been fortunate this past year to work with so many dedicated and professional people in our forest and wood products sector. We want to wish all of our members a very happy holiday week and a healthful and prosperous New Year. This week we also initiated our 2022 membership drive. You should be receiving a membership mailing from us in a few days. As in every year, the one constant is your Association, the Empire State Forest Product Association (ESFPA), and our commitment to our members. We work tirelessly for the continuity of business operations and are on perpetual watch for laws and regulations which impact our industry. Through the voice of our members, ESFPA can still affect policy change and ensure our industry is part of the conversation. As you prioritize your expenses for 2022, we hope that you will continue to keep ESFPA on the list. Please join our organization for another successful year by renewing your membership today. If you have any questions about the renewal process, please do not hesitate to contact our membership director, Muriel Church, at 518-463-1297 or mchurch@esfpa.org. Thank you all for your support! “Build Back Better” Plan Collapses in Its Current Form On Sunday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) confirmed that he would not support the Administration’s Build Back Better (BBB) plan, a $1.7 trillion climate and social spending bill which passed the House in November, derailing the legislation in its current form. Republicans were united in their opposition, requiring all Democratic Senators to sign on to the bill. Senator Machin’s decision, while effectively ending this version of BBB, could open the door for a slimmer, less costly version in 2022. Senator Manchin has indicated that he continues to negotiate with President Biden and Senator Schumer. BBB included pros and cons from an industry perspective. Although there were beneficial provisions such as USDA funding for sustainable forestry practices, many of the tax measures would disincentivize investment in equipment and add a surtax on certain income from S. Corporations, the primary tax code classification for small and family-owned businesses. ESFPA continues to work with our national affiliates on this and many other issues impacting our membership. Regulatory Update: Paid Sick Leave and HERO Act Part 2 Yesterday, in the next to last State Register of the year, the NYS Department of Labor (NYSDOL) provided important information on two laws that have been in effect for some time. New York State’s Paid Sick Leave Law (not COVID paid sick leave); and the HERO Act Workplace Safety Committees. Frank Kerbein of the Business Council of NY did a great summary of these new provisions. Paid Sick Leave - As we have reported over the past year, the NYS Labor Law §196-b – effective September 30, 2020 - requires employers to provide paid sick leave (up to 40 or 56 hours per year based on the size of the employer) to employees for a variety of reasons. In the 12/22/21 State Register, the NYSDOL adopted a final rule related to this mandate. While no changes were made to the final rule as compared to the last published rule, the NYSDOL finally answers some questions you may have regarding implementing the law. Highlights include: Clarification on year-end carryover of unused paid sick leave – In the past, some employers paid out to employees any unused paid sick leave at year-end. It appeared that §196-b prohibited this practice and all unused leave was to be carried over to the next year. The NYSDOL now says otherwise. Employers apparently now have an option to pay out accrued but unused paid sick leave at year-end. This should be reflected in your written paid sick leave policy. See below: Comment 3: Commenters suggested the ability pay out accrued sick leave time rather than carrying over hours. Response 3: While the statute requires that employers carry over unused sick leave to the next calendar year, employers may do one of the following: (1) give employees the option to voluntarily elect to use and receive payment for paid sick leave prior to the end of a calendar year or carry over unused sick leave; or (2) only allow employees to carry over unused sick leave. Collective bargaining agreements – From the beginning, there has been conflicting interpretations and enforcement actions from the NYSDOL and the NYS Attorney General’s Office regarding to what degree collective bargaining agreements (CBA’s) entered into prior to September 30, 2020 would need to be amended to reflect the requirements of §196-b. Strangely, the NYSDOL avoids this issue. You should consult with your labor counsel should this issue arise. Again, from the State Register: Comment 11: Commenters suggested that additional language governing CBAs be added to the rule, and several commenters posed interpretation questions related to CBAs. Response 11: These comments are outside of the scope of this rulemaking, which does not directly address CBAs. Employee count – The final rule confirms that employers should count all of their employees nationwide, but the benefit applies only to employees in New York State. Documentation – The published final rule confirms that employers would be restricted in requiring documentation in most cases for absences of less than three days. It further describes how an employee could submit an attestation that the absence was for one of the protected reasons defined in the law. In fact, the Department intends to publish an employee attestation template. HERO Act Workplace Safety Committees In addition to requiring all employers to develop and adopt a written airborne infectious disease prevention plan, the HERO Act requires all employers of 10 or more to permit the establishment of workplace safety committees. Yesterday’s State Register included proposed regulations on how those committees will be established and structured, and employer’s obligations under the act. A public hearing on the proposed regulations will be held February 9, 2022 at 11:00 am. Highlights include: Definition of “Worksite” – It appears employers with multiple work locations that are not ‘in reasonable geographical proximity’ may be required to have multiple workplace safety committees. Establishment of committees – employers must respond with ‘reasonable promptness’ to written requests by two or more non-supervisory employees to establish a committee. Committee size – committees shall have a maximum of 12 members or one-third of the total number of employees at each worksite – whichever is fewer. Worksites with less than 10 employees shall have 3 committee members. Meeting frequency – meetings shall be conducted at least one per quarter for not longer than two hours. This is considered work time and should be paid hours. Meetings shall be scheduled at times that do not unreasonably conflict with the employer’s business operations. ESFPA will continue to work with the Business Council and other industry stakeholders in submitting comments on these regulations to make these regulations more functional for employers. Climate Action Council Approves Draft Scoping Plan On Monday, the Climate Action Council completed its review and changes to the Initial Draft Scoping Plan and voted to release the Draft Scoping Plan for public review and comment. In what seemed at times contentious among Council members the Council deliberated two final recommendations – decommissioning of the Fossil natural gas distribution system and economywide carbon pricing mechanisms. You can see the meeting deck slides and the Initial Draft Scoping Plan as discussed here. While not calling for 100% decommissioning of the natural gas distribution system by 2050, the Council voted 14-3 to “significantly diminish the use and distribution of natural gas by 2050, with reductions commencing immediately.” In a discussion led by Council Member Bob Howorth of Cornell University, the majority of the Council agreed that natural gas will have a limited role in the future. In regards to the economy wide recommendations the Council deliberated scenarios for carbon pricing including a straight up carbon tax or fee, a carbon cap and trade approach and a clean fuel standard. While they di not agree on any one method of raising revenues or establishing market mechanisms for carbon (and other Greenhouse Gases), they did agree to include these three mechanisms for the public to comment on. We expect to see the final Draft Scoping Plan be released on December 30th ad the Council will commence a 120-day public comment period which will include at least 6 public hearings around the state. The Council hopes to complete public review of the plan by the end of April. ESFPA has been reviewing the 3 early initial drafts that have been available and started to frame our comments. There is a mix bag of both good and bad recommendations that impact our forests and wood product manufacturing sector. One thing for certain, no sector of the economy and energy use in New York escapes impacts from the public policy recommendations. Ove the next four months we have our work cut out for us in making sure our members are aware of what the Scoping Plan includes and how your businesses will be impacted as New York pursues the CLCPA ambitious goals of 40% reduction of GHG emissions by 2030, 85% reductions of GHGs by 2050 and net zero carbon by 2050. If anyone has any questions or comments on what the Scoping Plan includes please do not hesitate to contact us. ESFPA Member Dues After a three-year freeze, the ESFPA Board of Directors has voted for an increase in dues rates for 2022. As you have undoubtedly noticed in your own daily operations, ESFPA too has experienced increases in costs associated with doing business. Our hope is that we have made the increases moderate enough to be beneficial for our organization while not putting burdens on our membership. Our biggest challenge was the lack of company specific information needed to make accurate dues assessments. All members will notice with their dues invoice a company profile which shows any information on your organization or company. We use this information to determine dues rates. Please take a moment to update all your company profile information such as number of employees, annual production levels, acres of forest owned, etc. Be assured, we do not share this information but need it for our membership purposes. None of the success or improvements your Association makes can be done without the generous support of membership. How to Pay: Please note: All members can log on to their portal on our member site, payments can be made on-line. And while you are there you can update your profile and even add a picture. If you need any assistance - Please call our office! We still welcome checks and payments over the phone! FYI: Supreme Court to Rule on OSHA’s Covid-19 ETS for Private Businesses As was widely anticipated, the Supreme Court responded to numerous appeals by announcing late Wednesday, December 22nd, that it would hear oral arguments regarding whether OSHA can implement its COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for private businesses with at least 100 employees. (The high court will also hear arguments regarding a rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid that applies to health care providers that receive federal funding) The hearings are scheduled to begin on January 7th. On December 17th, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to reinstate OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS for private businesses with at least 100 employees. That ruling reversed an earlier decision by the Fifth Circuit, which placed the vaccine-and-testing requirements on hold. After the Sixth Circuit ruling, OSHA announced that it “will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10th and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9th, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard.” ESFPA Signs on to Critical Habitat Designation Letter ESFPA ED Appointed Sector Advisor for the Second NY Climate Assessment ESFPA Executive Director John Bartow has been appointed a “Sector Advisor” for the Ecosystem Technical Working Group, one of 8 sector working groups that . The Ecosystems team is where impacts of climate change on forests (including working forests / forestry) will largely be covered. There will also be opportunities to connect with the Society and Economy workgroup, which is looking more broadly at the impacts of climate change on many segments of New York’s economy, rural communities, jobs, etc. The New York State Climate Impacts Assessment is an in-depth, scientific study of how climate change is affecting New York’s communities, ecosystems, and economy, as well as how these impacts are likely to change in the decades ahead. Coordinated by NYSERDA and involving leading academic institutions, science organizations, community leaders, and others, the assessment will use the latest science to deliver timely, relevant, and accessible information on the impacts of climate change to all levels of decisionmakers and the diverse communities that shape the state. You can find out more about the NY Assessment here. https://nysclimateimpacts.org/ The Climate Impacts Assessment, unlike the Climate Action Council, is not focused on emission reductions and mitigation of climate change, but on assessing what will result from a changing climate. It’s much like the Climate Assessments done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is undertaking the 6th global Assessment of Climate Change. The IPCC 6th Assessment released its first work group report earlier this year and expected to complete the Assessment in 2023. Over the next two years New York will work on its second assessment. The First NY Climate Impact Assessment (ClimAid) was completed in 2011 with a supplement in 2014. ESFPA In The News Lumber costs ‘skyrocketing,' putting suppliers and builders in a tough spotESFPA Executive Director, John Bartow, was interviewed for the Albany Times Union this week to discuss the rising costs of lumber. The article also connects the NYS Builders Association, citing "The treacherous combination of supply constraint and steep prices has pushed some builders to limit what they can do. Price jumps and supply chain woes are hurting virtually everyone from builders up to suppliers. And Canadian providers are especially taking a hit." Follow this link for the full article. Log A Load for Kids Together as a community we have raised $45,684.10! We are most grateful for all the support, but most specifically for Dave Tregaskis of Groton, NY who pledged a matching donation in honor of David Miller - long time champion of LAL. |