ISSA LARU—Why People Don’t Leave the Cleaning Industry
Welcome to the latest ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update, a biweekly roundup of the public-policy issues currently impacting the full cleaning supply chain. This update touches on the latest Cleaning Is Essential podcast with John Nothdurft and special guest Raquel Carbonari, as well as the last chance to receive the early-bird rate for ISSA’s 2024 Clean Advocacy Summit and to submit a 2024 Cleaning Week proclamation for your state.
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ISSA Advocacy
Why People Don’t Leave the Cleaning Industry with Raquel Carbonari, Essity
In this episode of the ISSA podcast Cleaning Is Essential, ISSA Government Affairs Director John Nothdurft is joined by Raquel Carbonari, Brand Activation Director for Essity. They discussed how she got her start in the cleaning industry, International Cleaning Week, the company’s partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the importance of advocating for the industry. Learn more
Last Chance – Take Advantage of Early-Bird Registration for ISSA’s Clean Advocacy Summit
Early-bird registration for the 2024 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit, April 10-11 in Washington, DC, ends this Thursday, February 15. Join your fellow cleaning-industry leaders as we impact legislation and regulations important to you and our industry!
Five Reasons Why You Should Attend
- You’ll meet in-person with your congressional delegation about the issues that impact your business, including labor shortages, workforce-training incentives, and cleaning-product regulations. As the old adage goes, if you aren’t at the table, you might be on the menu!
- ISSA will schedule all of your congressional meetings, as well as train and brief you, so that you can advocate effectively. Participating in our democratic process is one of the most exciting and rewarding endeavors that you can do for your profession.
- Network with 100+ cleaning-industry leaders–70%+ of summit attendees are business owners or at the c-suite level. Businesses that will be represented at the 2024 summit include BradyPlus, Midlab, Pritchard Industries, Shore to Shore Cleaning, and many more.
- The 2024 election could be the most consequential of our lifetime. Hear from Washington insiders about the election and what it could mean for your business and the cleaning industry. Confirmed guest speakers include U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar (TX-28).
- The early-bird registration rate of $249/attendee ends February 15!
Last Chance – Help ISSA Submit a Cleaning Week Proclamation to Your State
Thank you to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro for proclaiming a Cleaning Week as part of International Cleaning Week (ICW) 2024, March 24-30, and to Jody Carroll of ISSA member company PowerX3 Property Maintenance Services for submitting this proclamation request on behalf of ISSA!
Help ISSA raise awareness about the value of clean by submitting a proclamation to designate an official week of cleaning for your state. Nearly every state has an online proclamation form that a resident of that state can use to submit a proclamation request free of charge. ISSA has already written a template proclamation, but we need your help submitting the proclamation requests by this Friday, February 16. States where we still need to submit a request include DE, LA, ME, MT, NE, RI, WI, and WY. If you’re interested in helping ISSA with this campaign and/or have questions regarding ICW, please contact ISSA’s Stacy Seiden. And thank you to those who have already assisted us in submitting a 2024 Cleaning Week proclamation request to their state! Learn more
Legislative
House Passes Bipartisan Tax Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan tax-cut bill that would bring billions of dollars to companies and low-income families, ABC News reports. The legislation also would end the employee-retention tax credit, a pandemic-era program that has been fraught with fraud and ineligible claims, according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Learn more
Border-Security Bill Fails in Senate
The U.S. Senate voted down a sweeping national-security and border-reform package after most Senate Republicans joined a handful of Democrats to reject the legislation that the Republican leadership had helped to negotiate, The Washington Post reports. Learn more
Regulatory
EPA Issues Guidance on “Absence of an Ingredient” Claims for Pesticide Products
EPA issued guidance to clarify how it will evaluate “absence of an ingredient” claims for pesticide products regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). These claims appear on pesticide labeling and state that the product is free of a particular ingredient. “Absence of an ingredient” claims that are false or misleading are not permissible under FIFRA. Learn more
Employers Should “Think Critically” about the Use of Independent Contractors
The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a final rule that reverts the independent-contractor analysis back to a multifactor, totality-of-the-circumstances review that, as compared to the current rule, will “almost assuredly result in more workers being classified as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” JD Supra reports. Learn more
State News
New Hampshire Investigating PFAS
As the state of New Hampshire conducts investigations into lesser-known sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), wastewater from commercial-cleaning operations has been detected as having levels “thousands of times higher than the state’s drinking water standard,” the New Hampshire Bulletin reports. The state’s Department of Environmental Services has been investigating contamination specific to commercial-carpet cleaning, floor cleaning, as well as floor stripping and refinishing activities. Learn more
