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 registration opening for the 2024 Clean Advocacy Summit, a complimentary PRIA webinar on December 15, a new ISSA partnership with Penn State’s College of Medicine and The City University of New York School of Medicine, and more.

Want to stay informed about critical government affairs impacting the cleaning industry? Sign up here to have the ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update emailed directly to you every other week.

ISSA Advocacy

Registration Now Open for ISSA’s Clean Advocacy Summit
Registration is now open for the 2024 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit, the premier Capitol Hill fly-in event for the cleaning industry, April 10-11 in Washington, DC! ISSA is co-hosting next year’s summit with the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification; INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry; and the Workplace Solutions Association. Learn more and register

Complimentary PRIA Webinar
ISSA invites you to join the PRIA Coalition, of which ISSA is a leading member, on Friday, December 15 at 12 pm ET for a complimentary webinar update on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s front-end processing of pesticide registration submissions. Learn more and register

ISSA Partners with Penn State, CUNY Medicine
ISSA announced a partnership with Penn State’s College of Medicine and The City University of New York School of Medicine (CUNY Medicine) to improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities across Pennsylvania and New York. The initiative will be funded by a US$1.19 million Pollution Prevention grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ISSA’s collaboration with Penn State and CUNY Medicine is one of 24 recipients across the country selected by EPA. Learn more

ISSA’s End-Period-Poverty Service Project Big Success at ISSA Show
ISSA thanks Dispenser and Donation Bag Sponsor Hospeco Brands Group, as well as Product Donation Sponsors Hospeco; Aunt Flow; MaskIT; Purse Power; Tork, an Essity Brand; Imperial Dade; Colgate-Palmolive; Diversey; and Henkel Corporation – Dial Professional, our featured charity Purse Power, plus the more than 200 ISSA Show North America 2023 attendees who filled 500 bags with feminine-care products that Purse Power distributed to Las Vegas charities, including schools, as well as homeless and domestic-abuse shelters. “Thank you to our generous sponsors for making this first-time event as impactful as it was,” said ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft. Learn more about ISSA’s campaign to End Period Poverty

ISSA Celebrates More Than 1,500 Advocates for Clean
Since launching the program in 2020, more than 1,500 cleaning industry professionals and supporters have signed up to be ISSA Advocates for Clean. Advocates receive the biweekly ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update and are the first to hear about pressing legislation, compliance deadlines, ISSA advocacy events, and more. Learn more

Urge Congress to Tell DOL to Abandon Overtime Proposal
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is attempting to push through significant changes to the overtime-pay regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act at a time when our economy is still struggling to recover from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply chains are disrupted, inflation remains high, and worker shortages continue to plague cleaning businesses across the country. Take action now

ISSA Is Hiring: Regulatory Affairs Manager
Join, or recommend someone to join, ISSA’s Government Affairs Team! We’re hiring a Regulatory Affairs Manager (in-person or remote) to manage our regulatory affairs efforts. Learn more

Regulatory

NLRB Delays Date Joint-Employer Rule Takes Effect
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is delaying implementation of its controversial joint-employer rule to February 26, 2024, from December 26, after the judge presiding over a case opposing the rule asked the agency to provide a timeline for the court to consider staying its effective date, Business Insurance reported. Learn more

EPA Requests Comment on Modernizing Pesticide-Label System
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting feedback on its plan to adopt digital pesticide labels that will “make labeling information clearer, more consistent, and more accessible to users.” The agency is specifically requesting feedback on the proposed organization of digital labels and the proposed phases of developing these labels. The relevant whitepaper will be open for 120 days for comment. Learn more

Biden Hosts First Supply-Chain Council Meeting
President Biden opened the first meeting of his Supply Chain Resilience Council by warning companies against price gouging and saying that his administration was working to lower costs for U.S. families, according to ABC News. Biden used the council meeting to announce 30 actions to improve access to medicine and needed economic data, as well as other programs tied to the production and shipment of goods. Learn more

Judicial

Appeals Court Rejects Class-Action PFAS Case
A U.S. appeals court handed 3M, DuPont, and other manufacturers of so-called “forever chemicals” a significant win in their fight against legal liability for the substances, rejecting a lower court’s ruling that would have allowed 11.8 million Ohio residents to sue the companies as a group, Reuters reported. Learn more

State News

New State Minimum Wage Increases in 2024
More minimum wage hikes are coming across U.S. states in 2024, from California to Nebraska, Delaware, Maryland and Hawaii, CNBC reported. Learn more