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May 14, 2020
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 Inside this issue
  Executive Directors Message  
 


NEW GUIDANCE AVAILABLE ON PPP
NJGCA FIGHTS HARMFUL WORKERS COMP LEGISLATION
DEBT COLLECTION BILL AMENDED
DISCOVER NOW AGREES TO DELAY EMV AT THE PUMPS

PPP GUIDANCE
The US Treasury and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have put out some new guidance on PPP, but they still have not addressed several fundamental questions about how forgiveness will work, despite the fact that we are now almost 6 weeks into an 8 week program for businesses who got their funding right after the program launched. Professional organizations across the country are so desperate for some real guidance that they are sending out email blasts every time SBA publishes even a tiny bit of information. The latest guidance merely provided more details about how to give back the money without any penalty if you improperly took the loan (the deadline is now May 18th). This is mostly focused on the larger businesses which got loans and the SBA reiterated that they will be focusing their auditing efforts on loans of $2 million or more, since these businesses are more likely to have had access to big lending institutions to raise capital from. 
 
Look for an upcoming announcement from NJGCA that webinar will be happening on PPP.
 
WORKERS COMP
On Tuesday NJGCA testified virtually to the NJ Senate Labor Committee in opposition to S-2380, which would create a presumption that any employee at an essential businesses (every one of your employees) who gets sick with corona-19 is presumed to have caught it on the job and therefore entitled to benefits from workers compensation. You can read the testimony we submitted HERE. NJGCA was one of many groups from a wide variety of industries to testify against this unnecessary bill. Some amendments were made, but ultimately we are very concerned that this bill will put a huge stress on the workers comp system, leading to higher rates for employers. Ultimately, these workers could be cared for in other ways, such as through the disaster relief money the State has been given by the federal government. The bill was scheduled for a vote by the full Senate this afternoon, where it is expected to pass. So far, there has been no action in the Assembly. 
 
DEBT COLLECTION
Last week we had discussed a bill that would ban all forms of debt collection until at least December. Although some sectors of business are still affected, thankfully, that bill was amended in committee to remove the section that would have directly applied to all the businesses operated by NJGCA members looking to collect any form of unpaid bill. While this change removed our concern with the bill, the various consumer and leftist advocacy groups were deeply unhappy with these amendments and pushed back hard against them. There are also some businesses that still oppose the remaining sections of the bill, especially those focused on consumer reporting and healthcare related debts. Even though the bill is eligible for a vote in both houses today, and most of the other bills heard in committee that day are being voted on, this bill is not being moved in either house. That means it is still possible that the bill may get amended again, and in ways that would make the bill worse. We will continue to monitor it closely. 
 
DISCOVER DELAYS EMV AT THE PUMPS
This just in: Discover has now agreed to join with Visa and Amex to delay until April 16, 2021 the requirement that all fuel dispensers be equipped with EMV chip card readers. This now leaves MasterCard as the only holdout. The major credit card companies have been reluctant to delay the EMV requirement since they already agreed to a three year delay from October 2017 to October 2020. The recent Coronavirus crisis has prompted the three majors to concede one more delay. All retailers should still be making arrangements to upgrade their dispensers if they have not already done so.
 

Be Well -  
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

 

 
 

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  Training Class Schedule  
 

All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753

ALL CLASSES CANCELED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Two-Day Emissions Inspector Training Class
April 22nd & 23rd


Want your technicians to become a NJ Emissions Inspector? We can help!

Our new two-day class will provide all the information for becoming a NJ Emissions Inspector. Day one will consist of written test training and the State will administer the written test the very same day at our offices. Day two will be a hands-on training course to prepare you for the hands-on test. Class will run from 7:00am to 4:00pm on day 1. Class will begin at 12:30 PM on day 2. Cost is $479 for members.

April class registration click here

FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT NICK at 732-256-9646 or NICK@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HIM KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!

 

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  News Around The State  
 

5/14/20
Discover Moves EMV Deadline
Discover said yesterday that it is delaying the EMV fraud liability shift deadline for chip payments at automated fuel dispensers until April 16, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visa and American Express had already said they would delay the EMV deadline, leaving Mastercard the only major card company that hasn't yet announced plans to postpone the liability shift at the pump. Like Discover, American Express' new deadline is April 16, 2021, but Visa's new deadline is April 17, 2021.

5/13/20
Gov. Phil Murphy To Reopen More NJ Businesses Amid Coronavirus
Gov. Phil Murphy, speaking during a Wednesday news conference, will reopen more businesses as he readies a plan to restart New Jersey's economy amid the coronavirus outbreak. Murphy also announced 1,028 new coronavirus cases and 197 more deaths. The reopening comes as Murphy has said he plans to provide "hard dates" for restarting New Jersey's economy this week. Murphy will reopen non-essential retail stores for online and phone ordering and curbside pickup, and will also allow non-essential construction to start back up, all effective 6 a.m. on Monday.

5/13/20
N.J. Orders Car, Business Insurers To Cut Premiums, Give Refunds Due To Coronavirus Restrictions
State regulators on Tuesday told insurance companies they have to cut premiums for motorists and other types of policy holders retroactive for two months and refund the difference, thanks to the lower risk of traffic accidents or other kinds of payouts amid the restrictions and economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The move by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance essentially mandates what the industry began doing voluntarily last month, when Allstate announced that it would cut auto insurance premiums and provide refunds to policy holders. They were quickly joined by competitors.

5/11/20
Rental Giant Hertz Could Be in Bankruptcy in Weeks, Destroying What's Left of the Used Car Market
Car rental giant Hertz is currently in talks with creditors in hopes of avoiding a bankruptcy that could be just weeks away, Bloomberg reports. The company has been given until May 22 to come up with $400 million for holders of its asset-backed securities, but the greater problem the company faces is a little more complex. The company's most obvious avenue for raising cash would be to sell down parts of its rental car fleet, which numbers above 560,000 cars in the U.S., not counting its international operations. But the resale values of the rental vehicles it currently owns have been pummeled by the tremendous drop in sales caused by the pandemic, dropping by 70 percent in April alone.


5/7/20
Lottery Sales Continue To Plummet
The state's lottery revenues continued their COVID-19-fueled decline in April, with sales falling roughly 20% from the same month last year. It's not yet clear exactly how far year-over-year revenues fell last month - the Treasury has yet to release those figures and likely won't until mid-May - but the continued drop-off could significantly impact the state's ability to make its planned pension payments. As part of reforms passed late into former Gov. Chris Christie's second term, roughly $1 billion of lottery revenue is dedicated to pension payments. While the extent of the lottery's revenue shortfalls is not yet known, they're likely to be severe.

5/6/20
Philip Morris Sues FDA Over Plans for Graphic Warning Labels
Philip Morris USA Inc. sued the Trump administration over requirements that tobacco companies put large, graphic warning labels featuring images of premature babies and bloody organs on cigarette packs by 2021. The maker of Marlboro cigarettes for the U.S. market said in its suit, filed Wednesday in Washington, that the new rules from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration violate First Amendment free-speech rights. The proposed warning labels would cover half of the exterior of cigarette packs, which is "an unprecedented amount of premium real estate," the company said.
 

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  Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices  
 
Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.
 
 

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  Member Benefit Partner Message Board  
 
 
    







 

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  Classifieds: For Sale and Help Wanted Ads  
 


New! Parts For Sale: Incon TS-1000 tank monitor works well just taken out of service. Printer is aprox 2 months old. Also, Incon 8, tank probes. System replaced because on an Exxon upgrade. Call John Twin Towers Exxon (201) 224-8444



 

 

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