Prepared and Distributed by The Midwest Hardware Association, Inc.
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Illinois New Year, New Laws
By Alec Laird, MHA Illinois Lobbyist and Vice President, Government Relations for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association
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Last Spring in Illinois, 410 bills passed the General Assembly and were sent to the Governor (234 House bills and 176 Senate bills). Out of the 410 bills, the following legislation impacted retail and became effective January 1, 2023.
CRIME
Retail Theft Third Party Marketplace Verification—As part of the organized retail crime package passed last spring (HB 1091 (Rep Kam Buckner, D/Rep. Suzy Glowiak Hilton, D) a third party market place verification provision was included. While the Act went into effect immediately, the provision that requires online third-party marketplaces to verify the seller and the goods offered go into effect on January 1, 2023.
Effective Date: January 1, 2023.
LABOR
Minimum wage—As passed in 2019 in SB1 (Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D/Rep. Will Guzzardi, D), the Illinois Minimum Wage is scheduled to increase to $13.00 on January 1, 2023. The minimum wage for tipped workers will increase to $7.20 and for minors working less than 650 hours the minimum wage will increase to $9.25.
Effective Date: January 1, 2023.
Industry Equitable Access—HB 5576 (Rep. Carol Ammons, D/Sen. David Koehler, D) provides that the state shall not regulate professions, occupations, industries, businesses, or trades in a way that adversely affects a competitive market of equitable access to job and economic opportunities
Effective Date: January 1, 2023.
One Day of Rest in Seven Act— SB 3146 (Sen. Celina Villanueva, D/Rep. Lakesia Collins, D), amended the provisions of the Illinois One Day Rest in Seven Act (ODRISA), which addresses both day of rest and meal break requirements for employees in the state. The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of the 34-15 and the House by a vote of 69-44-1. The Governor subsequently signed the legislation into law as P.A. 102-0828.
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Four Candidates Square Off In High Stakes Court Race
By Misha Lee, MHA Wisconsin Lobbyist
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Now that the midterm elections are over and divided government remains the status quo in Madison, all eyes have shifted to the spring state Supreme Court race where voters will decide the ideological makeup of Wisconsin’s highest appellate court for at least the next two years and set the balance of power between conservative and liberal justices. This year’s spring election features a high stakes statewide race for an open seat on the court. Justice Patience Roggensack is retiring after 20 years of service on the bench. First elected in 2003 and reelected in 2013, Justice Roggensack also served as chief justice from 2015 to 2021.
This particular Supreme Court race is considered one of the more consequential elections Wisconsinites have seen in recent memory and could have lasting political implications beyond the bench on a wide variety of major policy decisions ranging from environmental and business regulations, abortion, legislative redistricting to executive versus legislative branch powers to name a few. The race is certain to be the most expensive in state history and voter turnout will be a key factor in this race. Currently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has three liberal justices and four conservatives, including retiring Justice Roggensack. Justice Brian Hagedorn has acted as a “swing” vote on some issues, joining with the court’s liberal wing in a series of 4-3 decisions on issues such as redistricting and the public release of businesses’ COVID-19 data.
Four candidates will appear on the statewide ballot this spring - two conservatives and two liberals. The top two vote-getters in the February 21st primary election will square off in the general election on April 4th. Wisconsin has not seen a four-way primary in a supreme court race since 2011. Supreme Court elections are officially nonpartisan races and justices are elected to serve 10-year staggered terms. However, over time these elections have become more hyper partisan with the Democrat and Republican parties investing more resources on trying to influence the outcome of these races. Spring elections in Wisconsin also include many nonpartisan and local elective offices such as judges, mayors, city council, county and school boards.
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OSHA Reporting Deadline is March 2, 2023
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Hardware dealers who had 20 or more employees during the previous calendar year are required to electronically report data found on OSHA Form 300A for calendar year 2022 by March 2, 2023.
WHO MUST ELECTRONICALLY REPORT INJURY AND ILLNESS DATA?
- Establishments with peak employment during the previous calendar year of 250 or more employees.
WHO DOES NOT HAVE TO ELECTRONICALLY SUBMIT DATA?
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OSHA Recordkeeping and Posting Requirements
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Remember to post OSHA Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, from February 1 to April 30 of the year following the year covered by the form.
If your company had more than ten (10) employees at any time during the last calendar year, you must keep OSHA injury and illness records unless your establishment is classified as a partially exempt industry (https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/presentations/exempttable). Hardware stores are not classified as exempt from the recordkeeping requirements, and therefore, you must keep injury and illness records if you had more than 10 employees. In addition to recording illness and injuries, the records must be retained at the worksite for at least five years.
If your company had 10 or fewer employees at all times during the last calendar year, you do not need to keep OSHA injury and illness records unless OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics informs you in writing that you must keep records. However, all employers covered by the OSH Act must report to OSHA within 24 hours any work-related incident that results in a fatality, the in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees, an employee amputation, or an employee loss of an eye.
How do I determine the size of my company to find out if I qualify for the partial exemption for size?
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If you'd like to place an ad, please contact Sam Schmidt at
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Sales Trends September 2022
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Here are the most recent Illinois, Minnesota-Dakotas, and Wisconsin hardware store sales trends, gathered from association members using the MHA's monthly accounting services. The figures derived for each region include sales data from the following number of stores:
Illinois - 14 stores
Minn.-Dakotas - 11 stores
Wisconsin - 50 stores
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MHA is the recognized leader in providing accounting to independent hardware stores of all sizes and of all wholesaler affiliations. We provide accurate, timely, complete monthly financial statements and, because we do accounting for hundreds of hardware stores across the country, we offer something that other accounting firms can't.
With MHA monthly accounting service you receive:
- Monthly Profit & Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow
- Accountant's Interpretation and Analysis Letter
- Complete reconciliation of all bank accounts, outstanding credit card transactions, merchandise payables, and other balance sheet items
- Preparation of sales tax, payroll tax, and other federal, state, and local tax reports
- Nationwide, toll-free telephone access to keep you in touch with the MHA staff
- Outstanding, professional service at reasonable prices
Our trained staff stays up to date on the latest tax developments and works closely with you to prepare and file returns that are accurate, complete, and on time.
Testimonial
“Because they work with other hardware stores around the nation, MHA gives us great insight on what to do when it comes to my accounting and finances. They are the best financial counselors to have for running a hardware store.”
David Tennies, Manager
Tennies Hardware
West Bend, WI
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