Shao Dyi of Parts Warehouse Distributors has been appointed to CAWA’s Board of Directors. During the appointment process, Mike Mohler, Chair of the Board of Directors, commented: “We are pleased to have Shao as a member of our Board of Directors to participate in our discussions of current and future industry issues”. “We look forward to his contributions which, no doubt, will assist CAWA in achieving its goals as an effective automotive aftermarket industry organization”, continued Mohler. See complete press release here.

The letter to the California congressional delegation starts out with “the listed organizations urge you to reject proposals in Congress to increase taxes on large and small businesses to pay for the massive multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation package”. While we support the bipartisan infrastructure package, employers have suffered staggering financial setbacks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the reconciliation bill will only add to that struggle while they are attempting to rebuild, recover and deal with acute workforce shortages.

With a state corporate tax rate of 8.84%, the current proposal to increase the federal corporate rate from 21% to 26.5% will result in California corporations paying a combined rate of over 33% - that’s roughly ten points higher than the weighted average rate of every other developed nation on Earth. Our rate would be eight points higher than China and nearly 11 points higher than the average rate in the European Union. In other words, the proposal to increase the federal corporate tax rate will put California corporations at a severe competitive disadvantage. See the complete letter here.

This is a reminder regarding the legislative proliferation of bills and sometimes the regulations that follow as a result of bills being introduced, passed and sent to the Governor’s desk.

As always, CAWA will keep you apprised of legislation and regulations affecting your business and the automotive aftermarket industry.

Total Bills Introduced - 2,421 ; Assembly - 1,593--- Senate – 828

Total Number of Bills Sent to Governor – 836

Governor signed 770 new laws (92% of them)

Assembly:

Senate:

For more information on this year’s legislative session in California, contact CAWA’s Legislative advocate, Gary Conover, at gary@garyconover.com or 916.233.9655.

California is at it again – adopting a host of new labor and employment laws that will further regulate and complicate business operations in the Golden State. Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute has been tracking these bills as they worked their way through the legislature and been signed into law by Governor Newsom. The new California laws are summarized in the enclosure (here). Source: Littler

Employers in Orange County directly affected by the oil spill may request up to a 60-day extension of time from the EDD to file their state payroll reports and/or deposit payroll taxes without penalty or interest. This extension may be granted under Section 1111.5 of the California Unemployment Insurance Code (CUIC). A written request for extension must be received within 60 days from the original delinquent date of the payment or return. Visit the Emergency and Disaster Assistance for Employers page for more information.

The Automotive Aftermarket Warranty Committee estimates that warranty abuse costs auto parts manufacturers and distributors more than $600 million each year, although members are confident that the actual number likely is much higher. Those costs stem from a number of expenses that are set in motion by a return, including manually processing credits; reverse logistics and transportation; repackaging products; and additional quality-control testing to rule out major defects in materials. To be sure, returns are a thorn in the side for all retailers. A 2018 Appriss Retail study concluded that return fraud and abuse cost U.S. retailers across all sectors nearly $24 billion each year. See the complete article here. Source: aftermarketNews

Your business has likely started to grapple with the immense cost and administrative burden imposed by Rule 2305 (WAIRE). This is not good news for our members and others in the Industry that have warehouses in the District. The lawsuit against WAIRE alleges multiple violations of federal and state law.

Please help spread the word by sharing the original post.

As employers are again hiring, a number of questions have arisen concerning the Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form). The following questions and answers may help to address questions you may have. Question # 1: Can an employer require that a new hire complete the I-9 Form before their first day of employment? See more relevant questions by clicking here. Source: Our Friends at the California Chamber of Commerce

This summer, Babcox Media conducted its biennial profile of independent repair facilities.

We spend a lot of time studying the parts-ordering process by automotive technicians because it is a crucial component of the automotive aftermarket. Among the topics we cover in this survey are the questions like “Where do techs buy parts?” and “How do techs buy parts?” which we will look at the results here.

You’ve probably heard the sayings that “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”, and “people need to know, like, and trust you before they’ll do business with you.” The truth is: until people know you care, most view you simply as a salesperson trying to make a sale. With that in mind, how do you build trust and rapport rapidly and let people know you have their best interest in mind so you can move toward the sale?

Imagine your best friend needs your product or service. Would your mindset be the same as if you were talking to a prospect you’ve known for a few minutes? It should be. When you’re talking to your best friend you will most likely have their best interest in mind versus being focused on making a sale. People have a sixth sense and they know when you are more interested in making a sale than you are in helping them out. Focus on the other person and what is best for them, as opposed to focusing on you, your company, your product, or the sale.

See the six other ideas here. Source: John Chapin

Consider an affordable Association Health Plan for employee health insurance.

CAWA has partnered with Prominence Health Plan to bring high-quality, affordable health insurance to our Nevada members. New groups can enroll at any time – no need to wait for your existing renewal period! 

Tier 1 – HMO In-Network: Members access benefits via the Prominence statewide HMO network

Tier 2 – PPO In-Network: Members access benefits via the PPO statewide network and national network.

Tier 3 – Out-of-Network: Members have access to out-of-network, out-of-area covered benefits when seeking coverage with a non-contracted provider.

Contact your broker and ask for an Association Health Plan from Prominence. You can also email PHP-salesteam@uhsinc.com and a friendly member of our sales team can assist.

Learn more on the CAWA website here!