From the PA Chamber of Business & Industry

In the month of December, the National Labor Relations Board overruled three major Obama-era decisions that greatly impact the employer community.

In the first decision, the NLRB overturned a previous ruling which required employers to continue deducting union dues even after the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement. In overturning this ruling, the Board reasoned that a dues checkoff provision properly belongs in the “mandatory subjects of bargaining” category that are enforceable only for the duration of the contract.

The second decision that was recently overruled by the Board related to an employer’s ability to keep an internal investigation confidential. The NLRB abandoned the requirement of a case-by-case evaluation for whether confidentiality is required. It adopted the reasoning from an earlier Boeing case that for open investigations, confidentiality rules are lawful; but confidentiality requirements for closed investigations should be made on a case-by-case basis so that any employer-related concerns can be adequately considered.

Lastly, the NLRB overruled a decision that gave employees the right to use employer-owned equipment for non-work purposes – including soliciting for union-related issues. The Board ultimately determined that decades of precedent establish that employers’ rights are generally not restricted from controlling use of their own equipment. Under this standard, employees generally have no rights to use employer equipment – including IT resources – except under instances in which an employer’s email system becomes the only reasonable means by which employees can communicate with one another. However, the Board also acknowledged the reality that employees frequently use employer IT resources for personal reasons, and recognized that employers should maintain reasonable use restrictions.

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The Chamber’s Board of Directors is presenting the following slate of candidates for member consideration for the 2020-21 Board. The election of Directors and Officers will be held at the Annual Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 18th at The Barn at Frosty Valley. Board terms begin April 1, 2020. 

Nominated for a 3-year term on the Board:
Renee Gerringer, Ronald McDonald House of Danville
Sam Haulman, Service Electric Cablevision
Travis Petty, Lutz & Petty
Elaine Woodland, First Keystone Community Bank

Nominated for a 1-year term on the Board:
Lissa Bryan-Smith, Geisinger
Jim Micklow, Press Enterprise
Diana Verbeck, Danville Child Development Center

Recommended as 1-year appointments:
Donna Coombs, Gordner Coombs Insurance
Tim Miller, USG
Josh Nespoli, Community Strategies Group

Board members continuing to serve:
Dan Knorr II, Bloomsburg University
Holly Morrison, Central Susquehanna Community Foundation
Mary Radle, eXp Realty
Chris Stamatedes, PPL Electric Utilities
Denise Stone, Key Partners Realty
Jeff Whitenight, First Columbia Bank & Trust Co.
Sharon Wilkin, CSS Industries
Karen Wood, Service 1st Federal Credit Union

Members leaving the Board:
Mark Gardner

In accordance with the Chamber’s By-Laws, an alternative ticket, or tickets, may be submitted by any fifteen members to the office no later than five days prior to the Annual Meeting. All tickets will be provided to the membership in attendance at the Annual Meeting for vote. 

The Board is also recommending the following for election as officers for the 2020-21 year, which will be voted on at the Annual Meeting:
Board Chair (2-year term) – Dan Knorr II, Bloomsburg University
Vice Chair – Chris Stamatedes, PPL Electric Utilities
Treasurer – Denise Stone, Key Partners Realty
Immediate Past Chair – Karen Wood, Service 1st Federal Credit Union
President – Fred Gaffney

First Commonwealth Bank is supporting the Chamber Foundation’s efforts to build the future workforce. The financial institution recently made a $1,000 donation to support programming for local school students. The Foundation coordinates a variety of programs to help the area’s young people understand the career opportunities that exist in the region, and the skills they will need to successful in the workplace. 

Of particular interest to First Commonwealth is the Foundation’s efforts to strengthen financial literacy in students. Employers often express concern that some employees don’t understand basic budgeting and struggle to manage their personal finances. The Chamber works with school districts to help set a baseline among young people so that they can be more successful citizens and employees in the future.  

First Commonwealth Bank is based in Indiana, Pennsylvania with a local branch at 315 Mill Street in Danville. 

Bloomsburg University Director of Athletics Dr. Michael McFarland has announced the hiring of Frank Sheptock ’86 as head football coach, effective immediately. 

Sheptock was a four-time PSAC First Team selection as a linebacker, a three-time First Team Associated Press All-American, and All-East Region honoree for the Huskies under head coach George Landis. Sheptock was inducted into the Bloomsburg Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997, the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, and was named to the PSAC’s 150 Contributors of College Football in 2019 as one of Bloomsburg’s ten honorees.

Sheptock returns to Bloomsburg after a one-year stint at Misericordia University where he served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Prior to that, Sheptock was the head coach, and athletic director, at Berwick High School from 2016-19 and went 27-11 overall after taking over for legendary head coach George Curry. Sheptock’s Berwick teams reached the District 2 Class 4A title game in his first two seasons and a trip to the district semifinals in his final year.

The Chamber recognizes outstanding organizations and individuals each year at its annual meeting. This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, February 18th at Frosty Valley Resort. Nominations are now being accepted in five categories: Outstanding Citizen, Community Progress, Small Business of the Year, Large Business of the Year, and, new this year, Non-Profit of the Year. The following is a list of prior award recipients.

From NEPIRC

Smart companies are gaining a competitive edge through ISO Certification, boosting profits and augmenting efficiency in the process. The Northeast Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC) is offering a half-day (1/2-day) overview of the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 to show employers how to gain this competitive edge.

Pre-requisite: Currently NOT certified to ISO 9001:2015

Topics Covered:
• Context, issues and strategic direction of ISO 9001: 2015 Certified Organizations
• Commitment required by organizational leadership
• Planning requirements for implementing a Quality Management System
• Planning, Implementation and Control of production processes
• Performance evaluation and measuring the effectiveness of a Quality Management System
• Opportunities for process improvements

The program is being offered on two dates:

1/22/20 – 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at NEPIRC
2/5/20 – 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Wellsboro

The Chamber extends a big thank you to the major sponsors of this year’s Holiday Open House. For the second straight year, we set a record for number of sponsors of this event, and it is the continued support of these businesses, organizations and individuals that helps the Chamber fulfill its mission of offering programs, benefits and events to its members, giving them a stronger voice and advocacy and being involved in more activities and initiatives in our communities. Thank you again to our sponsors for their generosity and support of this event. 

Event Sponsor
Geisinger

Holiday Cheer Sponsors
M&T Bank

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodrick Realty

Gold Star Sponsors
Service 1st Federal Credit Union

Century 21 Covered Bridges Realty

Red Reindeer Sponsors
BIDA

Key Partners

LIVIC Civil

Luschas, Naparsteck & Crane, LLP

North Shore Railroad

The Women’s Center

Green Tree Sponsors
Atlantic Broadband

Century 21 Mertz & Associates

First Columbia Bank

First Keystone Community Bank

McTish, Kunkel & Associates

Susquehanna Valley Limousine

From JRG Advisors

Many employers and fellow employees want to help their employees and co-workers when there is a situation where they need to be away from work for an extended period of time but do not have paid time off (PTO) days left. These situations could range from natural disasters to an employee’s or employee family member’s serious illness. When times like this occur, having a PTO donation policy in place allows the donation of accumulated PTO from employees from a general pool. This allows employees to help their co-workers in a time of need, avoids “wasted” PTO, and could boost a positive work environment.

There are a few steps that an employer must follow in order to create a PTO donation policy. The first step is to decide when donated PTO is made available. Per IRS guidance, this should be limited to federally-recognized natural disasters, medical emergencies, or both. The employer should clarify and make clear the definitions of what exactly constitutes a medical emergency or natural disaster and compare this with IRS guidance. This will alleviate any confusion in the future. Complying with IRS rules is important to avoid unwanted tax implications on behalf of employees who donate PTO.

The next item for the employer is to take into consideration is the PTO “budget” for this policy. An example of this would be thinking about setting a limit on the amount of donations one can use or donate based on job titles. This will help with making sure that certain employees with the same job titles are not off at the same time. It also makes sense to establish maximum limits to the amount of PTO that can be donated, what happens is donated PTO is not used, and basic eligibility rules (how long must an employee be with the company before they may use donated PTO, for example).

The third step is to create and finalize the PTO donation policy or program. There needs to be a tracking mechanism for the donated and used PTO. Whomever is keeping track of the PTO needs to guarantee confidentiality of medical conditions of those who use the PTO for medical emergencies. When creating the policy, the employer also needs to set criteria in order to make sure that there is no discrimination within the policy. The last step is to execute and administer the plan. This may need to be announced during a staff meeting or during open enrollment for the employees in which it applies to so that they are notified that this policy exists. Employers will want to create request forms or applications for the PTO donation policy to know when PTO is needed or being given to the general pool.

Andy Keister of McTish, Kunkle & Associates reviews areas along the Rt. 11 corridor that are increasingly experiencing storm water issues.

Two projects announced recently will support businesses in Columbia County by investing in infrastructure and mitigating future risks of flooding. 

On December 12th, Governor Tom Wolf announced the approval of 26 rail freight improvement projects that will enhance freight mobility across Pennsylvania. SEKISUI SPI was among the projects which will assist the company in constructing two spur tracks and install unloading equipment. The company expressed its appreciation to the Governor’s office as well as North Shore Railroad and SEDA-Council of Governments Joint Rail Authority for their support of the project. 

Also in December, a storm water management study for a portion of the Rt. 11 corridor between Bloomsburg and South Centre Township got underway. With funding secured by Senator John Gordner and Representative David Millard, as well as contributions from the municipalities and several local businesses, the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority held a kick-off meeting with local stakeholders to identify problem areas. The study, expected to be completed by McTish, Kunkle & Associates by Spring, 2020, will identify priority areas along both sides of the corridor for repairing, upgrading, or installing infrastructure to better handle runoff from storms. The firm may also suggest ordinances and policies to reduce future risks.

The Chamber of Commerce helped organize meetings in South Centre Township following flooding of several major employers, including SEKISUI and Smucker’s, in the summer of 2018.