US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BLOG: Giving Thanks To America’s Small Businesses
Blog posted 11/ 27/ 17https://www.uschamber.com/above-the-fold/giving-thanks-america-s-small-businesses
Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, and football—but it’s also the starting gun for the holiday shopping season. Many Americans hit the ground running last week with Black Friday, braving the crowds and traffic to visit their favorite stores for great deals. The following day, while maybe not as well known, was another nationally recognized day for shoppers: Small Business Saturday.
First observed in 2010, Small Business Saturday has become an important day to show our appreciation for the backbone of our nation’s economy: small businesses. No matter where you live, you can be sure that your local community benefits greatly from the restaurants, retail stores, manufacturers, service providers, and other small businesses that create jobs and drive economic growth in your area. By designating a day in their honor, we remind ourselves that these businesses rely on our patronage, especially during important consumer shopping seasons such as this.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is proud to stand for millions of small businesses in communities all across America. We fight for their interests every day in Washington, D.C. on the big policy issues before our government, including tax reform, health care, regulatory reform, and so many others. But we also know that small business success begins and ends with customers. So this season, as you shop for that perfect gift, don’t forget about the many small businesses that support your local economy and employ your friends and neighbors.
Today offers a prime opportunity to support them—without even leaving our homes. Cyber Monday is a day for excellent digital deals at online retailers large and small, including many stores in your community that you might not even realize have an online presence. The Chamber’s latest Small Business Index found that 81% of small businesses are online in some form, whether on social media, by selling through major online retailers, or with their own branded shopping websites.
Our Index also found that the holiday shopping season is important to many small businesses. Unfortunately, three-quarters of all small business owners report that holiday season revenue is either the same or lower than the rest of the year. All of us can help change that. Small Business Saturday may have passed, but together we can make every day a small business day. By dining at locally owned restaurants, shopping at small retailers, and visiting our community stores in person and online, every American can help support the small businesses that are pillars of our local economies.---Thomas J. Donohue is president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Count Out Counterfeits this Holiday Season: Top Ten Tips to #ShopSafe
https://www.uschamber.com/above-the-fold/count-out-counterfeits-holiday-season-top-ten-tips-shopsafeCounterfeit goods bypass important safety and quality tests, and they can harm consumers
Counterfeit goods are created and distributed without proper regulation, meaning they’re the result of shoddy work. The shoddy work that hallmarks the counterfeit trade translates into downright dangerous products.
Counterfeiters know exactly what’s on your holiday shopping list: whatever you’re shopping for, you can guarantee there are counterfeit versions on the market.
Counterfeit clothing often fails fire resistance standards, and fastenings, dyes, and other materials used in the production process reeks of chemicals and metals that can affect your health.
Counterfeit cosmetics tout high levels of mercury, arsenic, and even traces of urine and feces, all of which can cause severe allergic reactions and possible long-term harm to your skin, eyes, and hair.
Counterfeit toys are built with flimsy parts that pose undisclosed choking hazards and contain high levels of lead and other dangerous chemicals.
Counterfeit electronics, like phone chargers and battery-powered gadgets, will melt, catch fire, or even explode.
Counterfeit medicines may contain uselessly low or dangerously high amounts of active ingredient. Some counterfeit medicines contain no active ingredient; others contain a different active ingredient altogether.
With your health and safety in the balance, you can’t overestimate the damaging weight counterfeits can carry.
Counterfeit impacts every sector of the economy and stifles economic growth
Globally, counterfeit has nearly doubled in value since 2008 – amounting to $461 billion annually. That’s more than double the 2014 profits of the world’s top ten companies combined. Additionally, studies estimate that counterfeiting costs the U.S. 750,000 jobs a year.
It’s clear that counterfeit products steal market share from legitimate businesses. But counterfeit also undermines innovation, one of the largest drivers of economic development. Counterfeit robs businesses the ability to benefit from the breakthroughs they make in creating new products and services, discouraging future innovative activity.
Moreover, counterfeiters avoid paying taxes, so governments lose valuable tax revenue that could be used to develop important initiatives, like public health and education.
Counterfeit funds organized crime and rewards the exploitation of workers
It’s clear that counterfeit escapes regulatory certifications, taxes and duties, and other relevant legal checkpoints. But counterfeit also finances crimes of a much larger scale.
Counterfeiting funds international illicit trade and criminal groups. Terrorist networks and organized crime rings use the profitable counterfeit industry to sponsor their organizations’ activity, from drug smuggling and weapons trafficking to military operations and member recruitment.
Counterfeit also perpetuates the systematic exploitation of labor. Counterfeit employees are low paid and vulnerable, exposed to egregious violations of labor laws and basic human rights. Many counterfeit producers also infringe upon child labor laws.
According to the International Labor Organization, the majority of the 246 million child laborers work in the “informal” economy, the economy hidden from government and other authoritative supervision, which includes counterfeit.
Counterfeiting is certainly not a victimless crime, affecting people and communities in the U.S. and around the world.
We can work together to combat global counterfeiting
Businesses and law enforcement agencies are working tirelessly to fight fakes. But they need consumers’ help.
Make sure you know how to avoid counterfeit – and help teach your friends and family.
Here are GIPC’s top ten tips to shop safe:
Trust your instincts. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
Insist on secure transactions. When doing business online, make sure your payments are submitted via websites beginning with “https” (the “s” stands for secure) and look for a lock symbol at the bottom of your browser. This helps you know that you are working with a trustworthy retailer.
Watch for missing sales tax charges. Businesses trading in counterfeit goods often do not report their sales to financial authorities – a difference you may notice in the price you ultimately pay, particularly in states that collect sales taxes.
Seek quality assurance in the secondary market. Reputable and reliable resellers have comprehensive inspection and authentication procedures and technicians to inspect the equipment they sell.
Buy medicines only from licensed pharmacy websites. Reports suggest that 96% of online pharmacies do not meet safety or legal standards. Trustworthy websites should be licensed by the relevant state board of pharmacy, should provide a licensed pharmacist to answer questions about your purchase, and should always require a prescription for prescription medicines.
Be vigilant when buying abroad. When shopping on international websites, look for trusted vendors that use identifiable privacy and security safeguards and have legitimate addresses.
Guard your personal information. Illicit websites often install malware that can steal your credit card information and other information stored on your computer. Don’t install add-ons or apps if you don’t know their purpose and don’t click on suspicious pop-up ads.
Scrutinize labels, packaging, and contents. Look for missing or expired “use by” dates, broken or missing safety seals, missing warranty information, or otherwise unusual packaging.
Report fake products. Report unsafe products to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Consumers can play an important role in keeping the market free of fakes.
Spread the word. Share these tips! Teach your family, friends, and coworkers about counterfeits.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ANNOUNCES 90-DAY DELAY OF APPLICABILITY DATE FOR DISABILITY CLAIMS PROCEDURE AMENDMENTS
Press release issued 11/ 24/ 17https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20171124
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a ninety (90) day delay – through April 1, 2018 – of the applicability date for ERISA plans to comply with a final rule amending the claims procedure requirements applicable to disability benefits.
The three month delay of the applicability date announced today is intended to give interested stakeholders the opportunity to submit, and for the Department to consider, data and information related to concerns by some insurance industry and employer groups, and some members of Congress, that the claims procedure amendments will drive up disability benefit plan costs, cause an increase in litigation and, in so doing, impair workers’ access to disability insurance benefits.
The final rule amending the disability benefits claims procedure requirements for ERISA plans was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 19, 2016. The amendments were to become applicable to claims for disability benefits filed on or after Jan. 1, 2018. In response to the concerns noted above raised by stakeholders, and pursuant to Executive Order 13777 on Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda, the Department published a notice in the Federal Register on Oct. 12, 2017, seeking comment on a proposed 90-day delay of the applicability date for plans to comply with the claims procedure amendments. The comment period on the proposed delay ended on Oct. 27, 2017. In that same document, the Department asked for comments that provide data and information germane to a re-examination of the merits of repealing, replacing, modifying or retaining the rule. That comment period ends on Dec. 11, 2017.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S OSHA EXTENDS COMPLIANCE DATE FOR ELECTRONICALLY SUBMITTING INJURY, ILLNESS REPORTS TO DECEMBER 15, 2017
Press release issued 11/ 22/ 17https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20171122
WASHINGTON, DC – To allow affected employers additional time to become familiar with a new electronic reporting system launched on August 1, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extended the date by which employers must electronically report injury and illness data through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) to December 15, 2017.
OSHA’s final rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses sets December 15, 2017, as the date for compliance (a two-week extension from the December 1, 2017, compliance date in the proposed rule). The rule requires certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness information they are already required to keep under existing OSHA regulations.
Unless an employer is under federal jurisdiction, the following OSHA-approved State Plans have not yet adopted the requirement to submit injury and illness reports electronically: California, Maryland, Minnesota, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Establishments in these states are not currently required to submit their summary data through the ITA. Similarly, state and local government establishments in Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, and New York are not currently required to submit their data through the ITA.
OSHA is currently reviewing the other provisions of its final rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, and intends to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to reconsider, revise, or remove portions of that rule in 2018.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
REMINDER FROM THE IRS: IRS, State Tax Agencies and Tax Industry Announce National Tax Security Awareness Week, Nov. 27-Dec. 1; Event Focuses on Protecting Tax, Financial Data in Advance of Holidays, Filing Season --press release dated 11/ 17/ 17
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-state-tax-agencies-and-tax-industry-announce-national-tax-security-awareness-week-nov-27-dec-1-event-focuses-on-protecting-tax-financial-data-in-advance-of-holidays-filing-seasonWASHINGTON ― For the second year, the Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies and the tax industry will host National Tax Security Awareness Week to encourage both individual and business taxpayers to take additional steps to protect their tax data and identities in advance of the 2018 filing season.
Starting Monday, Nov. 27, National Tax Security Awareness Week will focus daily on one issue that poses a threat to individuals and businesses and offer steps they may take to better protect themselves from cybercriminals.
The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry, partners in the Security Summit, have enacted a series of defenses in recent years that have made significant inroads into tax-related identity theft. While the Summit partners continue to improve defenses, they also recognize that they need help from taxpayers, tax preparers and businesses to continue progress against identity theft.
Summit partners and other consumer, business and community groups will be hosting a series of more than 20 events across the country to raise awareness during National Tax Security Awareness Week. This is especially timely as the holiday season brings out not only online shoppers but online thieves seeking to trick people into disclosing sensitive information that could be used to help file fraudulent tax returns.
The week also comes amid continuing disclosures that more than 145 million Americans have had their names, addresses and Social Security numbers stolen from a variety of places. No one yet knows how cybercriminals will use this data or try to make money from it.
The IRS and states have put many new defenses in place to help protect taxpayers from identity theft. The new IRS protections have worked well to protect taxpayers, and some key indicators of identity theft on tax returns have dropped by around two-thirds since 2015.
These protections are especially helpful if criminals only have names, addresses and SSNs – which was the information stolen in recent incidents. However, there are continuing concerns that cybercriminals will try to build on this basic information by trying to obtain more specific financial details from taxpayers and tax professionals to help them file fraudulent tax returns.
During the upcoming 2018 filing season, the IRS urges tax professionals, businesses and others to join with the Security Summit partners in sharing the security information through organizations, customers and partners.
During National Tax Security Awareness Week, people will learn about the basic steps necessary to protect themselves and their tax data online, such as using security software, strong passwords and data encryption. They will learn what steps they should take if they are a data breach victim, such as placing a freeze on their credit accounts and the signs of tax-related identity theft.
They will learn how cybercriminals use phishing emails to bait them into disclosing information. Employers will be warned about the dangerous W-2 scam that has made identity theft victims of thousands of employees. Finally, Summit partners will remind small businesses that they, too, are subject to identity theft and should take steps to protect themselves.
There are three key steps the Summit partners urge people to take to protect tax and financial information:
Learn to recognize and avoid phishing emails, threatening phone calls and texts from thieves posing as legitimate organizations such as banks, credit card companies and government organizations, including the IRS. Do not click on links or download attachments from unknown or suspicious emails.
Always use security software with firewall and anti-virus protections. Make sure the security software is always turned on and will automatically update. Encrypt sensitive files such as tax records stored on computers. Use strong passwords.
Protect personal data. Use strong, unique passwords for each online account. Don’t routinely carry Social Security cards, and make sure tax records are secure. Treat personal information like cash; don’t leave it lying around.
The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry came together in 2015 to join forces in their fight against tax-related identity theft. Learn more about their efforts and their progress at Security Summit on IRS.gov.
Increasing public awareness about people’s role in protecting their own data is a critical part of the Security Summit efforts. Partners launched the “Taxes. Security. Together.” awareness campaign in the fall of 2015.
THE FED: Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, October 31-November 1, 2017
The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached minutes of the Committee meeting held on October 31-November 1, 2017.The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee ordinarily are made available three weeks after the day of the policy decision and subsequently are published in the Board’s Annual Report. The descriptions of economic and financial conditions contained in these minutes are based solely on the information that was available to the Committee at the time of the meeting.
FOMC minutes can be viewed on the Board’s website at http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm
(Page 3) AT THE STATE LEVEL
State Office of Developmental Disabilities Ombuds launches accessible websitePress release issued 11/ 27/ 17
http://www.commerce.wa.gov/news-releases/state-office-of-developmental-disabilities-ombuds-launches-accessible-website/
OLYMPIA, WA – The Office of the Developmental Disabilities Ombuds has launched a new website at www.ddombuds.org where visitors can learn what the office is doing, submit complaints and access other resources for people with disabilities. The website was created by AccessibilityOz, a company specializing in the creation of webpages that are accessible to people with disabilities.
The website is one way to submit a complaint to the Developmental Disabilities Ombuds. Complaints can also be made by phone at 1-833-727-8900 and in person when the ombuds visits community residences, programs or state facilities. Call or visit the website for information on requesting a visit.
Anyone, including disabled individuals, friends, family or care staff can submit a complaint about developmental disabilities services. Complaints may be about, but not limited to, abuse and neglect, quality and access to services or possible exploitation.
“Complaints about abuse, neglect and exploitation are priority,” said Betty Schieterman, State Developmental Disabilities Ombuds. “Our goal at the DD Ombuds is to address complaints in a person-centered manner by listening to people with developmental disabilities and resolving issues to their satisfaction.”
The DD Ombuds is a private, independent office focused on improving the lives of persons with developmental disabilities in Washington State. The DD Ombuds also provide information to the community, monitor and review facilities, conduct investigations, write reports, and recommend changes to Washington State policy-makers.
The Department of Commerce awarded Disability Rights Washington the contract to provide ombuds services for the new Washington Developmental Disabilities Ombuds program earlier this year.
“Investing to increase our state’s capacity to better serve vulnerable people is a key priority of Commerce’s work to strengthen communities,” said Commerce Director Brian Bonlender.
The state Legislature created the Office of the Developmental Disabilities Ombuds to help protect the health and well-being of individuals with developmental disabilities. The office will monitor and report on the services provided in Washington state for potential situations of abuse and neglect.
“I sponsored the bill to create this office because too many of our most vulnerable residents have been left in unsafe and abusive conditions,” said Sen. Steve O’Ban, R-University Place. “This provides an advocate for families to work with the Department of Social and Health Services on ensuring the safety of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.”
The Office of the Developmental Disabilities Ombuds will monitor residential facilities, residences, and services, and make recommendations to the Legislature for reforms.
“We are honored to do this work and are confident these efforts will lead to improved service delivery systems across Washington,” Schwieterman said.
(Page ) White Collar Crimes
DOJ: Tobacco Companies to Begin Issuing Court-Ordered Statements in Tobacco Racketeering SuitPress release issued 11/ 22/ 17
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tobacco-companies-begin-issuing-court-ordered-statements-tobacco-racketeering-suit
Several of America’s major cigarette manufacturers will begin issuing court-ordered “corrective statements” in major daily newspapers and on television beginning Friday, November 24, 2017. The statements will clarify for the public the effects of tobacco use and will appear in full-page print ads in the editions of more than 50 newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, and Washington Post over four months. The same statements will also appear in television markets across the country beginning the following week for the next year.
Following a nine-month civil racketeering trial, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the tobacco companies, including Altria, its Philip Morris USA subsidiary, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, to issue the corrective statements as part of a permanent injunction in 2006 designed to “prevent and restrain” further deception of the American people regarding tobacco use. Multiple appeals following the 2006 permanent injunction delayed issuance of the statements until now.
In its 2006 permanent injunction, the district court found that “Defendants lied, misrepresented, and deceived the American public,” on a host of topics. These topics included:
Fraudulently distorting and minimizing the health effects of smoking;
Falsely denying and minimizing the addictiveness of smoking and nicotine;
Designing cigarettes to create addiction;
Fraudulently presenting light/low-tar cigarettes as less dangerous;
Falsely denying marketing to youth; and
Falsely denying the hazards of secondhand smoke.
The court concluded that, absent court action, the tobacco companies were “reasonably likely” to continue engaging in this behavior and imposed a permanent injunction to prevent future violations. Among other things, this injunction requires the tobacco companies to issue these “corrective statements” in multiple mediums: newspaper, television, company websites, and package “onserts.” Another placement for the statements, at retail point-of-sale, was set aside on appeal by the D.C. Circuit, and whether to reinstate it remains pending before the district court.
Numerous Justice Department attorneys have played a role in this case over the years. In the most recent phase of the litigation, the United States was represented by Trial Attorneys Daniel K. Crane-Hirsch and John (Josh) Burke of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch; Linda McMahon of the Commercial Litigation Branch; and Melissa Patterson, Alisa Klein, Mark Stern, and Lewis Yelin of the Civil Appellate Staff.
Six public health organizations – the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, National African American Tobacco Prevention Network and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund – joined the Department of Justice case as intervenors in 2005.
DOJ: Justice Department Challenges AT&T/DirecTV’s Acquisition of Time Warner
Merger Would Harm Competition, Resulting in Higher Bills and Less Innovation for Millions of American Consumers---press release dated 11/ 20/ 17https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-challenges-attdirectv-s-acquisition-time-warner
The United States Department of Justice today filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T/DirecTV’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Inc. The $108 billion acquisition would substantially lessen competition, resulting in higher prices and less innovation for millions of Americans.
The combination of AT&T/DirecTV’s vast video distribution infrastructure and Time Warner’s popular television programming would be one of the largest mergers in American history. Time Warner’s network offerings include TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network, HBO and Cinemax, and its programming includes Game of Thrones, NCAA’s March Madness, and substantial numbers of MLB and NBA regular season and playoff games.
According to the complaint, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the combined company would use its control over Time Warner’s valuable and highly popular networks to hinder its rivals by forcing them to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more per year for the right to distribute those networks. The combined company would also use its increased power to slow the industry’s transition to new and exciting video distribution models that provide greater choice for consumers, resulting in fewer innovative offerings and higher bills for American families.
As AT&T itself has expressly acknowledged, distributors with control over popular programming “have the incentive and ability to use . . . that control as a weapon to hinder competition.” And, as DirecTV itself has explained, such vertically integrated programmers “can much more credibly threaten to withhold programming from rival [distributors]” and can “use such threats to demand higher prices and more favorable terms.” This merger would create just such a vertically integrated programmer and cause precisely such harms to competition.
“This merger would greatly harm American consumers. It would mean higher monthly television bills and fewer of the new, emerging innovative options that consumers are beginning to enjoy,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department’s Antitrust Division. “AT&T/DirecTV’s combination with Time Warner is unlawful, and absent an adequate remedy that would fully prevent the harms this merger would cause, the only appropriate action for the Department of Justice is to seek an injunction from a federal judge blocking the entire transaction.”
“The merger would also enable the merged company to impede disruptive competition from online video distributors, competition that has allowed consumers greater choices at cheaper prices,” Delrahim further explained. As noted in the complaint, AT&T/DirecTV describes the traditional, big bundle pay-TV model as a “cash cow” and “the golden goose.” If permitted to merge, AT&T/DirecTV/Time Warner would have the incentive and ability to charge more for Time Warner’s popular networks and take other actions to discourage future competitors from entering the marketplace altogether. For example, the merged firm would likely use its control of Time Warner’s programming, which is important for emerging online video distributors, to hinder those innovative distributors. Indeed, a senior Time Warner executive has stated that they have leverage over an online video distributor, whose offering would be “[expletive] without Turner.” That leverage would only increase if the merger were allowed to proceed.
AT&T Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Dallas, Texas. In 2016, the company posted revenues of more than $163 billion dollars, making it the largest telecommunications company in the world. AT&T is also the country’s largest Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD), with more than 25 million subscribers. It has three pay-TV offerings: (1) DirecTV, a satellite-based product with almost 21 million subscribers that it acquired through a merger in 2015; (2) U-Verse, a product which uses the local AT&T fiber optic and copper network and has almost 4 million subscribers; and (3) DirecTV Now, its new online video product with almost 800,000 subscribers. It descends from the AT&T that was established in the nineteenth century and which maintained a monopoly in the provision of local telephone services until 1982, when it agreed to divest the portions of its business relating to local telephone services to settle an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice. In 2011, AT&T attempted to purchase T-Mobile, but abandoned the transaction after the Department of Justice filed suit alleging that the merger violated the antitrust laws.
Time Warner, Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in New York, New York. In 2016, its posted revenue was $29.3 billion. As of 2016, according to Time Warner, its most popular networks reach over 90 million households—of the nearly 100 million households that subscribe to traditional subscription television.
Daily Bible Verse: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:16 NKJV
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