By: Gary Jones, Assistant VP EHS Affairs, Printing Industries of America; Kaitlin Mackey, EHS Associate, Printing Industries of America; Matthew Crownover, EHS Associate, Printing Industries of America On July 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its interim final rule, increasing the civil penalties for violations of its standards. The increase was required due to the passage of the two-year bipartisan budget President Obama signed on November 2, 2015. This is the first time in 25 years that OSHA has increased its penalties. Since 1990, OSHA has been one of only three federal agencies that were specifically exempt from a law that required federal agencies to raise their fines to keep pace with inflation. The bill allows OSHA to have a one-time adjustment this year to catch up from the last time the agency’s civil penalties were modified. In addition, the law allows the penalties to be increased each year.  OSHA’s New Penalties The required initial penalty “catch-up adjustment” was tied to the percentage difference between the October 2015 Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the October 1990 CPI. This inflation adjustment factor for this period worked out to be 78.16 percent. The new penalties will become effective on August 1, 2016, and the maximum penalties for workplace safety violations issued by OSHA will be as follows: Violation Type Existing Penalty New Penalty Other-Than-Serious $7,000 $12,471 Serious $7,000 $12,471 Failure-to-Abate $7,000 $12,471 Willful $70,000 $124,709 Repeat $70,000 $124,709 Violation of a posting requirement $7,000 $12,471 Violation of a reporting requirement $7,000 $12,471 Due to the new law, the rounding down to the nearest $1,000 has been eliminated. The new law eliminated the rounding rules so penalties are now rounded to the nearest dollar. New Penalties and Existing Inspections The interim final rule mentions how OSHA is going to apply the new penalty structure to inspections that began before August 1, 2016. The rule states that the adjustment will apply to any penalty assessed after August 1, 2016, “including those whose associated violation predated such increase.” The adjusted penalties apply to any citations issued after August 1, 2016 whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2016. This means that any inspection that has not been closed on or before July 30, 2016 may be subject to the higher penalty amounts. OSHA could wait to issue a citation until after August 1, 2016 so they can use the new higher penalties. It is not clear if OSHA will intentionally delay issuing a citation. It remains to be seen how OSHA is going to address the penalties for these inspections. States With OSHA Approved Programs According to the rule, states that operate their own Occupational Safety and Health Plans must also...

By: Gary Jones, Assistant VP EHS Affairs, Printing Industries of America; Kaitlin Mackey, EHS Associate, Printing Industries of America; Matthew Crownover, EHS Associate, Printing Industries of America On July 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its interim final rule, increasing the civil penalties for violations of its standards. The increase was required due to the passage of the two-year bipartisan budget President Obama signed on November 2, 2015. This is the first time in 25 years that OSHA has increased its penalties. Since 1990, OSHA has been one of only three federal agencies that were specifically exempt from a law that required federal agencies to raise their fines to keep pace with inflation. The bill allows OSHA to have a one-time adjustment this year to catch up from the last time the agency’s civil penalties were modified. In addition, the law allows the penalties to be increased each year.  OSHA’s New Penalties The required initial penalty “catch-up adjustment” was tied to the percentage difference between the October 2015 Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the October 1990 CPI. This inflation adjustment factor for this period worked out to be 78.16 percent. The new penalties will become effective on August 1, 2016, and the maximum penalties for workplace safety violations issued by OSHA will be as follows: Violation Type Existing Penalty New Penalty Other-Than-Serious $7,000 $12,471 Serious $7,000 $12,471 Failure-to-Abate $7,000 $12,471 Willful $70,000 $124,709 Repeat $70,000 $124,709 Violation of a posting requirement $7,000 $12,471 Violation of a reporting requirement $7,000 $12,471 Due to the new law, the rounding down to the nearest $1,000 has been eliminated. The new law eliminated the rounding rules so penalties are now rounded to the nearest dollar. New Penalties and Existing Inspections The interim final rule mentions how OSHA is going to apply the new penalty structure to inspections that began before August 1, 2016. The rule states that the adjustment will apply to any penalty assessed after August 1, 2016, “including those whose associated violation predated such increase.” The adjusted penalties apply to any citations issued after August 1, 2016 whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2016. This means that any inspection that has not been closed on or before July 30, 2016 may be subject to the higher penalty amounts. OSHA could wait to issue a citation until after August 1, 2016 so they can use the new higher penalties. It is not clear if OSHA will intentionally delay issuing a citation. It remains to be seen how OSHA is going to address the penalties for these inspections. States With OSHA Approved Programs According to the rule, states that operate their own Occupational Safety and Health Plans must also...

In April, Printing Industries of America alerted you to a major scam involving a fraudulent direct marketing agency operating out of Montreal and Toronto. Federal authorities believe the targets in this case have been operating under the following names: Direct Market, DMW Direct, API Global Fulfillment, DMG Group Corporation, Global Media, Slim-Tab, and LipoCitrex. The scam artist purports to represent clients marketing weight loss products such as Axera International, BeSlim, and Nutrim. The scam is simple but effective and has claimed a number of victims. The marketing agency contacts printers via their website with a potential windfall job to produce millions of marketing pieces. The marketing agency literally banks on printers offering a line of credit based on initial feedback from credit references, which are similarly fraudulent. When printers ask for a check to cover postage, it is promptly sent via UPS. The check looks completely official, including a hologram, and printers deposit it thinking all is well, not realizing that any check drawn on a foreign bank account will take 2–3 weeks to validate and collect funds. This is the scam—some companies will drop the printed pieces and mail them before the check clears leaving the printer to cover the postage and printing costs. Sadly, a significant number of PIA members are now out tens of thousands of dollars because of this scam. The United States Postal Service (USPS) and law enforcement officials on both sides of the border are investigating the matter, and in fact progress has been made. USPS officials now want to hear specifics from those who have been injured by this scam. If your company has fallen victim or you were approached by any of the aforementioned entities, PLEASE CONTACT POSTAL INSPECTOR MATT SCHMITZ at 920-869-3719 or via email at...

In April, Printing Industries of America alerted you to a major scam involving a fraudulent direct marketing agency operating out of Montreal and Toronto. Federal authorities believe the targets in this case have been operating under the following names: Direct Market, DMW Direct, API Global Fulfillment, DMG Group Corporation, Global Media, Slim-Tab, and LipoCitrex. The scam artist purports to represent clients marketing weight loss products such as Axera International, BeSlim, and Nutrim. The scam is simple but effective and has claimed a number of victims. The marketing agency contacts printers via their website with a potential windfall job to produce millions of marketing pieces. The marketing agency literally banks on printers offering a line of credit based on initial feedback from credit references, which are similarly fraudulent. When printers ask for a check to cover postage, it is promptly sent via UPS. The check looks completely official, including a hologram, and printers deposit it thinking all is well, not realizing that any check drawn on a foreign bank account will take 2–3 weeks to validate and collect funds. This is the scam—some companies will drop the printed pieces and mail them before the check clears leaving the printer to cover the postage and printing costs. Sadly, a significant number of PIA members are now out tens of thousands of dollars because of this scam. The United States Postal Service (USPS) and law enforcement officials on both sides of the border are investigating the matter, and in fact progress has been made. USPS officials now want to hear specifics from those who have been injured by this scam. If your company has fallen victim or you were approached by any of the aforementioned entities, PLEASE CONTACT POSTAL INSPECTOR MATT SCHMITZ at 920-869-3719 or via email at...

Key performance metrics (KPMs), used to evaluate the success of a business, differ for businesses based on various factors. These factors can include the size of business and geographic location. One KPM that should be on every business’s must-have list is the metric for before tax profit as a percentage of sales. Before Tax Profit is a measure of profitability as it allows for a company to view profits before they have to pay corporate income taxes.  The above graph tracks before tax profit as a percent of sales for the past ten years for profit leaders and profit challengers. The Dynamic Ratios take this profitability measure and turn it into a proportion of sales. Turning before tax profit into a ratio of sales allows for this figure to be comparable across many companies. How do you compare to your competitors? Over the past ten years, the average profit leader was around 10 percent more profitable in before tax profit than the average printer each year. How do you align your company to have great before tax profit as a percentage of sales? First, you need to know where you stand. The new dynamic ratios will provide an easy to understand graphic that will easily show where you are and where your company has room for improvement. Complete the survey today at...