Right about now, if you’re anything like me, your stress level exceeds capacity (to use transportation vernacular). We are deep into a busy Peak Season, thank goodness, and frequently don’t take time to do much more that focus on our business and our own individual issues. From a distance, it’s easy to see how a communication or task could fall through the cracks. Unfortunately, in a world where expectations have risen to instantaneous gratification, failure to live up to that standard can result in a dissatisfied customer or team member. While our goal should be continuous improvement, it would make our responsibilities far more enjoyable if all could just take a breath and give others the same benefit of the doubt that we believe we deserve for our own actions.

Our cover article and accompanying graphics briefly describe our July Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS) Advisory Council meeting. I continue to hear positive feedback from members on the customer service attributes of our new regulators. CMSA has also been very pleasantly surprised by the level of communication and willingness to at least listen to the perspective of the regulated industry. We support BHGS in their efforts to pass SB 391 in the current session of the California Legislature. SB 391 would authorize a person employed as a special investigator or supervising special investigator by the bureau and designated by the Director of Consumer Affairs to issue a written notice to appear in court for those violations for which a peace officer may enforce or assist in the enforcement, in accordance with specified procedures. This is authority that the CPUC had and fell through cracks during the transition of regulatory authority from the CPUC to the BHGS.

The Association continues to advocate vigorously in support of maintaining the long-standing legal system of the industry’s engagement with independent contractors. California Legislative bill AB 5 (Gonzalez) as currently drafted does not provide a clear path for this decade’s long practice, which is even sanctioned by the current and previous industry regulators to continue. Since our last column, we have met with the staff of Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez the author of AB 5, and found that they are at least sympathetic to our arguments for relief. To clarify, the only pathway to our discussion having a chance of making it to the level of even consideration was the argument of a BHGS permitted mover engaging a BHGS permitted mover (one might say prime to sub but regulatorily there is no distinction).

Subsequent to that meeting, we have submitted several different suggested language modification options, to the office of Assembly member Gonzalez and the Senate Labor Committee consultant that would allow legal operators to continue with this model. We take nothing for granted and realize that the legislative road ahead is difficult at best.

August 2019 - CMSA Communicator