GNYADA February 2016 Newsletter

7 GNYADA President Honored at Mental Health Benefit

ble understanding of the issues.”

With this hefty increase, fines for minor workplace safety violations will go from roughly $7,000 to $12,500, while maximum citations will now be around $125,000, up from $70,000. Criminal Sanctions for OSHA Violations The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a series of steps intended to increase the number of criminal charges associated with workplace safety violations. In order to raise the volume and like- lihood of criminal prosecutions, the DOJ is urging prosecutors to aggre- gate multiple felony violations into a single group of actionable charges. This means that charges like false statements, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, which often go along with OSHA violations, would decades,” said Schienberg. “I am especially grateful because new car dealers are often overlooked for the good work that they do, the huge number of people they employ, and the tremendous financial contribu- tions they make in their towns and cities.” Continued Schienberg, “Our industry fully supports TSINY’s mission to provide a broad spectrum of client- centered services to support and empower individuals with mental health challenges. The focus on pro- moting overall well-being, rather than just treating an illness, shows incredi-

GNYADA president Mark Schienberg was recently named 2015 Businessman of the Year by Transitional Services for New York (TSINY), a private, not-for-profit provider of mental health services, headquartered in Queens. The award event, which also coincided with the organization’s 40th anniversary, drew many prominent business profession- als and elected officials to attend. “I humbly accept this great honor on behalf of the more than 450 fran- chised new car retailers who make up GNYADA, that it has been my pleas- ure to head-up for the past three

Funds raised from the anniversary event went to support TSINY’s mis- sion of providing community based services to individuals recovering from mental illness, and instilling them with independence and selfre- liance.

For additional information, visit tsiny.org .

8 OSHA Increases Fines — DOJ Seeks to Increase Criminal Charges for Safety Violations

be added to existing workplace safety prosecutions and augment the penalty. The Environmental Crimes Section of DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division is also being authorized to coordinate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in handling investigations and prosecutions of workplace safety cases. Dealers need to continue to be aware of the types of workplace violations that can be dangerous to employees and the financial tolls they can take on business operations. For any questions about OSHA compliance or fines, please contact Susan Bieber at 718.746.5900 or susan@gnyada.com.

Starting in August 2016, fines for OSHA violations will increase by as much as 80%. This is a result from a budgetary provision signed into law last month by President Obama. The Department of Labor has not been able to increase the amount of their fines for the past 25 years. The sharp increase in these fine amounts will “make up for lost time” by adjusting for 25 skipped years of inflation in a single stroke. Furthermore, OSHA penalties will continue to raise year-after-year mov- ing forward, to continue keeping pace with inflation.

Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association • www.gnyada.com

The Newsletter • February 2016 5