GNYADA January 2015 Newsletter

2 2015 Brings New Rules for New York Businesses

Wage Notices: The annual Payday/ Pay Rate Notice requirement has been eliminated by an amendment signed by the Governor late in December 2014. Dealers must still provide wage notices to new hires and when there is a pay rate change. MinimumWage: Increased to $8.75 from $8.00 as of December 31, 2014. OSHA Illness/Injury Reporting: Dealers must now record injuries and illnesses that result in days away from

Environment: New York has imple- mented a disposal ban and mandatory recycling of electronic waste. Covered electronics include comput- ers (and peripherals such as key- boards and mice), televisions, fax machines, scanners, and printers (weighing less than 100 pounds). To find out how and where to proper- ly dispose of these electronics, go to www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/66872.html for a list of waste collection sites as well as manufacturer’s programs.

work, loss of consciousness, or med- ical treatment beyond first aid as defined by OSHA. See OSHA’s Fact Sheet Updates to OSHA’s Recordkeeping Rule: Reporting Fatalities and Severe Injuries at https://www.osha.gov/ recordkeeping2014/OSHA3745.pdf . Dealers can find out more about these new rules by attending GNYADA’s Annual OSHA Seminar on February 26 at CAET. Contact Phyllis Aguilar at phyllisa@gnyada.com .

Return Unused 2015 Inspection Stickers 3

6 Empire State Plaza, Room 220, Albany, New York 12228).

separate mailings for multiple facilities) and an employee contact.

If you have unused 2015 inspection stickers, you can return them to DMV for a credit toward future orders. The deadline for inspection sticker returns is March 1, 2015. On dealership let- terhead, request a credit for 2015’s unused inspection stickers and indi- cate the sticker numbers being returned. Include the facility name, address, and number (you must do

The credit you receive is good for one year. You can use the credit on orders for additional inspection stick- ers, MV-50 books, and plates but not for online orders or for the express mailing of MV-50 books.

Send the request via Certified Mail (NYS DMV Bureau of Consumer & Facility Safety Accounting Unit, Empire State Plaza, P.O. BOX 2700, Albany, New York 12220-0700) or overnight delivery (NYS DMV Vehicle Safety Accounting Unit,

AG Orders Dealers to Pay Restitution

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The Attorney General has settled with two NY dealers for charging fees not associated with a product or service to customers at the time a vehicle was being purchased. The AG considers such fees a deceptive practice. In addition to paying approximately $150,000 in restitution, one dealer will pay more than $20,000 in penalties to the Attorney General’s Office. The other dealer needs to repay $87,000 to 174 customers as well as a penalty of $50,000 to the AG.

and repair orders. Preprinting fees can lead customers to believe they are mandatory, State-imposed fees or oth- erwise non-negotiable fees. Both the New York State Attorney General and the DMV consider preprinted fees deceptive and misleading. As this continues to be a gray area, the Association is seeking clarifica- tion from the Attorney General’s Office on permissible use of preprint- ed fees. If you have any questions about preprinted fees, call Sue Bieber at 718.746.5900.

to “end of lease buyout fees” when a vehicle was purchased at the end of the lease term. This fee was not included in the negotiation process and consumers only learned of it when buying out the lease. The AG claimed the fee was a deceptive prac- tice because there was no commensu- rate service or benefit in exchange for consumers paying the fee. Preprinted Fees Only the Doc Fee can be preprinted on your documents. GNYADA fre- quently receives inquiries regarding permissible preprinted fees on buyer’s

These dealers charged what amounts

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

The Newsletter • January 2015

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