FCC Delays Fax Rule
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced the creation of a new regulation governing the use of faxes by businesses to communicate with customers, vendors or other individuals.

The new regulation, which requires that companies obtain prior express written permission before sending unsolicited faxes for the purpose of advertising to any fax machine, was to go into effect in late August. The FCC issued a stay until January 1, 2005 due to petitions and requests for clarification from the American Society of Association Executives and others.

Currently, companies are not required to obtain written permission from customers before sending unsolicited fax advertisements, so long as an “established business relationship” existed prior to any sending of fax advertisements. That means building service contractors currently can fax updates, specials and other advertisements to current customers without specific permission.

Should the regulation be approved, companies would be required to obtain a signed, written statement before sending any advertisement to a fax machine. The statement would be required to list all fax recipient’s fax numbers and clearly indicate the recipient’s consent to receive fax communications.

Penalties for violation of the FCC regulation would vary: senders of unsolicited fax advertisements could be subject to court action by the recipient to recover the greater actual monetary loss or up to $1,500 for each willful violation.

EPA Halts Sale Of Disinfectant
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Clean Control Corp., of Warner Robbins, Ga., to immediately stop selling a commercial disinfectant and sanitizer product because of the potential for bacterial contamination from use of the product.

The order affects Odo-Ban Ready-to-Use Disinfectant/ Cleaner . The product currently is registered (EPA Reg. No. 66243-1) for use on surfaces in health-care facilities.

During the course of testing the product, EPA determined that two of the three samples tested were contaminated with microorganisms from the Bacillus genus: B. subtilis, B. pumilus, and B. amyloliquefaciens. All three species can cause infection patients with suppressed immune systems.

State Updates Pesticide Laws
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich recently signed two bills limiting pesticide use and sales. Illinois Senate Bill 1079, which will take effect July 1, 2004, regulates the use of pesticides in day-care centers and requires prior notification when pesticides are to be used in and around day care buildings.

The bill’s first critical provision is that licensed day-care establishments be required to ensure that pesticide applications do not occur at the same time children are present.

SB 1709 also requires that day-care centers adopt an integrated pest management (IPM) program if such action is economically feasible. The state has prepared IPM guidelines to be used in the development of day-care IPM programs.

In addition, Governor Blagojevich recently signed Illinois House Bill 548, which includes new penalties for vendors who sell unregistered pesticide products, including sanitizers and disinfectants, to the retail market. The new penalties take place immediately and begin with a Class A misdemeanor for first-time offenders.

Immigration

Employers See Lax Enforcement
The U.S.Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (one of two agencies split from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service) has virtually stopped punishing employers of illegal workers, according to an article in the Rocky Mountain News.

Nationally, the number of companies fined for hiring illegal workers or for failing to verify their paperwork has dropped from 808 in 1996 to 13 in 2002. Raids to round up such workers also have decreased; in the past six years, arrests in such cases have fallen from 17,552 to 452. The raids that do take place increasingly are at high-security locations, such as airports and government installations.

Since the 1990s, and especially since Sept. 11, 2001, enforcement has shifted from rooting out illegal workers to protecting the country from potential terrorist attacks. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) has blasted the shift in priorities, arguing such lax enforcement will draw more illegal immigrants to the United States and take jobs from Americans.

Tancredo has introduced “secure borders” measures in the U.S. House of Representatives to tighten enforcement of immigration law. But Denver immigration lawyer says there is no way to stop the flow of illegal workers, as long as the economy needs their services. She favors expansion of temporary work visas for foreign workers, according to the News article.

This information is intended as a summary of legal information and should in no way be construed as legal advice. Contact your attorney before proceeding with any legal action.




POSTED ON: 9/1/2003