As we exit a record year for recalls and we enter the new year, one can ask what the vehicle manufacturers have done collectively to try and improve the national regulation of recalls and their performance of their recall obligations. The answer is not much so far. Earlier this year, NHTSA and the auto makers
FTC Gets Involved in Recallmania
The Federal Trade Commission, zealous about protecting its turf in regulating retail vehicle sales, has shown that it wants to be involved in the rapidly escalating recall problems. In announcing three consent orders in January 2016, the FTC took action on sales of used vehicles with open recalls it claims were unfairly and deceptively marketed
EEOC Proposes Requiring Employee Pay Reports
Each September, we remind dealers who employ over 100 workers in the dealership or in a group of affiliated dealerships to file their EEO-1 reports. These reports allow the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to judge the progress of employment for individuals in protected classes. We advise dealers that filing is important, not only because the
Reporting Severe Injuries to OSHA
As of January 1, 2015, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to notify it of all work-related fatalities, inpatient hospitalizations of one or more employees, amputations, and losses of at least one eye. Previously, employers only had to report all work-related fatalities and work-related hospitalizations of three or more employees. Here are
DOL Takes the Joint Employer Theory to the Next Step
We have reported on government attempts to expand the definition of who is an employer of temporary or contract workers supplied by temporary staffing companies. The U.S. Department of Labor has taken the next step in this campaign. On January 20, 2016, the DOL issued an administrator’s interpretation to establish a single, uniform list of
16 Thoughts for 2016
2015 was the best year for the motor vehicle industry since the recession of 2008-2009. Vehicle sales volume should stay solid through 2016. Unfortunately, major forces can choke robust business growth. The largest factor is federal intrusion in business. Anti-business bureaucrats see this as perhaps their last year for some time for unfettered imposition of
Indemnification under Indirect Finance and Lease Agreements
Financing and leasing are the lifeblood of your dealership. According to some estimates, about 85% of new vehicles sold are financed or leased. Dealers operate in an “indirect” system. When a customer signs a retail installment sale contract or a lease, the dealer is the initial creditor or lessor. The dealer then assigns the obligation
Hidden Triggers
As if more evidence is needed that dealers must give attention to FTC requirements to avoid a consent order, a company with three Kia dealerships in the southwest just agreed to an $85,000 civil penalty for violations of a consent order it signed just two years ago. The dealers agreed in 2014 to the consent
So You Think You Know?
Occasionally, we discuss car business things that “everybody knows”. But are they true? Here is a quiz on issues that we hear from dealership personnel “everybody knows”. True or False. My franchisor’s captive finance company just announced the availability of 0.9% APR financing for buyers of new vehicles. If I advertise this, I must give
FTC Bears its Teeth
For several years, we have been reminding you that the Federal Trade Commission is a federal agency about which dealers should be particularly concerned. When the Dodd Frank financial reform act created the CFPB, Congress gave the FTC greater budget and powers to oversee auto dealer practices to make up for the CFPB’s intrusion on