Discover Boating Chicago, New England Boat Shows Drop Anchor Today

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FEATURED INDUSTRY NEWS Discover Boating Chicago, New England Boat Shows Drop Anchor Today The 2024 winter boat show season starts today with the return of the Discover Boating Chicago Boat Show, in partnership with Progressive Insurance®, and Discover Boating New England Boat Show, in partnership with Progressive Insurance®, and run through Sunday. Expect to see an increase in floorplans, more boats and more brands for consumers to shop, and a host of immersive experiences, boater education and entertainment. Read More ABYC Announces Board Members, Award Recipients At Annual Meeting The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) marked its 70th anniversary, welcomed new board members, and honored award recipients at its Jan. 8 annual meeting in Annapolis. The event is a highlight of ABYC Standards Week, where experts from various sectors of the marine industry to review and update safety standards related to the design, construction and repair of recreational boats. Read More LEADING ECONOMIC AND POLICY NEWS Labor Department Enacts New Rule Targeting Companies That Rely On Independent Contractors The AP reports that on Tuesday, the Administration “enacted a new labor rule...that aims to prevent the misclassification of workers as ‘independent contractors,’ a step that could bolster both legal protections and compensation for millions in the U.S. workforce.” The Labor Department rule, “which the administration proposed 15 months ago, replaces a scrapped Trump-era standard that lowered the bar for classifying employees as contractors.” Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said, “Misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a serious issue that deprives workers of basic rights and protections.” Su added, “This rule will help protect workers, especially those facing the greatest risk of exploitation, by making sure they are classified properly and that they receive the wages they’ve earned.” However, according to the AP, “Major business groups have opposed the new rule, saying could it burdens employers with costly and unnecessary regulations and threatens the flexibility of many workers who want to be contractors.” CNBC reports that the rule is “widely expected to increase labor costs for industries that rely on contract labor or freelancers, such as trucking, manufacturing, healthcare and app-based ‘gig’ services.” However, CNBC points out that the rule “does not go as far as wage laws in California and other states that place even greater limitations on independent contracting.” Reuters reports studies “suggest that employees can cost companies up to 30% more than independent contractors.”         The Washington Post says the new rule “revives a test for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor who is self-employed under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938” that “considers six factors, including how much control an employer has over working conditions, a worker’s financial investment in their job and any opportunities a worker has for turning a profit.” According to the Post, “The measure is a win for Su, who has faced an uphill battle in securing confirmation in the Senate. Industry groups have fiercely opposed her, especially her position about who qualifies as an independent contractor.”         Bloomberg Law reports the release of the rule “prompted immediate threats of legal challenges and congressional review from its opponents. Legislative and ballot fights at the state and local levels have also persisted, drawing heavy opposition from gig companies seeking to avoid laws that would require them to classify their workers as employees.”         The San Francisco Chronicle says that the new Labor rules “were inspired in part by a 2019 California law, AB5, that fundamentally shifted how employers in the state must classify their workers. It expanded the definition of workers who must receive full employment benefits and targeted what some argued was rampant misclassification of workers.”         The Wall Street Journal and Axios also report. US Endures Record Number Of Billion Dollar Weather, Climate Disasters In 2023 Bloomberg reports the US “endured a record number of 28 weather and climate disasters in 2023, each causing $1 billion or more in damage and collectively killing at least 492 people.” The disasters – which included floods across the US as well as wildfires in Hawaii – “broke the old mark of 22 such disasters set in 2020, the National Centers for Environmental Information reported Tuesday.” Additionally, deaths “were the eighth highest in records for the contiguous US going back to 1980.” The disasters “caused a total of $92.9 billion in damages and losses, but that figure could rise after a final analysis is done to storms and flooding that hit the East Coast in mid-December.” Senate GOP Leaders Say CR Needed To Avert Shutdown Reuters reports Senate Republicans “said on Tuesday that a short-term funding measure will be needed to avert a partial federal government shutdown beginning in 10 days – a notion Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson could have trouble swallowing.” Senate Minority Leader McConnell “told reporters that lawmakers will ‘obviously’ need a short-term continuing resolution...to allow bipartisan negotiators from both chambers time” to negotiate and pass the FY24 spending bills. The Washington Post reports McConnell said, “The obvious question is how long does the CR need to be? That will be up to the majority leader and the speaker, to determine the length of the CR.”         Bloomberg reports Senate Minority Whip Thune “said Congress would need a stopgap measure to March.” USA Today reports Thune said, “It seems to be that we ought to allow some time to do some work on the other bills. The idea that we’re going to get those done in the next week, or even for that matter by Feb. 2… is unrealistic.” Roll Call reports that similar comments came from Democrats, such as Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).         Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports House Republicans have “taken a dim view” of CRs, with “some threatening to revolt if faced with such a patch again.” After the current CR passed last year, Johnson said, “I’m done with short-term CRs.” Congress Looking To Curb ERC The Wall Street Journal reports Congress is “considering curbing” the employee retention tax credit, a “troubled pandemic-era” measure as they consider a bipartisan deal that may include about $100 billion in tax breaks. Senate Finance Chair Wyden said Tuesday that he wants to limit abuse of the ERC, which has “has cost about triple earlier estimates.” A House GOP aide said that credit was a COVID-era measure, and it is time to limit it. WSJournal: California’s Wealth Tax Could Become Blueprint For Federal Government In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal argues that California’s proposed wealth tax on higher-earners within the state should be watched closely as “progressive ideas” from California often become a blueprint for progressive politicians on the federal level. WPost Columnist: Federal Reserve Has Taken Proper Approach To Inflation Columnist Catherine Rampell writes in the Washington Post that a number of “misguided politicians on both left and right are undermining the central bank’s ability to achieve” the “coveted” soft landing for the economy as inflation seems to be lowering without a need to increase unemployment. Rampell says that the American left was too concerned with alleged “corporate greed” to accept that inflation can be tackled “through boring, conventional measures that [they] fought against.” Rampell continues by saying that Fed officials did the right thing by showing their dedication to reducing inflation by raising interest rates, no matter the fears of the damage it would cause, and it allowed companies and investors to take such issues seriously. S&P 500, Nasdaq Close Down On Tuesday CNBC reports that the S&P 500 “trimmed an earlier decline Tuesday, boosted by tech shares, but still ended the day with modest losses. The broad market index closed lower by 0.15% to end at 4,756.50.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average “lost 157.85 points, or 0.42%, to close at 37,525.16,” and the Nasdaq Composite “recovered from a nearly 0.9% slide and eked out a gain of 0.09%, settling at 14,857.71.” Previous Top Stories  • Miami Innovation Awards Entry Deadline Extended To Friday  • Manufacturers Continue To Grapple With Rising Costs

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