A Flu Pandemic Could Impact Business By Jan Teague, President/CEO
This week I attended the first in a series of meetings held by the state Department of Health to begin the dialogue with business in preparation for a fall flu season that could be very severe.
No one really knows what will happen with this new flu that is now called the H1N1. The problem is partly due to the fact that the flu can evolve into new strains for which flu shots are no help. It is key for all of us to be aware of what steps employers should take for their employees to assure that a flu outbreak is contained as much as possible.
On the WRA website, retailassociation.org, you will find the slides that went with the presentation. Just click on the headline under the "news" banner to launch the slides that contain helpful contact information.
While the H1N1 strain has not been as deadly as feared, experts still can't understand why it has killed relatively young and healthy people. They continue to study the virus and to make a flu shot (it takes 6-9 months to create a vaccine) that will be available to a targeted group that typically has more trouble with the flu - diabetics, heart patients, people with asthma, the elderly, and those with other illnesses. This flu shot will have to be given twice, thirty days apart. And, the normal flu shot will also have to be administered. People will need three flu shots. But the vaccine will be limited in supply to about 25 percent of the population.
The key to managing the outbreak will be prevention.
Flu spreads mainly in droplets and in close contact (3 to 4 feet) to someone with the illness. About 8 percent of those who get the flu end up in the hospital. There were 504 people who got the H1N1 flu, 40 were hospitalized, and two died in Washington earlier this year.
The basic prevention for an office is to wipe down chairs and door knobs and to wash hands frequently. The virus can live 48 hours on a surface. Once exposed to the virus, it can take 1 to 5 days to incubate. An office is vulnerable to an infected staff member the day before symptoms occur and until the symptoms are gone, which can be up to 7 days. The small number of employees who go to work sick pass the virus.
So what can a business do to help stave off the flu? The Department of Health is advising business to be flexible this season. The H1N1 comes with vomiting and diarrhea, but early symptoms include sore throat, fever, cough, or a runny nose. Talk to employees about staying home if they have these signs. If they do come to work, ask them to wear a mask to help contain the virus. It is not considered helpful for those who are healthy to wear a mask. The department is not recommending sending healthy employees home if they come in contact with someone who is sick. They do not believe that quarantines are needed. There are no special diets that will help stave off the flu, but not smoking will improve the odds of staying out of the hospital.
Revisit your contingency plans for critical staff in your office. Is there a system in place where key staff can possibly work from home should the situation arise? Take a look at your technical capabilities. In the worse case, a leadership team might have to make decisions by phone conference call rather than in meetings at the office.
The Department of Health is very interested in working with the retail industry on more specific issues such as getting the word out to the community. I asked if an air-to-air exchanger could carry the flu and health officials said no. They don't seem too concerned about people handling money, either. But they did voice concern that if a school were closed, students could spread the illness by going to malls. Health officials learned their lesson on school closures last time by finding that closing schools only upset people but did not do much good. So they don't anticipate closing schools but those decisions will be made by local health departments once they have gathered hard evidence of a critical situation in an area during flu season.
Their next Webinar has not been scheduled but sometime in the next two months, the Department of Health will hold a second event that will primarily be an opportunity for businesses to ask questions. In the meantime, take a look at the Webinar slides for contact information. Our best defense against the flu is a good offense! Start planning and educating your employees now!
State revenues continue to fall short, state economist says
The latest state revenue forecast issued today prompted Gov. Chris Gregoire to order an additional 2 percent cut in employee costs in state General Fund. The further cuts would apply in the 2009-11 biennium.
The Legislature implemented a host of spending cuts during this year's session to close an estimated $9 billion shortfall in revenues for the coming biennium. The shortfalls are related to the recession and resulting consumer caution, which reduces sales tax revenues to the state.
Arun Raha, the state's chief economist, today announced that revenues for the current biennium, which ends June 30 of this year, will be $185 million lower than he expected in a similar forecast issued in March of this year. Today's forecast for the 2009-2011 biennium anticipated $29.8 billion in state revenues, which would be $297 million less than Raha expected in March.
Despite the negative economic news, Raha predicted that a slow economic recovery could begin in the state later this year.
"Initial claims for unemployment insurance appear to have peaked and monthly job losses are diminishing," Raha said.
But, he continued: "The bottom in this recession will be lower than assumed in March, particularly with respect to the labor market. Job losses will likely continue through the end of this year and the unemployment rate will peak even later."
Raha said he expected the current 9.4 percent state unemployment rate to climb as high as 10.6 percent by the spring of next year.
Source: Economic and Revenue Forecast Council
WRA attends political retreat
Upcoming elections were a topic of discussion for those who attended an Enterprise Washington retreat last week at Lake Chelan.
Mark Johnson, Vice President Government Affairs, represented WRA at the retreat.
A political oversight committee made up of business association representatives discussed upcoming special elections for state Legislative Districts 9, 15 and 16 and potential target districts in the 2010 election cycle.
The meeting also honored five state legislators who have demonstrated their support for business issues. Included among the honorees was Senator Tim Sheldon, (D-Potlatch); Senator Janea Holmquist, (R-Ephrata); Senator Jim Honeyford, (R-Sunnyside); Representative John Driscoll, (D-Spokane); and Representative Joel Kretz, (R-Wauconda).
"The meeting was productive," Johnson said. "Signs are encouraging at this time that the Legislature will have a pro-business majority in the near future."
Retailers could get insurance rate break from L&I changes
Labor and Industries has changed how it figures rates for self-insured clients that could reduce workers compensation insurance rates for many retailers.
The new rules will take effect on July 6. The department has established an experience rating system for self-insurers on the second injury fund that should bode well for retailers.
All self-insured clients have been paying the same rate per hour per employee into the industrial insurance second injury fund. This is a fund that tends to be used less frequently by retailers than other industries where workplace injuries occur more frequently, said Tammie Hetrick, Washington Retail Association's Vice President Retail Services.
Hetrick said L&I changes in the reporting requirements likely would result in lower insurance rates for retailers.
"I anticipate that retailers will receive a rate reduction over time as their experience drops," Hetrick said.
Washington's unemployment rate rose to 9.4 percent in May, up from 9 percent in April and in doing so, it tied the U.S. unemployment rate.
It has been a tough year for retail, which Employment Security reports lost 14,600 jobs from May of 2008 to May of this year. Figures show the number of retail trade jobs in the state fell from 325,700 in May 2008 to 311,100 in May this year. The largest losses were among motor vehicle and parts dealers, which is down 6,300 jobs in the past year.
"The recession has been deep and wide, and we're likely to see up and downs for a while," said Greg Weeks, who heads the Employment Security Department's labor market information office.
An estimated 327,430 people were unemployed and looking for work in the state last month.
The state lost 116,000 jobs last month, including 3,100 in construction and 1,200 in government.
For the full monthly unemployment report, click here.
Department of Revenue officials have decided to rename a new state permit soon to be issued to businesses that buy items for resale.
What had been called the "seller's permit" is now known as the "reseller's permit." The free permit, still in the works, would be used by businesses that forgo paying sales taxes if they intend to re-sell the items to customers who do pay the sales tax.
Such businesses typically include contractors, but also include several categories of retailers.
Rob Rice, Revenue's assistant director of taxpayer services, said officials believe the new name more accurately reflects the users who will be required to obtain the new permit by January of next year. He said other states with documents named "seller's permit" use them for different reasons than Washington. This, he said, could confuse Washington permit holders who do business in other states.
"The new name just defines the permit much clearer," Rice said. "People seem to understand it better."
The state is replacing self-assigned permits with department-approved resale certificates.
The Legislature approved the new procedure this year in hopes to increasing state revenues that were lost from permit holders who avoided paying sales taxes without reselling the items they had purchased, as required by law.
The Revenue Department intends to notify businesses by letter in September if they will be issued a new permit. A separate letter will go out to other businesses that must apply for the permit, Rice said.
The department estimates about 240,000 businesses will need the permits.
The Washington Retail Association opposed SB 6173, which authorized the switch, as an inconvenient way to collect new taxes. During a recent planning meeting on the switch to a new permit, Rice estimated that the first new permits could be issued in October. Rice estimated the state may have an online application system launched by December of this year. The state also plans to launch an online way for retailers to validate permits by early next year, Rice said.
Rice estimated it could take until 2011 for the state to launch an online database of valid permits in circulation.
Rice said state revenue officials still are determining eligibility for the permits.
National retail losses from theft increased to an estimated $36.5 billion last year, up from $34.8 billion in 2007, a survey released this week showed.
The study by the University of Florida was released at the National Retail Federation's Loss Prevention Conference.
The Washington Retail Association has joined NRF is support of three major bills introduced in Congress this year to combat organized retail crime. WRA favors a national approach to the problem.
The bills all would for the first time define organized retail crime as a federal offense; require review of federal sentencing guidelines for criminals convicted of organized retail crime; require online auction operators to cooperate with retailers and police in investigations and in some cases, hold auction sites responsible for sales that could have been prevented of merchandise stolen from retailers.
Jason Moulton, in charge of security for Safeway stores in the Puget Sound region, said similar theft increases are occurring in the Northwest. The value of goods stolen also is increasing, he said. He attributed the growing trend not only to the recession but drug dependencies of some of the criminals.
Employees accounted for an estimated 44 percent of the retail losses last year, the survey reported. Outside shoplifters accounted for an additional 35 percent of the losses. The remaining 21 percent of losses were attributed to vendor fraud and administrative error.
Work by WRA during the 2009 Legislature also was instrumental in the formation of an organized retail crime task force in Washington State.
Visit nrf.com to read National Retail Federation comments about the retail crime survey.
Source: National Retail Federation
Free business fair coming in September
The 13th Washington Small Business Fair is scheduled on September 12 at Renton Technical College.
The free event aims to assist new and existing small businesses to grow and survive the recession.
The fair requires no pre-registration. Speakers will be unpaid and no private vendors or selling will be allowed during the event.
Seminars range from understanding taxes to business planning and from marketing to starting a Website. A list of exhibitors is expected to be posted at the fair's Website, www.bizfair.org, early in July. You can also visit the site for directions to the college and updates about the fair.
The Washington Retail Association participates on a planning committee and will exhibit at the fair. There is no single fair sponsor but organizations such as the Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and various state government departments participate in the planning.
About 50 exhibitors participate annually at the fair, attended by up to 1,000 visitors. Business networking is encouraged during the event.
The Washington Retail Association, WRA, is a 501 C 6 trade association formed to advocate for Washington State’s retailers at the local, state and national level. Since 1987, the WRA has protected Washington's retailers from unreasonable taxes, fees, regulations and legislation. The efforts of the WRA benefit all Washington state retailers and help fuel statewide economic growth.
