Representatives of ALCC joined other members of the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) visited Washington, DC last week for the landscape industry’s annual Renewal & Remembrance and Legislative Day on the Hill. Nearly 450 professionals participated in the Renewal & Remembrance day of service at Arlington National Cemetery, and nearly 100 of those participants were on hand the next day to meet with legislators.

Today, landscape professionals from across the nation have gathered in Washington, D.C. "to visit the offices of representatives and senators to discuss the issues that are vital to the future of the industry and to make sure our voice is heard on Capitol Hill." This initiative, known as Legislative Day on the Hill, is organized by National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP).

A delegation from ALCC has joined the group to represent the Colorado landscape industry. Issues to be addressed include:

• Comprehensive Immigration Reform
• The H-2B Program
• Seasonal Employee Healthcare
• Waters of the United States
• Pollinator Stewardship

You can follow the effort on Twitter by following NALP (@the_nalp) and the hashtags #landscapeadvocacy #nalpadvocates. You can also check for updates on NALP's page on Facebook.

ALCC will follow up after the event with an update about member participation in DC.

Previously on the LAB:
2015 Legislative Day on the Hill

This week, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY 2016 funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The bill includes the language below that would create an H-2B returning worker exemption for fiscal year 2016, which begins on October 1.

SEC. 561. Section 214(g)(9)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(9)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘2004, 2005, or 2006 shall not again be count- ed toward such limitation during fiscal year 2007.’’ and inserting ‘‘2013, 2014, or 2015 shall not again be counted toward such limitation during fiscal year 2016.’’

To supporters of this H-2B legislation: We will have a long way to go to preserve this language in a final appropriations measure later this year, but this is a very important first step. Please continue your H-2B outreach to lawmakers.

When ALCC launched its awards program, organizers chose to shine a spotlight on projects that demonstrate sustainability, stewardship, and innovation. The first recipient of the ELITE Irrigation Management Award was Schultz Industries, Inc. for their work at the Concha Townhomes in Denver, which reduced water consumption by 45%.

According to the Golden-based landscape company, Concha Townhomes was classified as “extremely water inefficient” by Denver Water and sought recommendations/proposals to get its irrigation consumption reduced and in line with Denver Water guidelines. Water was the largest HOA expense.

Think about your employee orientation experiences. What comes to mind? A long morning of paperwork? Listening to a member of HR walk you page-by-page through the employee handbook? A day stuck in a conference room signing disclaimers and other employee procedure forms?

When done robotically like this, employee orientation can discourage new hires. When handled creatively, employee orientation can be a fun and engaging experience that, according to research published in January 2015 in the journal Human Resource Management, results in higher job satisfaction and, as a result, higher motivation and commitment to the organization.

Sometimes it’s not so easy to tell.

Earlier this year, an unsuccessful bill came before the Colorado Legislature that would have simplified the test to determine whether a person was an independent contractor or employee. Senate bill S.B. 15-269 would have repealed current standards related to the determination of independent contractor status under the Employment Security Act (unemployment insurance, or UI) and established a multifactor test to determine whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor for the purposes of UI.

Residents in the City of Boulder and Boulder County may notice more than 65 purple and green boxes in trees along high-traffic roads. The boxes are traps aimed at identifying emerald ash borer (EAB). The pest, which has killed tens of millions of ash trees across the US, has been found in Boulder, and experts want to find out as soon as possible if EAB has spread into other areas.

Most business owners know that word-of-mouth is a powerful way to find new customers. In this digital age, social media has influenced the way consumers get word-of-mouth referrals. Online review sites have become part of the research process for many people when looking for products and services.

A recent study by Software Advice revealed that 38% of consumers begin with online review sites when researching residential service providers. 56% of consumers began by using search engines, which often point to online review sites in results for those searches.

Sometimes it’s not so easy to tell. 

Earlier this year, an unsuccessful bill came before the Colorado Legislature that would have simplified the test to determine whether a person was an independent contractor or employee. Senate bill S.B. 15-269 would have repealed current standards related to the determination of independent contractor status under the Employment Security Act (unemployment insurance, or UI) and established a multifactor test to determine whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor for the purposes of UI.

New H-2B Rules: Prior to the July 4 recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the fiscal 2016 Department of Labor Appropriations bill. No amendments were offered to try to strike the beneficial H-2B language included in the bill. The bill includes language that would:

• Address H-2B wages and allow the use of private wage surveys, which are not allowed under the new final H-2B wage rule;
• Clearly define seasonal as ten months, as opposed to the nine months in the new interim final H-2B comprehensive rule;
• Prevent DOL from implementing the provisions of the interim final rule related to corresponding employment and the ¾ guarantee;
• Prevent DOL from implementing the new and burdensome DOL enforcement scheme in the IFR related to audit and the Certifying Officer (CO) assisted recruitment; and
• Allow for the staggered crossing of seafood H-2B employees.