In California #DroughtShaming on social media is a hot trend as many people try to reduce water usage. A popular form of drought shaming involves posting photos of sprinklers spraying water on concrete, or irrigations systems running while it’s raining. There are many “smart” technologies available that can maximize water efficiency and put an end to those wasteful and embarrassing situations.

As the landscape industry in Colorado grows, some small businesses may have trouble meeting the increased demand for services. In order to expand your business, you need capital. But how to find the funding you need? The US Small Business Association (SBA) is a good place to start.

The SBA web site has information about how to secure financing throughout all stages of the business cycle. You’ll find resources for government contracting, loans, and venture capital.

Sixteen states and a number of state departments and authorities have filed lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the recent Clean Water Act Final Rule (“Waters of the US” or WOTUS). Colorado is a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, which claims that the Clean Water Rule affects or interferes with state sovereign authority. It also purports that additional requests related to the rule will create additional burden to state staff.

If you die with the most toys and fastest cars, have you succeeded?

Research shows that at the end of your life you will measure your success differently. In any event, dying with the fastest cars won’t get you in to heaven - and there is always someone with a faster car.

Use Jeffrey Scott's “wishes of a dying entrepreneur” as a checklist to make sure your career is giving you the life of your dreams.

Below are a few updates on the current happenings with the H2B program & grassroots action needed. Feel free to call Kristen Fefes at 303 757-5611 with questions or comments.

New H-2B Rules: Yesterday, 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:

• 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 H-2B employees.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding overtime eligibility for "white collar" employees:

With this proposed rule, the Department seeks to update the salary level required for exemption to ensure that the FLSA’s intended overtime protections are fully implemented, and to simplify the identification of nonexempt employees, thus making the executive, administrative and professional employee exemption easier for employers and workers to understand and apply.

The proposed rule extends overtime eligibility for nearly five million workers within the first year of its implementation. The DOL estimates that this change could cost employers an additional $1.2 billion per year. As proposed, the salary threshold would rise from $455 a week (the equivalent of $23,660 a year) to about $970 a week ($50,440 a year) in 2016. Details can be found in a fact sheet issued by DOL.

National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) has issued the following legislative alert regarding a recent investigation of herbicide 2,4-D:

Background

2,4-D, a chemical found in some herbicides used in the landscape industry, was recently reviewed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The group rated 2,4-D as 2B – a possible carcinogen. The 2,4-D Research Task Force responded, saying “the IARC classification of 2,4-D as a '2B – possible' carcinogen is at odds with comprehensive cancer reviews completed by health and safety regulators worldwide.”

A recent opinion issued by the Colorado Supreme Court has big implications in the workplace. The judges upheld the decision of the lower courts in Coats vs. DISH Network in a unanimous ruling on June 15, 2015. [Read the full ruling here.]

In the case, an employee who used medical marijuana—prescribed by a physician and legal in the state of Colorado—was fired under DISH’s drug-free workplace policy. The employee maintains that he used the drug outside of work hours and not on DISH property and felt that he was wrongfully terminated. The court maintained that since marijuana use violates federal law, DISH Network was within its rights to fire him.

Sustainable landscapes and pollinator friendly gardens are a popular topic these days. But for Colorado Vista Landscape Design (an ALCC Sustainable Landscape Partner), it is a way of life that has also become a marketing strategy.

Tanya Fisher, owner of Colorado Vista, has incorporated her passion for water-wise, sustainable habitats into every aspect of her business. By promoting the importance—and the benefits—of wildscaping, xeriscaping, and other sustainable practices, she is helping improve the local ecosystem while gaining new clients.

New Biological Control to Help Manage Emerald Ash Borer in Colorado

Over the next five weeks, more than a thousand stingless, parasitic wasps that target emerald ash borer (EAB) – a destructive, non-native tree pest that poses a serious threat to Colorado’s urban forests – will be released in Boulder to help control the borer’s spread.

This week, the interagency Colorado EAB Response Team* is coordinating the dispersal of the first 200 gnat-sized Oobius agrili, which target EAB eggs specifically, at known infested sites. This is the second species of EAB parasitoid to be released in Colorado. In 2014, the team released the stingless wasp Tetrastichus planipennisi, which instead targets EAB larvae developing under the bark of ash trees.