Welcome to the latest ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update, a biweekly roundup of the public policy issues currently impacting the full cleaning supply chain. This update touches on the upcoming 2023 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit and Clean & Cocktails Live, celebrating National Cleaning Week, ISSA asking members of Congress to intervene in the FTC’s recent bid to block most noncompete clauses, and more.

Want to stay informed about critical government affairs impacting the industry? Sign up here to have the ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update emailed directly to you every other week.

ISSA Advocacy

Two Must-Attend Events During National Cleaning Week
John Nothdurft, Director of Government Affairs at ISSA, along with Ricky Regalado, CEO of Route and Rozalado Services, are teaming up for National Cleaning Week, March 26-April 1, 2023. In this video, they describe the week and how the cleaning industry can take advantage of what’s on tap. Please note that time is running out to register for the summit–the registration cutoff date is March 21. Save your seat today! Learn more and register

Celebrating National Cleaning Week 2023
In this article, ISSA Government Affairs Director John Nothdurft encourages ISSA members to participate in National Cleaning Week, March 26-April 1, 2023. This is the fourth year in a row that ISSA is expanding public awareness of the industry’s positive impact on the economy and how cleaning improves public health. Learn more

ISSA Asks Congress to Step in on Noncompete Ban
ISSA signed onto a letter with more than 200 trade groups asking members of Congress to intervene in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) bid to block most noncompete clauses. Learn more

ISSA Opposes Minnesota PFAS Bill
ISSA signed onto a letter to the Minnesota Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee opposing legislation that would “impose broad reporting requirements on manufacturers of all products containing PFAS sold in Minnesota, ban the sale of products containing PFAS in a variety of product categories and establish a future regulatory scheme to ban additional product categories containing PFAS.” Learn more

EPA Safer Choice and the Cleaning Industry: The Next Big Move
In this episode of Straight Talk!, ISSA Media Director Jeff Cross chats with Jennie Romer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention, and David Widawsky, Division Director for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, on EPA’s Safer Choice program and the program’s impact on the cleaning industry. Learn more

ISSA Cleaning for Health Workshops
As a result of achieving a U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration grant award, all ISSA members now have access to exclusive frontline worker training. These free, in-person workshops, taking place across the country, provide the critical skills needed to close the gaps in current protection and controls for transmissible diseases. Learn more and register

Canada Revises Hazardous Products Regulations 
On January 4, 2023, the Department of Health in Canada published a final rule that significantly revises the nation’s Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR) to more closely align with the 7th edition of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The HPR is Canada’s federal regulation that sets forth the classification, labeling, and Safety Data Sheet requirements for hazardous products, including cleaning products, intended to be used, handled, or stored in workplaces in Canada. The current HPR is based on the fifth revised edition of the GHS. Learn more

Regulatory

New Pesticide Registration Fees Go into Effect
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notified pesticide registrants that the new pesticide registration service fees and decision timeframes specified in the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5) went into effect on February 27, 2023. Pesticide registration service fee tables in FIFRA section 33(b)(3)(B) are updated by PRIA 5, which also specifies that the fee tables will become effective 60 days after the date of enactment. Learn more

Services Provider Pays $1.5M for Child Labor Law Violations
Packers Sanitation Services Inc., a large food safety sanitation services provider, which was the focus of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation on child labor, paid US$1.5 million in penalties, Cleaning & Maintenance Management reported. Learn more

DOD Rule Limits PPE from China, Other Nations
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued an interim procurement rule, prohibiting the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE)—including disinfecting and sanitizing wipes–from four “non-allied” countries: China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, according to Troutman Pepper. Learn more

Biden Moves to Limit Asylum, Reduce Border Arrivals
The Biden administration published a proposed rule that would disqualify certain migrants from U.S. asylum and allow the government to deport them more quickly, saying that a major policy shift is necessary to curb unlawful migration to the southern border, CBS News reported. Learn more

Labor Board Limits Gag Clauses in Severance Agreements
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board ruled that laid-off workers cannot be required to sign agreements that contain confidentiality clauses and other provisions that could deter them from exercising their rights under federal labor law in exchange for receiving severance, according to Reuters. Learn more

State News

PFAS State Activity Tracker
With more than 100 PFAS-related bills and resolutions introduced in state legislatures since the end of last year, the recently enhanced Bloomberg Law PFAS State Activity Tracker is now accessible on a searchable and interactive table. Learn more