| May 2016 | Past Issues | Printer-Friendly | Advertise | Affiliates Search | Find a Pest Control Operator | PCOC.org |
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EVP NOTES
Exciting times at PCOC! PCOC has hired an Interim Executive Vice President. Ed Hardenbrook has a background in education, having served in various campus leadership positions in Denver and the Sacramento area. Most recently, he started a new campus for Charter College in Fife, Washington and served as Campus President until he retired in 2015. He has managed the construction of a 50,000-square-feet building for Heald College in Roseville. He served our military as a Captain in the United States Army, and he holds degrees in Business Administration and Marketing, along with a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management. He has also served as chair and director of various boards in the Roseville area. Ed brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to help us implement policies and systems that will make PCOC more efficient and improve our members’ experience and interaction with PCOC. He also will be instrumental in managing the building upgrades that are needed at our West Sacramento office.
Local PCOC members in the Sacramento area have stepped up in a big way. Members such as Clark Pest Control, Neighborly and Target Specialty Products have all donated labor and material to help spruce up the office in the last couple of weeks. Mike Bullert, your President-Elect, has been at the PCOC office almost full time during this transition. The sense of volunteerism and self-sacrifice is a defining aspect of PCOC, and a good reason why I am so proud to serve as President of PCOC.
 Upcoming events: I encourage everyone to support the 50/50 raffle that will raise funds to do building upgrades such as roof, parking lot, and interior repairs. Contact your district chair or one of your suppliers for details or tickets.
PCOC EXPO: Also, please plan on attending our EXPO in Hawaii next month. We have an exciting schedule lined up and EXPO is always the highlight of our events.
Again, thank you for all your support. If you have any questions, please call any member of the Executive Committee or myself at my office at (909) 877-1810. Matt Evans
President, PCOC
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
I am very pleased to report our most successful Legislative year to date! Early this year Assembly Member Bloom introduced AB2596, a bill that would ban all second generation rodenticides in the state of California. This is the worst bill that we have seen in the last 10 years and would have had catastrophic effects on public health and huge sectors of California's food industry. The bill quickly gained national attention as other states are quick to follow where California goes. PCOC went right to work. Coordinating with our legislative advocate, Dominic Dimare and the great legal staff at NPMA, we developed a clear message of opposition and a strategy to carry that message to the Capitol. We formed an industry coalition and then expanded that coalition to include over 20 different groups from the Ag, Food Industry and Public Health sector. We mobilized our members for the largest Leg Days event in a dozen years, and as a result the author voluntarily pulled the bill rather than see it lose the vote. This upset the sponsors so much that they sent a group of over 20 people to our meeting at the Capitol to protest PCOC with signs and bull horns. The good news does not stop there. The three bills that we helped sponsor with the Structural Pest Control Board to improve the Structural Pest Control Act are moving through the legislature on consent. This means that there is no opposition to them. We expect all three to be signed by the governor this year. We still have a lot of important work to do this year. While our Rodenticide Task Force will continue on, we have also formed a task force at the request of DPR to look at the use of Fipronil on the exterior of structures. Like pyrethroids, Fipronil has been found in surface water and we are looking at ways to keep Fipronil where we put it. I would like to thank all of you who attended our Legislative Days and helped with our grassroots opposition to AB 2596. I would also like to thank Dominic Dimare and his staff for leading our efforts inside the Capitol building and helping to build such an effective coalition. Thanks to the staff at NPMA for providing critical technical help and national attention and support. Most of all I would like to thank our members who have supported PAPCO and PCOC over the years with time and money. This great outcome belongs to all of you and I look forward to continued success as we work together. IN THE NEWS
 We have some exciting news about a few updates to the Expo. This year, the exhibit hall will open immediately following the Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, June 23, 2016. The new hall hours for Thursday will be 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. At the banquet on Saturday night, we are having a mini-luau with the Pacific Rim Polynesian buffet dinner, dancers, and musicians. Wear your best luau attire! The early-bird deadline is fast approaching, so book your room and register for the Expo. If you plan on attending and have not registered yet, let us know. We will be more than happy to save a spot for you.
 EXPO REGISTRATION DEADLINE APPROACHING! REGISTER NOW! UPCOMING EVENTS
HPCA Annual Golf Tournament- June 22,2016
PCOC Expo 2016- June 23-25, 2016
Waikiki Beach Marriot- Honolulu, Hawaii Hotel Reservations Attendee Registration Board of Directors Meeting- September 21-24,2016 Red Lion Hotel Redding, Redding, California Board of Directors Meeting- December 9-10, 2016 Hilton Palm Springs, Palm Springs, California 
Comings and Goings
Welcome to a new section of Newsbriefs! Here, we will give news from our members: new hires, retirements, etc. If you have some news you would like to share, please send a short sentence or two to breann@pcoc.org. 
MEMBER NEWS
MEMBER VALUE PROGRAM
PCOC MONTHLY INSURANCE/SAFETY TIP
Preventing and Handling Fraudulent Claims How much does claimant fraud cost employers? Nobody knows for sure, but some people have estimated that as many as 30 percent of all claims involve some fraud. In California, the state's workers' compensation insurance fraud program identified 5.151 suspected fraud cases during Fiscal Year 2012-13. Potential loss amounted to more than $21.2 million. Preventing Fraud The first place to fight workers' comp fraud is on the front line — with your employees. They need to believe that the company is committed to a safe, healthy work environment. They need to know they are receiving good training, so they can perform their jobs in a consistently safe manner. Next, your employees should understand the role of workers' comp insurance and that it represents a significant cost to the company. Employees need to understand that the claims costs are ultimately paid by the company. These expenses affect profits and can contribute to cost-cutting measures, especially in a tough economy. Finally, let employees know that workers' comp fraud is a felony in California (and most other states), and that you will prosecute any employees who try to defraud the company. Workers' compensation insurers aggressively pursue fraud as well. Warning Signs of Fraud Certain signs could indicate that an employee is committing workers' comp fraud. Any one sign may not indicate a problem, but if you see several, you need to investigate. Be aware of employees who:
Handling Suspected Fraud If you suspect fraud or malingering, contact your claims adjuster with any evidence. He or she will likely contact the claimant's treating physician to get additional information on the claimant's condition and physical limitations. If those inquiries are inconclusive, he or she might bring in an insurance investigator. If warranted, an investigator may covertly watch the claimant to see if he or she does activities that would be ruled out by the claimed injuries. Any investigation can create privacy concerns if not handled appropriately: • Use an investigator with experience in handling workers' compensation cases. A licensed professional should know the applicable state and federal privacy laws, which will help you avoid claims you invaded your employee's privacy. • Be clear what you want the investigation to achieve. For a workers' compensation claim, you would probably want to determine whether an employee is working for pay while supposedly disabled or doing activities that would be proscribed by his/her condition. • Determine your budget. Surveillance can be time-consuming and expensive. Weigh the costs of the claim with the cost of surveillance. • Know what an investigator can and cannot do. An investigator can generally make video recordings in a public location, but California prohibits the installation or use of audio or video devices in private places without the permission of the people being recorded. For more information on handling workers’ compensation claims, please contact the PCOC Insurance Program department of EPIC at (877) 860-7378 or, email us @ ProPest@epicbrokers.com. Also check out: www.pcocinsurance.com.
NEW MEMBERS
FREQUENTLY REQUESTED INFORMATION
*NEW* NPMA LOGIN FOR JOINT MEMBERSHIP LOGIN: Email or Personal ID PASSWORD: npma Department of Fish & Game Department of Food & Agriculture Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)
www.cdpr.ca.gov DPR on Facebook www.facebook.com/capesticideregulation DPR on YouTube (see "playlists" for videos pertaining to new surface water regulations) www.youtube.com/user/californiapesticides DPR on Twitter twitter.com/ca_pesticides DPR LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/california-department-of-pesticide-regulation Healthy Schools Act http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm/ Structural Pest Control Board www.pestboard.ca.gov Find Your Legislator |
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Pest Control Operators of California |
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