Msboa march 2015

Volume 45 Issue 3 • March 2015

OperatorThe

DVS Issues with Child Check AlarmsDriver and Vehicle Services has been seeing an increase in issues with Child Check Alarms as they license applicants forthe School Bus License. In some cases, applicants are using a bus that was dropped off by a trainer and the applicant isunfamiliar with the vehicle. As a result, sometimes the Child Check system is activated during the course of the test andcannot turn it off.

DVS understands that due to the nature of the school bus business the same bus used during training is not always avail-able during certain times or days. They have attempted to come up with a practical response to this issue.

If the Child Check is activated during the pre-trip inspection, applicants will have 5 minutes to turn off the alarm. If they getit off during that time period, there will be no harm done and they can continue with the test. If they cannot get the alarm offin five minutes or need help from their trainer or the examiner, they will fail the pre-trip inspection. If there is still time, theycan go on to the road test. If the Child Check is activated during the road test, the same 5 minute window will apply. If theycannot get the alarm off, they will fail the road test.

If the Child Check alarm is activated during the posttest conference and the applicant cannot de-activate it, they will moveto another location to complete the conference. The trainer or examiner will be able to help the applicant without a penaltyat this point. DVS feels like this situation mirrors a school bus route in which the driver would be able to get help from amechanic or other staff at the terminal.

DVS does have some suggestions for improving the percentage of passing scores:Make sure that the driver is familiar with the vehicle. There are many child check systems out there and they all vary. Makesure the driver knows the vehicle they will test in.

According to Kathleen Childs, Sr. Program Administrator, drivers used to come in trained with a broom handle or other itemto point to the items on the check list. Since this went away, some applicants have struggled. A flashlight would also be per-mitted.

There has been some misinformation about the pre-trip check list. Drivers are not required to go in the order of the checklist. In fact, they suggest that you do not use that order. The form that is permitted for the test is in the driver’s manual. Theycannot use one that has notes on it, but they can use a clean copy and cross off items as they are covered.

If you would like to have a state examiner come out to talk to your trainer about commonly missed items, contact [email protected]. They suggest that you contact other trainers in the area so they can cover a larger group.

As of January, it is not required for school bus drivers to carry their medical card. However…it doesn’t hurt if they do.

Eight new examiners are coming into the testing program. DVS is currently looking at their schedule to see if they can pro-vide additional road tests.

If you would like access to driver records, the contact is [email protected] There are associated charges withthis service. However, if your school district is willing to do the checks, there is no charge.

DVS Reminders

Marching to Spring (hopefully?)

March madness will be in full swing by the time you are reading this.Some of us are extra busy as we prepare to transport our local teams andfans to various tournaments around the state. Hopefully the weather willtreat us well and the normal “State Tournament” storms will miss us. Onecan only hope for the best.

During our fall board meeting we all realized that we were all struggling to train, find, and license drivers.A real shortage seemed to exist. After meeting a couple more times we felt we needed to get in touch withDPS & DVS to discuss some of the challenges we are all experiencing trying to get enough new and olddrivers through the system and ready to drive our respective buses. The meetings have been productiveand informative and we hope the outcome will serve us all well. Meeting with the various departmentheads is something we often talk about but never get around to, when in reality it is the best thing we cando. They also have shortages and issues trying to get all the Federal changes and mandates that theyare given put into effect. Our job as an Association is to work with and through them to try and make allof our jobs go easier. Thanks to all parties involved for their time and effort in getting the meetings puttogether. Lt. Brian Rue & Deb Carlson & Shelly Jonas & Tom Keliher and all the board members whoworked on these get togethers need to be proud of what they have accomplished. Hopefully the Legisla-ture will also help us out some by the time this session is over.

Make sure to try and attend the Outreach sessions sponsored by the MSBOA & MAPT and the MN High-way Patrol CDL Unit. They have worked hard to make sure the new info gets out to all our members andthe info is good for all to hear. Education is the key to keeping up with the times as we go forward in thisindustry.

Now is also the time to start the process of nominating worthy drivers, mechanics or office staff for theTransportation Specialist awards which will be given out at the upcoming summer conference. Let’s makeit hard to pick this year by having many nominations to pick from. Every one of us as operators has thesepeople in our organizations and they need to be recognized.

Enjoy the March Madness and may the best teams win!Stay Safe and Be Kind!Sincerely,Rudy Lundahl, President of MSBOA

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BBOardOard OFOFddirecTOrsirecTOrs

RAYME BERNICk, DELANO

7763.972.3991/CELL [email protected]

ROBBIE ELLIOT, MOORHEAD


CONNIE GRISIM, STEWARTVILLE


DOUG GRISIM, LAkE CITY


TOM HEY, MARSHALL

507.532.4043 /CELL [email protected]

kEN INSELMANN, WILLMAR


SHELLY JONAS, ANNANDALE

320.274.8313 / CELL 612.599.0431

[email protected]

BRIAN kOCH, WACONIA


JIM kOONST, BELLE PLAINE

952.873.2362 / CELL [email protected]

STEVE LATOUR, ST. PAUL


RUDY LUNDAHL, DULUTH


MICHAEL PUTzkE, PAYNESVILLE

320.243.4455 / fAX [email protected]

GARRETT REGAN, FARIBAULT

507.334.5121/ CELL 651.470.7948

[email protected]

JOSH SCHIFFLER, CROSBY


BETHANY SCHUBERT, SAINT STEPHEN


PAUL WINTERFELDT, PERHAM

218.346.4599 / CELL 218-298-1825 [email protected]

The OperatorMISSION STAT E ME NT:

THE PURPOSE OF THE OPERATOR

IS TO PROVIDE THE MEMBERSHIP

OF THE MINNESOTA SCHOOL BUS

OPERATORS ASSOCIATION WITH

INFORMATION REGARDING

CURRENT INDUSTRY ISSUES.

THE OPERATOR IS PUBLISHED 11

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10606 HEMLOCk ST. NW •

ANNANDALE, MN 55302.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL

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subscriptions Are $24.00 A

yeAr. COPYRIGHT 2015

MEMBERS MAY MAkE PHOTO-

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SOURCE IS CITED.

CO-EDITORS:

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JONAS

LAYOUT & DESIGN: SHARI DANzEISEN

VIEWS PRESENTED IN THISNEWSLETTER MAY NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THEOPINIONS OF THE ENTIRE MEM-BERSHIP OR ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

PRESIDENT

RuDy LunDAHL

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

JoSH SCHIffLER

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

BRIAn KoCH

TREASURER

ToM HEy

From the PresidentRudy LundahlVoyageur Bus Company, Duluth, MN

It is the last week of february in Min-nesota. Stating that “it is cold outside”has been very common place thismonth. At the State Capitol, the StateSenate is operating with 2/5 of thespace previously available as officespace and committee hearing roomsduring the two year State Capitolrestoration project. The 2015 Legisla-tive Session is just over one monthold, and the pace and flow of proposedLegislation is just starting to pick up.The Governor’s budget proposalshave just been presented to the DfLcontrolled State Senate and the GoPState House. next week the forecastfor the State’s financial outlook will bemade public. The “March” forecast willbe utilized by the Legislature to estab-lish the budget parameters “targets”that each spending area: education,transportation, environment, state gov-ernment, and health care committeeswill have available to fund the func-tions of State government. Talk ofincreasing of the State’s “rainy day”fund with some surplus dollars and/orreturning excess revenues to taxpay-ers are increasing.

At this time of a Legislative Sessionthe introduction of Legislative propos-als to change or create State Lawsincreases by roughly 250 proposalsper week. At the current time there are1000 proposals in the State Senateand 1150 proposals in the StateHouse. Many are duplicates, due tothe fact that a Legislative bill proposalmust be introduced, reviewed, andvoted favorably in the House and Sen-ate before it is sent to the Governor forhis approval or veto. In order to havea timely process for Legislation to beheard and considered, the Legislatureadopts a joint rule declaring the Com-mittee Deadlines that Legislative pro-posals must meet time constraints topositively move forward through thecommittee processes. This year theCommittee Deadline begins on March

20, and requires proposals to passfavorably out all policy committees, inthe State House or the State Senatethat have an interest or jurisdictionover a proposal. Two weeks later pro-posals must have cleared favorably allpolicy committees in each Legislativebody. This is a long time tradition thatcreates a funnel to wean out the meri-torious bills from those that do nothave enough Legislative support tomove through the Legislative process.During the last few weeks MSBoA hasbeen working with staff and membersof the Legislature to introduce, as Leg-islative proposals, three bills that mayhelp with driver shortage issues relat-ed to licensing, background checkdelays, and student safety. MSBoAhas worked to find Legislative authorsthat support our thoughts for three pro-posals that have been introduced forconsideration. (The Legislative Billnumbers and full list of authors will beavailable Monday, february 23.)

The first of MSBoA’s three proposalsis to find a faster and quicker way toget drivers on the road. There havebeen anecdotal stories, by members,that the Bureau of Criminal Apprehen-sion BCA) is slow and is creating longtime delays in the processing of back-ground checks for prospective new dri-vers. MSBoA is proposing that inaddition to utilizing the backgroundcheck process at the BCA, Driver andVehicle Services would accept a fBIfingerprint check, or an internet back-ground check from a list of vendorsapproved by the Commissioner ofPublic Safety. This proposal wouldallow the Department of Vehicle Ser-vices to issue a temporary Commer-cial Drivers’ License, with an “S”endorsement based on these othersources while the BCA check is stillbeing conducted.

During the fall and early JanuaryMSBoA’s Board met to address issues

facing our industry. The Backgroundcheck bottle neck was one issue. Thesecond issue to become apparent isthe overall time it takes to take askills/road test and the written test inorder to complete your application fora Commercial Drivers’ License with an“S” endorsement. In Minnesota, thereare 68 3rd Party testers that take theplace of Diver and Vehicle Servicesregarding the road test and the writtenknowledge test. Two of these 3rdParty testers are school districts.School districts under current law, withpermission from the Commissioner ofPublic Safety, may conduct road andwritten test for other school districts.

Continued on page 7.

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FMCSA Issues Notice on

obstructive Sleep Apnea (oSA)There have been a number of complaints about medical examiners misinterpreting the guidance or screening requirementsconcerning sleep apnea when completing a DoT Physcial. There have been stories about all people with a neck size larg-er than a 17 going to get sleep studies as well as requests for printouts, treatment plans and upgrade requirements relatingto the CPAP machine in order to receive a DoT Physical Card.

As a result of these complaints, the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (fMSCA) has issued a bulletin to clarify theirstance. The fMCSA does not change its guidelines, but is making the attempt to state that it was never their intent was torequire additional testing on drivers. If a medical examiner believes the driver’s respiratory condition is in any way likely tointerfere with the driver’s ability to safely control and drive a commercial motor vehicle, the driver should be referred to a spe-cialist for further evaluation and therapy.

The fMSCA directs medical examiners to exercise their medical judgment and expertise in determining whether a driverexhibits risk factors for having oSA and in determining whether additional information is needed before making a decisionwhether to issue the driver a medical certificate and the duration of that medical certification.

The Agency does not require that these drivers be considered unfit to continue their driving careers; only that the medicalexaminer make a determination whether they need to be evaluated and, if warranted, demonstrate they are managing theiroSA to reduce the risk of drowsy driving.

further, the fMCSA urges medical examiners to explain clearly to drivers the basis for their decision concerning the issuanceof a medical certification for a period of less than two years or the denial of a medical certification.

The full notice can be found on the national Registry website.

https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/nRPublicuI/ResourceCenterHome.seam

5

Kelly Wosika at the Minnesota Department

of education School Finance has been pro-

moted to another position in the Depart-

ment. Her replacement in School Finance is

Julie Belisle. Belisle has previous school

transportation experience with North

Branch Schools.

Her contact information is 651-582-8265 or

[email protected]

New Contact for MDe

(School Finance)

Driver TrainingBy Doug Grisim, Bluff Country School Bus Service, Lake City, MN

I have had the opportunity over the last 6 weeks to train a new employee that we don’t often see walk through our doors. Ihad heard through some mutual friends that he wanted to get his school bus license after retiring from the St Paul PoliceDepartment. The process began much like working with a new driver with zero experience driving a vehicle larger than a van.It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was going to be a very rewarding experience for both myself and Scott. I could tellthat he was taking everything that we said very seriously and let me know right away that he wanted to be successful the firsttime with all tests.

one little glitch was that he was currently running for the sheriff’s position in our local county and he was going to have to waita couple of months before beginning his studying. (I hate to admit it but I was hoping thathe did not win the election). The rest of the process went as planned and he received hislearners permit. We began our behind the wheel training and pre trip inspection trainingand I could sense that he was very nervous and had a lot of self-doubt in his abilities tocomplete the task.

After approximately 12 hours of behind the wheel and 4 thorough pre trip inspectionprocesses he told me that after all of his years of being a St. Paul Police officer, whichincluded annual training in several areas, he had never seen such extensive and thoroughpractices. This left him with a lot of self-doubt whether he could successfully complete thepre-trip and road test. I knew at this point I had to focus on getting this guy confidentenough to pass.

After successfully completing all of the tests he shared with me that he is surprised that weeven get people who want to be bus drivers, given the extensive training that took place.I shared with him some of our difficulties in finding credible applicants but our industry iscommitted to keeping great people like him in the seats of our school buses.

I know you all have stories like this out there and we should be and are, proud of the suc-cessful training we do to ensure Minnesota’s school children are safe.

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A COnTInuIng SerIeS OF BOArD COMMenTArIeS

News and Views

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The MSBOA is offering a new benefit through GM Fleet & Commercial. Many of the vehicles you buy

including pick-ups, vans, and SUV’s are available at a discount for MSBOA Members. Go to www.

msboa.com for all of the information. Included is a list of all the vehicles eligible for the discount and how

much the discount is. There is also a form online on our website for you to print out and bring to your deal-

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MSBoA would like to have the same option to conduct road and written tests for other members of MSBoA who do notemploy their own 3rd Party testers. In Wisconsin and north Dakota the only method to obtain a CDL is through a 3rd partyvendor. These States do not provide road or written CDL testing. MSBoA’s proposal would remove some of the burdens ofbecoming and maintaining 3rd Party testing credentials and would allow MSBoA members to test other bus companyemployees with the permission of the Commissioner of Public Safety.

MSBoA is always working to promote and create safe student transportation. This year MSBoA is working to strengthenthe State’s crossing arm violation laws. Each year the State Patrols around the country organize a “one day” survey of stoparm violators. In each of the last five years, on one day, Minnesotans violate the crossing arm Statute 400 times. Some ofthe violations are very egregious and as seen on local Television and youTube strongly suggest that Minnesota’s drivers reg-ularly ignore the Stop Arm laws. MSBoA is working to increase the fine from $300 to $500, which would make Stop Arm Vio-lations the most expensive moving violation in the State. Also, MSBoA is proposing that violators attend a driver improve-ment class or a distracted driver class. finally, a provision that applies to CDL drivers prohibits an agency or a Judge from“masking” or reducing to a lesser moving violations. This “masking” Prohibition MSBoA would like to have applied to thecrime of passing a school bus with the stop arm extended and the red lights on. Making it less likely that the violator wouldplead guilty to a lesser charge, and that the true moving violation of passing a school bus with the stop arm extended wouldbe placed on the violators driving record.

Two other Legislative proposals of interest pertain to TyPE III vehicles and Transportation funding. A member of the Sen-ate wanted to raise the limit or size of vehicles that would be considered a TyPE III vehicle to include box style vans thatseat 15 or more and have a gross vehicle weight of up to 26,000 pounds. This proposal is in violation of federal Rule andis not going to move forward. A local school district wanted to “rent” these larger vehicles from a local business for use asTyPE III vehicles. And a Student Transportation funding increase for the Bemidji area due to their sparcity of students andthe distance between schools and students residences is once again being considered.

There is a big push at the State Capitol to increase the monies available for roads, bridges, and transit in Minnesota. TheGovernor and the Senate DfL have proposed to create a sales tax on motor fuels. Currently, Minnesota has 49.5 cents perGallon State and federal gas tax. The DfL/Governor proposal would keep that per gallon tax, and then add a 6.5% salestax on the price of gas at the wholesale level. In today’s prices at $2.20 for gasoline, the new tax would add 17 cents to eachgallon. If the price of fuel were to increase to $3.00 or $4.00 a gallon the increase in the gas tax could reach 30 cents. Cur-rent law’s tax is per gallon, not per price of the gallon. The difference in the growth ofthe tax paid by a consumer is dramatically increased when calculated as a sales tax ver-sus a per gallon flat tax. This sales tax on motor fuels proposal is not likely to pass theState House and will be pushed hard in the State Senate. Prospects for the immediatefuture are unlikely.

MSBoA is encouraging all members to begin to discuss obsticables to running your busi-ness with your local State House and State Senators. MSBoA is committed to address-ing the concerns of members regarding State Legislation and current State Law. Muchof the success that MSBoA has is due to the communication between MSBoA membersand members of the State Legislature. Stay Tuned! MSBoA members will be contact-ed soon with the Legislative Bill numbers and authors of the proposal MSBoA supports.We will be encouraging MSBoA to contact their Legislators to enlist your local Legisla-tors support.

If members have any questions or comments,please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or call me at 612-723-5168.

7

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As a valued member of Minnesota School BusOperator's Association, you are entitled to usingThomas Revnew of Seaton, Peters & RevnewLegal Hotline free of charge. During each sixmonth period, you will be entitled to two free fif-teen-minute telephone calls to the Hotline.MSBOA encourages you to use this free service.When using the hotline, please follow the follow-

ing procedure:

1. Call Tom Revnew's direct dial, which is (952) 921-4622.

2. Identify yourself, your company name and that you are a client of MSBOA.

3. If Tom Revnew is not available, please leave a voicemail with the information described above and Tom will return the call as soon as possible.

4. If Tom Revnew is not available and your call is an emergency, please dial "0" when you receive Tom's voicemail and you will be transferred to the receptionist.

Need legal Help? It’s Just a

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THoMAS BUIlT BUS NAMeS PHoTo CoNTeST WINNeRSLocal Student Wins Big!

Excelsior, Mn, february 2, 2015– Thomas Built Buses has announced the 2014 Back to School Photo Contest Winners.There were five winners picked nationwide from K-12 students. Among the five is Katie Martin, a kindergarten student fromClear Springs Elementary. Katie’s Mom snapped the photo as she started her first day of school.

Telin Transportation Group, the local Thomas dealer, presented a check to the Clear Spring Elementary on behalf of ThomasBuilt Buses. Curt Carpenter, the school’s principal, says Katie’s class will have input as to how the $2,000 donation is spent.

Look for the 2015 photo contest details in August at https://www.facebook.com/thomasbuiltbuses. If you would like more

information, please contact Linda Telin at 952-435-9060 or email at [email protected].

Federal Overtime Regulations Could Change SignificantlyBy Attorneys Thomas R. Revnew and Andrew G. Chase

Later this month, the united States Department of Labor (“DoL”) is expected to issue proposed revisions to the existing over-time regulations that could significantly change the rules regarding eligibility for overtime under the fair Labor Standards Act(“fLSA”). Last March, President obama signed a memorandum directing the Secretary of Labor to, “modernize and stream-line the existing overtime regulations”, which were last updated in 2004. Specifically, the President instructed the DoL toaddress the overtime exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees to “address the changing natureof the workplace.”

Generally, the fLSA requires employers to pay overtime to all employees unless an employee falls under a specific exemp-tion. The fLSA provides exemptions to its overtime requirement for an employee who is employed in a bona fide executive,administrative or professional capacity. It is the employer’s burden to show that an employee satisfies every element of anexemption’s multi-part test, which are as follows:

Executive Exemption• The employee must be compensated on a salary basis of at least $455 per week;• The employee’s primary duty must be managing the enterprise in which he or she is employed or managing a customarilyrecognized department or subdivision of the enterprise;• The employee must customarily and regularly direct the work of two or more other employees; and,• The employee must have the authority to hire or fire other employees, or the employee’s suggestions and recommenda-tions regarding hiring, firing, advancement, promotion, etc., must be given particular weight.

Administrative Exemption• The employee must be compensated on a salary basis of at least $455 per week;• The employee’s primary duty must be performing office or non-manual work directly related to the management or gener-al business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and,• The employee’s primary duty must also involve exercising discretion and indepen-dent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

Professional Exemption• The employee must be compensated on a salary basis of at least $455 per week;and,• The employee’s primary duty must be performing work that requires either: (a)knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquiredby a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction; or (b) invention, imagi-nation, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor.

All of the exemptions listed above require that the employee be paid a fixed minimumsalary of at least $455 per week (called the “salary basis” test). In addition, eachexemption has its own specific set of job duties the employee must perform (calledthe “duties” test).

These exemptions have long been a source of litigation, as well as a source of con-fusion for employers. one of President obama’s stated goals is to, “simplify the reg-ulations to make them easier for both workers and businesses to understand andapply.”

Continued on Page 11.

Legal Notes 9

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10

When a driver runs a yellow or red stop-light, they endanger themselves andevery other vehicle at the intersection.Granted, people have the safety ofairbags and steel frame construction toprotect them in the case of an accident,but running traffic signals is still danger-ous.

now picture this scenario: A big yellowschool bus filled with children is aheadof that same driver. The bus slowsdown, turns on the red flashing lightand stops. The SToP arm swings out,but nothing happens.

The impatient driver behind the bus fig-ures that he has time to pass, so hepulls out and drives on by, just as afourth-grader and his little sister stepout to cross the street from the front ofthe bus....

There are direct, apparent reasons whymotorists are not allowed to pass aschool bus that is stopped on the road.It is against the law and puts childrendirectly in harm’s way.

How is it, then, that there have been 11cases of “runners” − drivers blowing bya school bus stop arm − in only the firstthree months of school plus the firstweek of December?

Were that figure for the entire state ofMinnesota, it would still be unaccept-able. Were it for all of Goodhue or olm-sted County, it would still be alarming.But the fact is, 11 drivers blew past 11school buses dropping off children inthe Kenyon-Wanamingo School Dis-trict.

Held Bus Co. owner Jon Held helps toput the number in perspective. Duringthe entire 2012-2013 school year, therewere 12 instances of runners; one ortwo each month. This year so far, therehas been an average of one eachweek.

In one instance, a driver on Hwy. 60westbound passed a bus on the shoul-der of the road − the side that kids getoff from. on two other occasions, two

vehicles went through past a SToParm.

“This is the issue − kids’ lives andsafety − and it scares the heck out ofme that one day we are gonna have aterrible situation,” said Held.

How does it happen?

People might be quick to point the fin-ger at young, inexperienced drivers orelderly drivers, but the fact is thatoffenders have been all across the agespan.

Held said the number of runners isdrastically on the rise compared to evenfive or 10 years ago. Why? He saidpeople simply aren’t paying attention totheir driving.

Bus drivers see people texting all thetime. Sometimes motorists go over thecenter line, correct themselves, and aretexting again as they pass the schoolbus.

Speeding, pressure to be somewhereon time and tailgating are also pertinentproblems. Held said that if people are ina hurry, they should plan ahead andleave the house even five minutes ear-lier.

Additionally, people can plan their dailycommute time and route to avoid beingbehind school buses.

“People just don’t seem to understandhow serious this is. I’m not scolding,just laying out the facts. This is out ofhand,” said Held.

Some bus companies have specialcameras on the bus that are triggeredwhen the school bus stops. The Min-nesota Department of Safety has avideo on youTube of a semi trailerblowing past a stopped school bus onthe right side. Looking at the recording,it is clear to see a young person stand-ing on that same side, waiting to getonto the bus.

Minnesota school buses make at least

10,000 school bus trips daily. Accordingto the national Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration, buses are the safestmode of transportation for children.Kids are 8x safer riding in a bus thanany other mode of transportation.

The problem is the danger zone. Theoffice of Traffic Safety, which is a divi-sion of the Mn Dept. of Safety, revealsthat more children are killed outside ofa school bus than they are as bus occu-pants. It is important that motoristsanticipate kids entering and leaving abus, as that is where most injuries anddeaths occur.

Runners are reported

In School District 196, Held has devel-oped a communication with drivers andlaw enforcement to crack down on run-ners.

The first step is for a driver to note thelicense plate, make and model andnumber of passengers of a vehicle thatillegally passes the school bus and putskids in danger. The driver radios Held,who immediately looks at the clock tonote the exact time.

He takes the license plate number andinformation, as well as the direction thevehicle was traveling. Held drives hisown car to go intercept the offendingvehicle and get a visual confirmation.from there he calls the information in tothe authorities and it is given to theappropriate local, county or state policedepartment. The driver’s identity isanonymous; the license plate numberand vehicle description are given.

“It’s easy to get caught running a schoolbus,” said Kenyon Police Chief LeeSjolander.

All calls are investigated and suspectsare interviewed. officers will issue aticket on the spot, and fines range fromaround $150-$200. Sjolander said ifthere are kids outside the bus in thedanger zone, the charges jump to agross misdemeanor -one step below afelony and a very serious crime.

Drivers Need to Respect the School Bus Stop Arm by

Paying More Attention By Terri Lenz of The Kenyon Leader

ed. note: this article is a good example of an informational piece you can have your local newspaper print to getthe safety message across to the public. submitted by: Jon Held, Held bus company in Kenyon-Wanamingo.

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MSBoA Drug Testing ProgramThe MSBoA has teamed up with Clinical Research Labs foryour drug testing needs as required for DoT testing. The pro-gram was designed to support the MSBoA and to help controlcosts for its members. for more information or to join the pro-gram contact: William Coens

[email protected] [email protected]

eMPloyMeNT PRACTICeS lIABIlITy INSURANCeChubb Insurance, one of the largest EPL carriers in the coun-try, has partnered with the MSBoA and Ahmann-Martin to pro-vide a cost effective EPLI policy option containing all the typicalprotections often found within EPL policies along with a fewother additional protections. Claims such as “wrongful dis-charge” claims, wage and hour and immigration claims are cov-ered under this policy. Additionally, Chubb and Ahmann-Martinhave agreed to share a portion of their profits with the MSBoAarising out of the sale of this product to the membership. fur-thermore the policy will allow members to choose Seaton,Peters and Revnew as their legal counsel, if they wish, todefend against any employment-related lawsuit rather thanbeing appointed to the insurance company’s counsel who maynot have experience in the transportation industry. Jake omann, Ahmann-Martin Risk and Benefits Consulting7555 Market Place Drive, Eden Prairie, Mn 55344D: 952-947-9747| C: [email protected]

Trusted employees has put together a special offer for

MSBoA Members. We will be posting the information on ourwebsite. Make sure to log in the Members Benefit section formore details.

International onCommand Account Hoglund Bus Company has provided access to anyone who isa member of the MSBoA to International’s onCommand ICBus Service Portal. you can look up warranty information anddiagnostic support.

Contact Linda Rein at Hoglund’s: 763-271-2950.

other BenefitsAdditionally, through our partnership with Business Advantagewe are able to offer savings at Grainger, office Max and officeDepot, HP as well as fuel at Holiday. All of these offers are onour website.

AC Delco/Factory Motor PartsThe MSBoA has partnered with AC/Delco factory Motor Partsto enable cost savings for you on your oEM parts.

Representatives from AC/Delco factory Motor Parts will be incontact with your operation to see if they can help you savemoney on parts.

MsBOa Member special OffersAs part of an on-going effort to supply you with added value to your MSBoA membership, we offer the following programs:

Specifically, the DoL is expected to overhaul both the salary basis test and the duties test. It is believed the DoL will increasethe minimum salary of the salary basis test. Some reports have indicated the DoL will seek to increase the salary basisthreshold from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) up to $808 per week ($42,000 per year). In addition, some members ofCongress are lobbying to increase the amount to as much as $1,327 per week ($69,000 per year). Regardless of how muchthe salary basis threshold increases, more employees will automatically become eligible for overtime.

Less is known, however, about how the DoL will attempt to change the duties tests. The last time the fLSA regulations wererevised in 2004, the revisions moved away from the use of quantitative, objective factors—such as the amount of time anemployee spends on exempt duties versus nonexempt duties—and shifted the focus to a more qualitative, subjective testlike the current “primary duties” analysis. Some observers, including the Secretary of Labor, have claimed this move creat-ed a loophole that allows employers to treat many workers as exempt despite the fact that the majority of their time is spentperforming nonexempt duties. Accordingly, it is possible that any changes to the duties test may include at least some formof return to an objective, time-based factor.

Two things are almost certain regarding the DoL’s proposed changes. first, the DoL’s proposed revisions are likely to nar-row the scope of the exemptions. Second, the number of employees eligible to receive overtime will increase. All proposedchanges to federal regulations must go through a relatively lengthy rulemaking process, and thus, not be effective until late2015 or 2016.

However, now may be a good time to review and reevaluate your exemption classification decisions to ensure current com-pliance with state and federal wage and hour laws. Violations of these laws can lead to significant backpay and attorney feeawards, which can be avoided through proactive review of payroll processes.

legal Notes Continued from Page 9.

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02MsBOa Planner

Save these dates!

Minnesota School Bus Safety Committee

Meets 3rd Weds. of every Month

Locations Vary

Contact: John Thomas 952-556-6161

Transportation Issues Study Committee

Meets 4th Weds. of every Month

Contact: Keith Paulson 763-506-1132

Office of Pupil Transportation Stakeholders

Quarterly Meetings Held, Dates Vary

Contact: Lt. Brian reu 651-405-6047

MSBOA Summer Conference

June 14-16, 2015

ruttger’s Sugar Lake Lodge

Cohasset, Mn

Northern RegionSergeant James Senenfeldernorthern Regional TrooperPhone (612) 360-5172E-mail: [email protected]

Metro RegionSergeant Paul DavisMetro / Central Regional TrooperPhone (612) 685-4820E-mail: [email protected]

Southern RegionSergeant Chad DauffenbachSouthern Regional TrooperPhone (507) 430-0791E-mail: [email protected]

MN State Patrol

ContactsListed to the right is contact infor-mation for the state troopers incharge of school bus transporta-tion.

Use this contact information!They are ready to help with anyquestions or concerns you mayhave!

MsBOa LeGaL HOTLiNe(952) 921-4622 • Tom Revnew at Seaton, Peters & Revnew

MSBoA office: www.msboa.comDriver/Vehicle Services (DVS): www.dps.mn.gov/divisions/dvsDVS (To Check Driver’s License Status): www.mndriveinfo.org

Department of Public Safety: www.dps.mn.govMn Statutes Search: www.revisor.mn.gov/search

DoT Drug and Alcohol Regulations: www.dot.gov/odapc

Quicklinks: Most Wanted Websites

Msboa march 2015

Documents

Transcript of Msboa march 2015