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CAA Highlights Legal Changes in California Employment Minimum wage rises to $12-$13. California Autobody Association: “Reminder that effective January 1, 2020, the minimum wage for employers with 26 or more employees will increase to $13.00 per hour. The minimum wage for employers with 25 or fewer employees will increase to $12.00. (SB 3 of 2017) Local minimum wage may be higher.” The median pay in California for auto body repairers was $48,830 in May 2018, the last year with federal data available. That’s well above $12 or $13. However, 10 percent of repairers made $26,900, which works out a little more than $12.93
an hour. It’s possible other positions within the shop typically make less than what the Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies as auto body repairers. That means some folks in California shops ought to be seeing a raise — or demanding one now that pay that previously had been above minimum wage no longer is. More time to start sexual harassment prevention training CAA: “Extends the original compliance deadline associated with SB 1343 (passed in 2018), which requires all employers with five or more See CAA Highlights, Page 14
Owner of CARSTAR Allstar Collision in CA Named 2019 Citizen of the Year by Stacey Phillips
Dean Seif, owner of CARSTAR Allstar Collision in Corona, CA, was named the 2019 Citizen of the Year by the CORONA Chamber of Commerce. The local businessman and philanthropist was recognized on February 6 during an awards ceremony held at Eagle Glen Golf Club in Corona. This is the 109th year the chamber has recognized individuals and local businesses. “I was absolutely honored to receive the Citizen of the Year award by the CORONA Chamber of Commerce,” said Seif, who has been in-
volved with the chamber for the last 15 years. “I feel special.” Bobby Spiegel, president and CEO of the CORONA Chamber, said Seif has an excellent background in creating processes. “To open a business, it takes more than financial stability; it takes planning, organization and determination,” said Spiegel. “Seif’s business runs very smoothly, and customers continually brag about the quality of customer service and workmanship, the fair pricing, and excellent turnaround time for repairing their vehicles.”
AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 38 / Issue 3 / March 2020
WICRA: New Collision Repair Industry Association in Washington Seeks to Educate Shops and Fight Legislative Battles by Chasidy Rae Sisk
A new association serving the collision repair industry in Washington got its start in late 2019 and continues to move forward with its goals to improve the industry in the state. The Washington Independent Collision Repair Association (WICRA) “is comprised of body shops from throughout Washington state. Our members believe in building an industry-wide network and strong relationships with others to achieve greater consistency and safety in industry practices, and therefore great-
er trust from consumers. We encourage the support and participation of vendors to foster our mission,” according to the association’s website.
The association’s formation is the passion project of WICRA President Jeff Butler who was inspired by See WICRA in Washington, Page 16
CIC Subcommittees Offer Competing Suggestions on How to Deal With “Opt-OE” Parts by John Yoswick
Heated exchanges that erupted during the “Parts and Materials Committee” presentation at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Las Vegas in November sounded “exactly what committee meetings feel like,” Aaron Schulenburg, committee co-chairman joked, and demonstrated, according to
See Citizen of the Year, Page 22
Ken Weiss said six definition labels his subcommittee defined help make clear the nuances among part types. Credit: John Yoswick
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co-chairman Ken Weiss, “why we ended up with two subcommittees.” The committee about a year ago inherited from another CIC committee the task of trying to resolve the is-
sue of a variety of types of parts being listed as “opt-OE” on parts platforms or estimates. Weiss and Schulenburg said the committee had been so polarized on the issue that they decided to break into two “more like-minded” work groups to each form a proposal on how to most clearly describe parts available in the marketplace for those making parts decisions. Weiss said his work group came up with six different categories of new parts that differentiate, for example, an “OEM dealer” part from the exact same part sold in the same packaging but outside the automaker’s dealer network (described by his sub-committee as an “OEM non-dealer” part). Two other of the six categories would differentiate a certified non-OEM part from one that is not certified. In between were two other categories for parts produced by the same manufacturers that produce the same parts for the vehicle manufacturer; Weiss’ subcommittee dubbed those as “Tier 1 OEM” parts if they bore the same branding as the See “Opt-OE” Parts, Page 34
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