Msboa october14

Volume 44 Issue 9 • October 2014

Have a Safe 2014-2015 School Year!!!!!

OperatorThe

Post Accident Drug and Alcohol

Testing Requirements Federal DOT Regulation 49CFR § 382.303 covers post-accident testing requirements. It continues to confuse employers asto whether or not they should conduct a post-accident test. Please make sure all supervisors and those people in your emer-gency response team are familiar with the requirements for post-accident testing.

If there is a human fatality, YES you must test every time - both for alcohol and controlled substances.

The next important question is whether or not the driver receives a citation for a moving violation (seatbelt violations do notcount). If the answer is yes and it meets one of the next two scenarios, you will have to test – but you must be watching theclock.

If the driver receives a citation within 8 hours of the accident and there was a bodily injury that required immediate medicalattention away from the scene of the accident (like an ambulance transported someone to the hospital), then YES do analcohol and a controlled substance test. If the citation is issued after 8 hours, DOCUMENT that you were unable to do thealcohol test because time elapsed, but administer the controlled substance test. If the citation is issued after 32 hours, DOC-UMENT that you were unable to do either test. Obviously it is important that the driver does not drink alcohol or use a con-trolled substance during this time window.

If the driver receives a citation within 8 hours of the accident and there was damage to a vehicle that required a tow truck forANY vehicle involved, then YES – do an alcohol and controlled substance test. After 8 hours, you must document that timehad elapsed for the alcohol test. After 32 hours, you cannot conduct either test and must document that time had elapsed.

If your driver does not receive a citation, you should not conduct a FEDERAL DOT test. If your company policy requires test-ing after any accident, you can test but DO NOT use a DOT form. You must do a non-DOT test and follow your companypolicy.

If there was a citation, but no loss of life, no injuries treated AWAY from the scene and no tow trucks…again NO FEDERALDOT test. Follow your company policy.

There are a million scenarios that can happen and each accident is different, but the requirements are firm. Perhaps anambulance came and treated someone, remember that is not getting treated away from the scene. If someone seemedfine at the scene but later went to the doctor to get checked out, that is not immediate medical attention. If someone involveddies over 32 hours later, document that time had elapsed. If your employee is hospitalized and you do not have access toadminister the test within the time window, document this situation as well. Documentation and clock management are thetools you will need to employ and monitor in order to comply with regulations and all the different scenarios that could occur.

There is a provision in Federal law that testing done by law enforcement meets the criteria for the federal regulation, but onlyif employers have access to the results. However, employers generally will not have access to those results so employersshould conduct their own test.

Runs like a Swiss Watch?......well almost that well!

As you are reading this we are into week #6 or so of the2014-2015 school year up here in the northland. Startup wasvery good this year......with the normal routing and person-nel and bus issues that we all go through. In theory as we allage and get wiser the whole process should get easier with

time. But somehow it only seems to get more and more complicated as the years passby.

Attention to detail is really what this business is all about......details, details, details.Checking your list and re-checking and then checking again. Our industry has littleroom for error and you as the operator have control of everything under the sun whenit comes to being perfect. What we can’t seem to control is the data that sometimes isnot 100% accurate. Whether you receive your routing info from an outside entity (a dis-trict transportation department) or whether you do your own routing there is alwaysdata that does not get corrected or is not accurate or is simply just out of date. Thechance for mistakes is compounded when you add in the human error factor such asdriver route copy read wrong, information on changes that came through last minute,or school administrators who want their buildings cleared out at the end of the day.

Our employees, staff, drivers, aides and mechanics have come through for us onceagain and given the extra 110% to get this year off to a safe start. Make sure to thankthem all and stress to them how much you appreciate the work they do.

Make sure your training and daily operation includes the importance of checking thebus for sleeping or scared or misplaced students each and every time they finish aroute or shift.....morning ....noon ....or night. We need to be extra vigilant and do every-thing within our power to make sure this never happens on our watch. We know thepublic is depending on us and we cannot let them down.Enjoy the Fall season and keep the wheels turning.

Stay Safe and Be Kind!Sincerely,Rudy Lundahl, President of MSBOA

2

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


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

TIMES A YEAR BY THE MSBOA,

10606 HEMLOCk ST. NW •

ANNANDALE, MN 55302.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL

320-274-8313.

E-Mail [email protected] or

FAx: 320-274-8027.

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yeAr. COPYRIGHT 2014

MEMBERS MAY MAkE PHOTO-

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CO-EDITORS:

SHARI DANzEISEN & SHELLY

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

TOM BURR

TREASURER

TOM HEY

Ex-OFFICIO

GAYLEN LENz

From the PresidentRudy LundahlVoyageur Bus Company, Duluth, MN

Every year the State Fair ends, schools start, and MSBOA members have the first month ofsafe student transportation under their belts. Fall has started. The discussion of will it beseverely cold this Winter, and how much snow will we receive have begun. But for now, lateSeptember and October are some of the most beautiful months in Minnesota’s weathermenu. And it is Apple season.

And every other November, Minnesota has State wide elections. All the 134 Minnesota StateHouse of Representatives seats are up for election. At this time, the Minnesota State House is the battle ground for Repub-licans to gain one of the three branches of State Government. The business community has made the GOP State Houseraces their priority.

Twenty State House races are the local areas where DFL and GOP supporters are spending hundreds of thousands of dol-lars to affect and cause voters to choose their side. Both sides know that control of the Minnesota State House will give theGOP a very strong voice on policy and funding decisions at the State Capitol.

Many of the most contested State House races were won by the incumbent by very narrow margins (under 100 votes) in2010. Also, many of the contested State House races are “re-matches,” occurring now in a usually low voter turnout non-Presidential election year. Regardless of your political viewpoint please “go vote.” MSBOA members and elected officialswho support MSBOA issues are Democrats and Republicans. Our goal is to participate in the election process and let elect-ed officials know our views about the business of student transportation

The Minnesota State Senate is not up for re-election this cycle, and will continue to have a strong Democrat majority untilthey are up for re-election in 2016. The Governor’s Race is, or will be, very close in terms of the final outcome betweenDFL Governor Mark Dayton and Jeff Johnson – the Republican candidate. Numbers and polling vary wildly in the 30 daysbefore an election. Governor Dayton only won his election to office in 2010 by 9000 votes when 2.5 million voted.

There has been some discussion regarding an upcoming (2016) Federal mandate to require “motor coaches” to have seatbelts on all motor coaches built after 2016. Some members expressed concerns that this 2016 mandate impacted seat beltrequirements for school buses. It does not. In a conversation with the State Patrol, it was clearly stated that the Patrolbelieves that seat belts would not be required on school buses under current State lawor impending federal mandates.

However, it was stated that “if” a school bus is equipped with seat belts the students arerequired to use the belts. Also, under current law, if students are walking or standing inthe aisle while the bus is moving, that is a safety violation, and the driver could be givena ticket.

There seems to be some conflicts within the wording in Minnesota State Statute regard-ing school buses’ exemption from the State’s seat belt law. School buses are listed in thedefinition of a “commercial vehicle,” which are required to utilize seat belts. But schoolbuses are exempt from seat belt use under the definition of a “passenger vehicle,” wherethe driver and passengers are required to use seat belts,

A person while operating a motor vehicle for hire, including a taxi, airport limousine, andbus, but excluding a rented, leased, or borrowed motor vehicle; are exempt from seatbelts. In this case is a “bus” a motor coach? Or not. Or in this definition is “bus” a tran-sit bus. The statute in this case just says “bus.” Some clarity may be in order to ensurethat there is no confusion about seat belts on a school bus. As an aside, if a passengerin a vehicle equipped with seat belts are over 15 years of age and not wearing existing

Continued on Page 11.

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The Friends of the MSBOA held a meet the candi-date event for Jeff Johnson who is running for gover-nor.

A number of MSBOA members attended the event atDixie’s on Grand in St. Paul on September 24th.

Johnson listened intently about the challenges the school bus industrycurrently faces. Johnson shared some of his plans for eliminating thesize and scope of government.

Johnson graduated from Detroit Lakes High School in 1985, ConcordiaCollege in Moorhead in 1989 and Georgetown Law School in Washing-ton, D.C., in 1992.

Johnson was elected in 2000 to the House of Representatives andserved six years.

He currently serves as a Hennepin County Commissioner.

The MSBOA PAC did make contributions to both political parties this election cycle. The Meet the Candidate Event was anopportunity to voice industry issues as well as concerns regarding the business environment in Minnesota, most notably the

administrative efforts to unionize government contracts.

5

Need legal Help? It’s Just a

Phone Call Away!As a valued member of Minnesota School Bus Oper-ator's Association, you are entitled to using ThomasRevnew of Seaton, Peters & Revnew Legal Hotlinefree of charge. During each six month period, youwill be entitled to two free fifteen-minute telephonecalls to the Hotline. MSBOA encourages you to usethis free service. When using the hotline, please fol-

low the following 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.

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l to r: tom revnew, paul lenz, Jeff Johnson, and shelly Jonas

l to r: Jim schiffler, Karen Millner, and Jeff John-

How Do We All Do It?By Rayme Bernick, Stahlke Bus Service, Delano, MN

The first month of the new school year has come and gone way too fast, and yet some days not fast enough! The beginningof this school year has proven to be a very challenging one for Stalhke Bus. We have faced many obstacles, but managedto get the buses on the road and the children safely to their destination. Now that we are underway and there is time to reflect,I ask myself how do we make it happen every year?

We do it because there are no other options. We have an un-wavering deadline with not so much as an hour of slack. Themonth of August becomes socially void. We hunker down at our desks and power through all the changes, take phone calls,hunt for new drivers, learn a new computer system, create routes, and still manage a family

We do it for others. We do it to keep the communities, families, roadways, and schedules taut. We strive for smoothnessknowing that require our timeliness and dependability. Knowing, from our own lives, thatthere are so many other worries in life and that a school bus should not be one of them.

This year I did it for my dear friend, routing helper, dispatcher, and amazing mother who isfighting cancer. There were days I wanted to leave, cry, or just take a nap but I had to fightjust as she is fighting. I did it because our communities become our families and that ourbusinesses take some burden off those that we serve.

Feeling accomplished, but yet nervous that I had forgotten something, the first day ofschool came and went without incident. No one was lost or forgotten. No drivers were irri-tated or upset. No angry phone calls. It was amazing!

I love being a part of this industry. We are the first and last impression of a child’s day atschool. We are transporting the most important thing on the face of the earth. Some daysit is a thankless job, but we all know the importance. We do it with pride and a smile onour face, every day, no matter the circumstances. We are bus drivers. We are family.

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The MSBOA is offering a new benefit through GM Fleet & Commercial. Many of thevehicles you buy including pick-ups, vans, and SUV’s are available at a discount forMSBOA Members. Go to www. msboa.com for all of the information. Included is a listof all the vehicles eligible for the discount and how much the discount is. There is alsoa form online on our website for you to print out and bring to your dealer that gives yourdealer the proper fleet pricing code for our organization.

If you are planning to purchase new vehicles soon - be sure check it out and take advan-tage of these savings!

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Reoccurring QuestionBy lt. Brian Reu

Once again it was a busy August for us in the Office of Pupil Transportation. We attended and presented at 73 driver startup meetings. We appreciate the chance to meet and speak with the drivers each year. While the presentations are plannedand prepared in advance they all take a slightly different spin based on interaction and questions from the drivers. We thankeach of you that invited us to participate in your driver training.

One question that seems to come up every fall is, “Can we transport guns on school buses for school activities?” The answeris, “Yes” but let me explain how that determination is made. MN state statute 609.66 states that it is a felony to have a dan-gerous weapon, which includes firearms, on school property. However, it goes on to say that it does not apply to firearmsthat are properly stored in a motor vehicle according to MN state statute 97B.045 and also does not apply to “firearm safetyor marksmanship course or activities conducted on school property.” The definition of “school property” does include the areawithin a school bus when that bus is being used by a school to transport one or more elementary, middle, or secondary schoolstudents to and from school-related activities, including curricular, cocurricular, noncurricular, extracurricular, and supple-mentary activities.

Now that we’ve determined it is allowed to transport firearms on school buses for school activities the next questions is, “Howdo we do that.” They must be transported as outlined in state statute 97B.045; “unloaded and in a gun case expressly madeto contain a firearm, and the case fully encloses the firearm by being zipped, snapped, buckled, tied, or otherwise fastened,and without any portion of the firearm exposed.”

As a recommendation we would suggest you store the firearms and ammunition in separate locations and also away fromstudents if possible. While it is clearly allowed as outlined above it is up to you, the driver, to make sure that it done safelyand responsibly.

Minnesota Department of Education - Kelly Wosika was promoted to dif-ferent area in the Department of Education. Her replacement has not beennamed yet. She will be available during the transition. State data verifica-tion reports are posted. Make sure to log in and see that everything isreported correctly. Handouts on Safe Routes to school for infrastructurewere made available. Minnesota bike alliance has safety and walking cur-riculum available.

Student school bus training is ongoing during this time. Department ofEducation materials are pretty dated, but there are other newer items outthere. Scott Dahlin at St. Cloud Public Schools has a good program thatinterested parties may wish to take a look at.

There was a question about supporting documents for using the alloca-tions. Kelly Wosika has a template...those that need guidance are encour-aged to contact her.

MN State Patrol – The truck driver from Paynesville that passed a bus onthe left on camera back in May did not plead guilty and has retained anattorney. The State Patrol has video from northern Minnesota with anoth-er semi drifting across lane during a school bus stop. A recommendationto reach out to the Minnesota Trucking Association was made.

The State Patrol conducted a lot of successful driver meetings this August.They stated that they appreciate face time with drivers.

The 2015 National Congress on School Transportation is moving forward.The state delegate will be Lt Reu. John Thomas will represent school dis-tricts, Kala Henkensiefken will represent Special Needs, Duane Bartelswill attend along with representatives from MAPT, MSBOA and someonefrom the mechanic’s association.

The new Rules concerning the inspections have been drafted over a yearago. They are currently at the Revisors office who will look over the doc-ument and make certain that the references state and federal law are cor-rectly worded.

There will be a Fox9 story on students left on buses, Lt. Reu did an onair interview it should air in October.

The public service announcements from Century College are availableon youtube. The Department of Public Safety is working on havingthem run on their screens at their licensing centers. If you have ideasto use the PSAs contact Lt. Reu. There was a suggestion to add thestate and National statistics in a graphic at the end of the PSA.

Paul Davis stated that he’s getting a lot of phone calls regarding taxis.Make sure to enter into a written contract with the taxi company thatreferences State Statute 171.02 and make sure vendor is meeting cri-teria. Get copy of annual inspection. Only qualified drivers and quali-fied vehicles that can be used. There is currently a lawsuit with taxicrash, which involved an uninspected vehicle and an unqualified driver.

As a heads up - Inspectors are having a difficult time doing all the TypeIII inspections in the state. You may end up waiting to get a vehicleinspected.

This fall has brought a lot of calls from parents upset over studentstops. Most want stops set at driveway. Please do not tell parents thatthe State or the State Patrol set up school bus stops. It is up to indi-vidual School District policy...school boards must approve stops.

There were many new laws passed about bicycles – Beware some arewearing helmet cams in order to catch motorists breaking bike lane laws.

Driver and Vehicle Services - Deb Carlson – There were 189 school busroad tests in 2013 – so far in 2014 there have been 388. These are onlythe exam numbers, not any third party testers. There is an issuing driverlicense backlog due to a retirement and a couple vacant positions.

There is also a BCA backlog for school bus driver renewals. Watch the 60day expiration. Drivers can go get their temporary license re-stamped.

Reminder - go to license bureaus to have medical certifications doneimmediately rather than faxing it in. Again, there is a backlog at certainpoints in the year they have been doing 4000 med certs every week.

Reminder on the Waiver process...watch that you have all items. DVScannot process a waiver with just a medical card. The new forms are onthe website. The waiver must be carried while driving.

Next year drivers will have to be medically certified before they get testedfor their license.

There have been continued Pretrip test issues that have been tripping updrivers. They haave to get it done within 40 minutes. Contact supervisorsat the station with complaints about specific testers. They have been see-ing some invalid permits, make sure they have all their paperwork beforeheading to the exam center.

Train the trainer- Derrick Agate Dates for 2015 is July 6-9. It will be the25th anniversary. They will do a reenactment of the Cottonwood crash.Newsletter forthcoming with more details.

School Bus Roadeo - Josh and Tasha traveled to South Carolina for theNationals. Next year’s Nationals will be in Minnesota July 18-19. Min-nesota’s Road-eo will be held May 30 in Arden Hills.

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office of Pupil Transportation Safety Meeting Notes from September 17

ElEctions HavE consEquEncEs:Obama Issues Another Labor Friendly Executive Order

On July 31, 2014, President Obama continued his administrative efforts to support organized labor when he signed anotherin a string of Executive Orders governing the employment practices of government contractors. The “Fair Pay and SafeWorkplaces” Executive Order requires that federal contractors disclose any prior labor and employment law violations (in thepreceding three years) in order to be considered for an award of a government contract. This comes after other recent exec-utive orders raising the minimum wage, and equalizing wages between genders, of federal contractors, and forcing contrac-tors to disclose to the Secretary of Labor the gender of employees and their relative compensation.

The stated purpose of the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order is to “increase efficiency and cost savings” in workperformed by federal contractors by ensuring that those contractors comply with labor laws. Overall, the Executive Order:

1. Mandates disclosure to the government of a prospective contractor’s labor law violations during the three years preceding the contract, including violations by subcontractors, with updates every six months during performance of the contract.

2. Requires that contractors provide employees with documentation “concerning that individual’s hours worked, overtime hours, pay, and any additions made to or deductions made from pay.”

3. For contracts valued at over $1 million, it prohibits employers from requiring employees to enter into pre-dispute arbitration agreements for Title VII claims or for state law claims related to sexual assault or harassment.

The Mandated DisclosuresThe disclosure requirement for new contracts is likely the most significant portion of the Order. Businesses seeking new fed-eral contracts valued at $500,000 or more must disclose any violation of the 14 listed labor laws or “equivalent state laws,”including administrative merit determinations, arbitral awards or decisions, or civiljudgments against the company during the preceding three years. This disclosurerequirement is similar to that of Minnesota’s recently enacted Responsible ContractorStatute, which governs contractor eligibility for state construction contracts. TheOrder specifically requires the disclosure of violations of:

1. The Fair Labor Standards Act;2. OSHA;3. The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act;4. The National Labor Relations Act;5. The Davis-Bacon Act;6. The Service Contract Act;7. The Equal Employment Opportunity Executive Order (No. 11246) of September 24, 1965;8. Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;9. The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974;10. The Family and Medical Leave Act;11. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;12. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;13. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and14. The Executive Order (No. 13658) of February 12, 2014, establishing a

minimum wage for federal contractors.Continued on page 11.

Legal Notes 9

hoTline Phone: (952) 921-4622

By Thomas Revnew, esq., of seaTon, PeTeRs & Revnew

Best Values:

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Employee Handbook & Employment Materials Package $1,075 (includes 2 hours

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10

If a company has violations, it must disclose those to thecontracting agency, which will consider the violations whenawarding a contract. After the award of a contract, the infor-mation must be updated every six months.

The Order also requires government contractors to requirethe same disclosures from any subcontractors awardedwork on a government project, and to determine, based onthose disclosures, “whether [the] subcontractor is a respon-sible source that has a satisfactory record of integrity andbusiness ethics.” The Order thereby establishes that thecontractor is ultimately responsible for subcontract compli-ance. Subcontractors must also provide six-month updatesto the prime contractor during the contract period.

The Order requires also that government agencies desig-nate a “Labor Compliance Advisor” (“LCA”) whose jobs areto assess the “serious, repeated, willful, or pervasive natureof any violation” disclosed by a contractor, and to assist informulating and implementing the corrective measures ofthe contractor to address the violations. The Order alsogives LCAs, as well as other agency officials, and theDepartment of Labor, authority to deny and terminate con-tracts, and to recommend the possible suspension or debar-ment of a contractor.

Paycheck Information RequirementWhile most employers already provide their employeesbasic payroll information about their hours and wages, theOrder now makes mandatory this practice for all federalcontractors with contracts valued at $500,000 or more. Thismandate also applies to subcontractors. Specifically, theOrder requires contractors to provide workers covered bythe Fair Labor Standards Act with documentation of hoursworked, overtime hours, pay, and deductions or additions tothat pay.

Prohibition of Pre-Dispute Arbitration AgreementsThe Order’s restriction on arbitration of certain employmentdisputes applies to all federal contractors with contractsworth over $1 million. This restriction does not apply to arbi-tration provisions contained in collective bargaining agree-ments, or to arbitration agreements executed before the

contractor bid on a contract (unless the employer retains theright to unilaterally modify the agreement). However the lim-ited scope of these exemptions suggest that at-will employ-ers (including merit-shop contractors), or employers whohave reserved the right to unilaterally amend arbitrationagreements, will not be able to enforce those agreementsonce the final rule implementing the Order is in place.

What to ExpectThis Executive Order and Minnesota’s Responsible Con-tractor law make it doubly important that state and federalcontractors covered by these laws to fully comply with laborand employment laws. Failure to do so may mean the lossof the government contract and/or inability to bid on futureprojects, in addition to liability for violations themselves.Moreover, potential government contractors should not onlydiligently track prior labor and employment law violations,but should implement remedies and necessary changes totheir practices in order to protect their eligibility for such con-tracts. Finally, employers who do not issue standard payrolldocuments to employees should begin doing so, andemployers with arbitration agreements should have themreviewed for compliance with the Order’s restrictions.

Members should be aware that in recent years, a variety ofstates controlled by Democrat legislators have passed lawspertaining to government contracts similar to PresidentObama’s Executive Order and Minnesota’s ResponsibleContractor law. Indeed, last session, the Minnesota legisla-ture attempted to pass “Best Value in Service Contracts,”which essentially would have created a presumption thatvendors were not cost effective for schools districts. Whilethe stated purpose of these laws has been to increase trans-parency in government contracts, these laws have beenheavily pushed by labor unions in order to protect organizedlabor and/or expand their reach into private industry.Employers can expect similar bills covering state and feder-al contracts to be promoted by organized labor for the fore-seeable future.

Feel free to contact Tom Revnew with any questions youmay have about this new case, and how it may affect yourbusiness.

Legal Notes Continued from Page 9.

Poster contest – Winners were treated to a Twins Game on August 21.

This years contest theme is: Bully free zone. A new flyer will be forth-coming. Posters due by April 1.

There is an open position for a parent representative on the Stakeholdersgroup. If you have someone in your district let Lt Reu know.

MSBOA School Bus Safety Expo will be held January 16-17 in St. Paul.Several vendors have already registered for the event. The vendor showwill be moved to Saturday to accommodate mechanics.

MAPT has been working on a discussion regarding the driver shortagewill continue to work to attack issue. The Stakeholders group is directedto monitor driver turnover. They will work on a survey.

Next meeting will be held in Brainerd on October 15.

The poster series concerning children left on school buses are availableon www.msboa.com

The secretary position is open on the school bus safety committee. Inter-ested parties should contact John Thomas.

office of Pupil Transportation Safety Meeting Continued from Page 8.

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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 & Benefits Consulting3600 American Blvd. W. Suite 500 | Bloomington, MN 55431P: 952-358-7570 | F: 952-358-7501 | M: 612-207-3728

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:

seat belts, they get the ticket. If under 15 years of age with-out wearing equipped seat belts then the driver gets the tick-et, or tickets if more than one passenger does not wear theseat belt.

In October, the MSBOA Board will be meeting to begin todevelop a legislative agenda that reflects MSBOA’s mem-bers concerns regarding current and future laws that affectthe student transportation industry. If members have hadinteractions with State Government regarding licensing diffi-culties, delays in background checks, medical card issues,driver shortages and potential causes, then please let usknow. We encourage members to contact the MSBOAoffice or me at [email protected] to let us know yourconcerns and thoughts about Minnesota State Government.

MSBOA continues to urge members and their drivers to bevigilant on post trip bus inspections and walk through thebus to be certain that a student is not left unattended at theend of a route. As you may recall last year a proposed lawwould have caused a driver to lose his/her license for oneyear for leaving a child unattended on a school bus.MSBOA and all the members are working diligently to

ensure students are not left unattended.

Also, please encourage your drivers to report all stop armviolations to their supervisor and to Local Law Enforcementand or the State Patrol. The State Patrol continues to per-form a “Stop Arm Violation Survey” to highlight and docu-ment the level of stop arm violations that occur in Minneso-ta. MSBOA continues to promote and cause increasedenforcement of stop arm violations, as it is invaluable tohave statistics that show what a hazard and potentiallydeadly stop arm violations can be.

Lastly, after the November elections, activity at the StateCapitol typically begins. MSBOA members should be awarethat the State Capitol is under “extreme” renovations. Manyof the doors are blocked for construction, much of the park-ing is under construction, stairways are closed for construc-tion, and rumor is there are even fewer bathrooms for usethan prior to construction. Basically, if members come to theCapitol for hearings or to meet with their State Legislators,please plan ahead. The State Office Building, which hous-es all 134 State House members and the GOP Senate isunaffected by the construction.

Legislative Update Continued from Page 3.

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From the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Legal Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Legislative Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

MsBOa PlannerSave 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

mn School Bus Safety expo

January 16 & 17, 2015

St. Paul, 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!

in This issue:

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

Msboa october14

Documents

Transcript of Msboa october14