In a recently reported court decision issued by New York State’s Appellate Division (the state’s second highest court), the appellate court agreed with the business owner’s argument that certain persons working as pyrotechnicians are independent contractors under the state’s unemployment insurance laws. The author of this article represented the business owner at the hearing and…
Your insurance company has agreed to defend you in a lawsuit, but who is going to represent you. As the insured paying the insurance premiums to a grateful insurance carrier you have two choices, and the choice is clear. You have every right and entitlement, and leverage, to instruct the insurance carrier that you want…
As we approach the busiest season of the year, fireworks retailers and display companies can expect an inspection from one, if not several, law enforcement and regulatory agencies. These inspections are deliberately timed to occur during your busy season due to the increased level of activity and, oftentimes, are unannounced (especially federal investigators). The best…
The rising costs of government regulation now appears in the form of a recently-issued notice of proposed rulemaking from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”), released November 28, 2014; 79 Fed. Reg. 70839. In it, the Agency proposes substantially raising the minimum financial responsibility levels of (i) for-hire motor carriers, (ii) hazardous materials carriers…
For and on behalf of numerous foreign businesses, I have been involved with submitting designated agent agreements pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 105.40 (“Agent Agreements”). In my experience, PHMSA issues a form notice of approval, entitled Pipeline And Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Agent Acknowledgement (the “Agent Acknowledgement”); as it explicitly states, the document evidences…
All too often, manufacturers create one fireworks device that is also suitable for many other effects or sizes. Indeed, series applications fall into one of two categories: (i) shell effects and (ii) shell dimension. PHMSA acknowledges that the hazardous properties of certain fireworks devices may be identical, and it also recognizes that the current policy…
This article examines PHMSA’s recent proposal to revise the HMR to allow DOT-approved fireworks certification agencies; see PHMSA 2010-0320 (HM-257), Fed. Reg. Vol. 77, No 169, 52636 et seq.. PHMSA is seeking comments regarding whether a two-track approach to securing approvals of explosives is both warranted and practical. One track is the current PHMSA approvals…
Frequent contact with law enforcement agents is an accepted part of doing business in the fireworks industry. Oftentimes, clients feel as if they are being treated unfairly by a law enforcement agent (e.g., police officer, fire marshal, ATFE agent) and, as a consequence, they want to sue the law enforcement agency, as well as the…
Hardly a week goes by without the announcement of another measure being proposed to regulate the fireworks industry. This feeling is likely shared by most readers; and, your pain is aptly echoed by a far greater authority of regulatory behavior, Billie Vincent, a former security director for the Federal Aviation Administration, who declared “Do you…
Dateline-Orlando, FL For those readers who could not attend the APA’s annual convention celebrating 60 years, you missed one spectacular event that was attended by hundreds of members of the APA, many of them fireworks royalty. The attraction of the APA annual convention is such that it seems as if every important industry member—in manufacturing,…
