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Upcoming Events
Registration open:
June 9
Greater Richmond Convention Center
SAVE THE DATE:
2016 Virginia Workforce Conference
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Greater Richmond Convention Center |
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President's Message
 May was a very busy month for the Virginia Chamber as we hosted both the 92nd Annual Dinner and the Energy, Sustainability and Resiliency Conference.
On May 17, we were pleased to release the 2016 Legislative Report Card at our 92nd Annual Dinner. That evening, we honored members of the Virginia General Assembly for their pro-business work during the 2016 General Assembly session. The Legislative Report Card analyzes legislators support for initiatives that will help move Virginia forward and their willingness to stand up against legislation that would harm our business climate. I am pleased to announce that during the 2016 General Assembly session, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce had a 95% success rate on our legislative priorities and saved Virginia employers $6.1 billion. Photos from the event can be found here, and a full recap of the report card can be found below.
On May 10, we hosted a record attendance of over 450 business and industry leaders at the 2016 Energy, Sustainability and Resiliency Conference in Richmond. This year, we had a special focus on what Virginia companies are doing to protect customers' data and energy supply. We also had panel discussions on how Virginia continues to diversify its energy strategy, and on the innovative ways Virginia companies are focusing on sustainability. Photos from the energy conference can be viewed here.
This Thursday, June 9, we're looking forward to hosting our 6th Annual Health Care Conference. I hope to see you there!
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| LIMITED TICKETS REMAINING! |
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Greater Richmond Convention Center
Individual Tickets: $125
Conference Co-Hosts
Consumerism continues to drive trends in the health care arena as customers demand greater access, transparency, and quality at a more competitive cost. Advancements in technology are enhancing this consumer-driven transformation.
What are Virginia businesses, providers and consumers doing to adapt to changes in the field?
Join more than 500 professionals in health care, human resources and biotechnology to discuss the future of health care!
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Virginia Chamber of Commerce 2016 Legislative Report Card
The Virginia Chamber of Commerce releases an annual Legislative Report Card, which grades legislators based on their support of pro-business issues during the General Assembly session. The Legislative Report Card recognizes legislators for their support for the principles and initiatives outlined in Blueprint Virginia: A Business Plan for the Commonwealth.
In the 2016 session, the Virginia Chamber had a 95 percent success rate on its legislative priorities. A full breakdown of the 2016 report card with grades and a detailed description of each award is available here.
The Virginia Chamber this year tracked more than 600 pieces of legislation and rated 125 bills that would either improve or harm Virginia's business climate," said Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. "We applaud those legislators who advanced the goals of the Chamber's Blueprint Virginia this year and in doing so made Virginia a better place in which to live, work and do business.
Now in its fifth year, the 2016 legislative report card includes for the first time legislators' lifetime grades along with their grades for the most recent legislative session.
Delegate Steve Landes (R-Weyers Cave) was named the 2016 Legislator of the Year. The Virginia Chamber's Legislator of the Year Award is the business community's premier legislative award honoring the lawmaker who demonstrates outstanding leadership on pro-business issues.
The following legislators are also recognized for their leadership in specific areas. A description of each award is available in the full report card.
Champions of Free Enterprise
Sen. Charles Carrico
Sen. Bryce Reeves
Sen. Glen Sturtevant
Del. Richard Bell
Del. Glenn Davis
Del. Scott Garrett
Del. Keith Hodges
Del. Barry Knight
Del. Steve Landes
Del. Scott Lingamfelter
Del. John O'Bannon
Del. Chris Peace
Del. Roxann Robinson
Del. Chris Stolle
Del. Ron Villanueva
Chairman's Award for Champion of Free Enterprise
Del. Barry Knight
Business Advocate of the Year
Del. Kirk Cox
Freshman Legislators of the Year
Sen. Glen Sturtevant
Del. Chris Collins
Excellence in Workforce Development
Sen. Kenneth Alexander
Sen. John Miller
Sen. Frank Ruff
Del. Kathy Byron
Excellence in Education
Sen. Mark Obenshain
Del. Rob Bell
Del. Tag Greason
Champion of Regulatory Reform
Del. Margaret Ransone
Del. David Yancey
Economic Competitiveness Award
Sen. Janet Howell
Sen. Tommy Norment
Sen. Frank Ruff
Sen. Dick Saslaw
Del. Kirk Cox
Del. Tim Hugo
Military and Veterans Advocate Award
Sen. George Barker
Del. Chris Stolle
Small Business Advocate Award
Del. Chris Head
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Virginia Improves in CEO Magazine's 2016 Survey
CEO Magazine has released its 2016 Best and Worst States for Business rankings, and Virginia ranked 12th, up last year from 14th. Chief Executive asked 513 CEOs to rank states they were familiar with on the friendliness of their tax and regulatory climate, workforce quality and living environment.
Virginia ranked 28th in Taxation and Regulation, 13th in Workforce Quality and 22nd in Living Environment.
Regionally, Virginia ranked 6th overall.
For the full list of rankings, click here. |
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Department of Labor Issues Final Rule Expanding Overtime Eligibility
On May 18, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued the final version of a much-anticipated rule to expand overtime eligibility. This new rule will take effect December 1, 2016 and, based on DOL estimates, will expand overtime eligibility to more than 4.2 million additional workers. The final rule focuses primarily on updating the salary and compensation levels needed for executive, administrative, and professional workers to be exempt. In particular, the final rule: (1) increases the salary threshold for the standard White Collar Exemptions (from $23,660 to $47,476), and the Highly Compensated Employee Exemption (HCE) (from $100,000 to $134,004); and (2) establishes a process for updating the thresholds automatically every three years, beginning on January 1, 2020. Employers may include non-discretionary bonuses, incentive pay, and commissions in calculating whether an employee meets the salary threshold-up to ten percent of the threshold ($4,747). The incentive must be paid on a quarterly or more frequent basis to be used for this purpose. For more information, please see the U.S. Chamber's webinar "Preparing for Change: DOLs Final Rule on Overtime."
While the regulations are subject to a congressional review, Congress has only voided a rule once since 1996. With the new regulations becoming effective by the end of the year, businesses will have to quickly examine and weigh the costs of regulatory compliance. Rather than raise middle-class incomes, employers will likely respond to these increased costs by reducing compensation (e.g., base salaries, health insurance, pensions, etc.) and/or reducing the number of their employees.
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EEOC Issues Final Rules on Employer Wellness Programs
Employers can give workers a break on their health insurance according to new rules announced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Until now, federal laws appeared to conflict on this issue involving workplace wellness programs. The Americans with Disabilities Act says employees have to voluntarily provide health information, while the Affordable Care Act encourages companies to offer employees incentives for participating in workplace wellness programs.
On May 17, the EEOC issued new rules on how employer-provided wellness programs can comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The regulations address how ADA- and GINA-compliant wellness programs can stay consistent with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The EEOC also posted question-and-answer documents that address the ADA rule and the GINA rule, and fact sheets for small businesses regarding the ADA rule and the GINA rule. These rules go into effect in January 2017, and apply to all workplace wellness programs, including those in which employees or their family members may participate without also enrolling in a particular health plan. |
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How fiscally healthy is Virginia?
In its latest edition of Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University reports on the financial health of the 50 states and Puerto Rico through their Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.
States that carry low levels of debt and spending rank highly. In contrast, states with structural financial problems and unsustainable pension systems place at the bottom. In FY 2013, Virginia ranked 21st. The latest report assessing FY 2014, Virginia ranks 19th.
In examining Virginia's fiscal condition, the Commonwealth gets below average scores for cash solvency, and middle-of-the-road scores for budget solvency and long-run solvency. The state scores above average in trust fund solvency (pension funds and long-term debt), and 5th best in service-level solvency (the ability to raise taxes and increase spending without damaging the economy).
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Virginia 11th Best for Veteran Retirees
Virginia ranks 11th in WalletHub's ranking of the "2016 Best & Worst States for Military Retirees" based on 20 metrics encompassing economic environment, quality of life and health care.
The Commonwealth ranked 3rd for economic environment (e.g., state taxes on military pensions, percentage of veteran-owned businesses, etc.) and 4th for quality of life (e.g., veterans per capita, percentage of homeless veterans). However, Virginia ranked 48th for health care.
To read the full article, click here. |
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The Labor Force Participation Rate is a Troubling Sign On the Jobs Front
With Virginia's unemployment rate now at 3.9 percent - the lowest rate since June 2008 - you might think the Commonwealth's economy is humming along. Indeed, employment growth continued to accelerate in the first quarter of 2016 and gains were widespread, including 10 of our 13 major industry sectors. The unemployment rate, however, only tells part of the story. While Virginia's unemployment rate has fallen, so has the labor force participation rate - the proportion of the civilian population that is either employed or looking for work. It currently stands below 63 percent, the lowest level since the 1970s.
One consequence of that trend is that the unemployment rate no longer accurately reflects the true magnitude of our unemployment problem, as discouraged workers who have given up on finding work are not counted as "unemployed." To provide an example of the magnitude of this issue, if Virginia's current labor force participation rate was the same as it was in March 2008, the state's seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate would have been 10.7 percent in March 2016, not 4.2 percent. Addressing the issue of underemployment by improving the Commonwealth's workforce climate will be one focus of the Chamber's annual Virginia Workforce Conference September 28 in Richmond.
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Interested in International Expansion? Take Advantage of VITAL!
The Virginia Chamber is proud to partner with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership on VITAL, the Virginia International Trade Alliance. As a VITAL partner, our member companies have access to steeply discounted rates for international market research as well as international trade shows and international trade missions facilitated through VEDP.
Click below for more information:
If you or a company that you work with is interested in learning more about VITAL, please contact Samantha Quig, Corporate Communications Manager, at [email protected] or 804-237-1457.
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