The Official ePublication of the National Council of Investigation & Security Services
representing the investigative and security professions for over 36 years
  

  THE eREPORT

March 2013 

  

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Jim Zimmer  

Jim Zimmer

Fellow NCISS colleagues and friends,

 

I'm writing to you with a very heavy heart. As most of you have heard, NCISS Past President Vince Ruffolo passed away on Sunday, March 17, 2013.

 

While many of you have known Vince for decades. I consider myself very fortunate to have met him about 10 years ago at my first NCISS Hit the Hill.

 

Over the years, I could always rely on Vince's wisdom and friendship, and called upon him often as I navigated my way through various NCISS Board positions. His advice and guidance were always spot on, and he had an amazing ability to make you feel welcome and appreciated.

 

The NCISS family has lost a great leader and friend. He was an tireless advocate for the security industry and kept NCISS members aware of potential legislative threats in his position as NCISS Security Legislation Chair.

 

Our sincere sympathy is extended to Vince's family and friends. Rest in peace Vince. You will be missed by all who have had the pleasure and honor of knowing you.

 

I wish I could just end my message here, but the Council has to move forward with its business.

 

As the country thaws out from winter, things are heating up in Washington DC. NCISS members from across the U.S. are preparing to converge in the Capitol for the most important day of the year: Hit the Hill. This year, Hit the Hill is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16, 2013.

 

The NCISS members who travel to DC are not big spenders. They are regular folks, most of them small business owners, who travel on their own dime in order to lobby our representatives on a number of bills and issues which could significantly affect our businesses.

 

As you know, the primary mission of NCISS is to prevent adverse legislation, intentional or otherwise, which could take away our ability to do our jobs as investigators and security professionals.

 

NCISS has a full time lobbyist, Larry Sabbath, in Washington, and together with the Legislative Committee, we have plenty of eyes and ears in the Capitol to quickly recognize and react to bills as they are introduced.

 

That said, it takes more than the talent of Larry Sabbath and our Leg Committee to make a difference, and so, Hit the Hill provides the vehicle for all of us to make and renew relationships with our lawmakers and their staffs. These face to face meetings have historically proved to be invaluable in helping to amend or defeat adverse legislation.

 

If you are unable to attend this year, please continue to support NCISS by renewing your membership, if you have not already done so. For less than 50 cents a day, it is the best insurance you can buy!

 

Thanks for your continued support of the NCISS goals and mission. Hope to see many old friends and make some new ones too in Washington,

 

 

Best regards,

Jim Zimmer

NCISS President 2012-2013

Save The Date!

 

HIT THE HILL 2013! 

Capitol

Mid-Term Meeting, Hit the Hill, and SAAB University     

  

April 15-17, 2013

(www.NCISS.org for details)

Please join PIs and security professionals from across the country and attend Hit the Hill in Washington DC, April 14-17, 2013.

 

Hit the Hill in Washington, DC is just around the corner - and there is still time to register and be part of the protecting your profession.  We have a special private tour planned for Sunday afternoon April 14 for those who can arrive early.  A few seats remain and the cost is only $40. The tour includes:

*National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

*U.S. Capital
*White House
*World War II Memorial
*Thomas Jefferson Memorial
*Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
*Lincoln Memorial
*Korean Memorial
*Vietnam Wall
*Vietnam Veterans Memorial
*Vietnam Nurses Memorial

 

Our Board of Directors Meeting will take place on Monday April 15th.  We will Hit the Hill on Tuesday April 16th, and we will conclude on Wednesday April 17th with our SAAB University.  click here > for the attached registration form for complete details.  You may attend any or all of the events. 

 

Also, please mark your calendars now for the 38th NCISS Annual Conference at the Charleston Marriott in South Carolina, October 9 through 12, 2013.  The South Carolina Association of Licensed Investigators will be joining us on Friday for our seminars.  More information to be coming soon.

 

Best Regards,
Bob Heales
1st Vice President
raheales@mindspring.com   

Legislative News - Investigations 

 

Members and colleagues:

 

As Hit the Hill is just around the corner,  I am looking forward to seeing each of you in Washington D.C. April 15-17.  Walking the halls of the Capitol and getting acquainted with members of your U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate is one of our most important missions. Building relationships with those elected to represent us is central to grass roots legislative advocacy. Those of you who are attending Hit the Hill will be getting details on making appointments with your representatives and information about legislation of concern.

 If I can assist you either with questions about making your appointments or questions about the legislative summary provided by NCISS Legislative Advocate Larry Sabbath,  please contact me via email at Francie@nciss.org.

If you are arranging to be in D.C. On Sunday,  April 14, a tour to the various memorials has been arranged for us. No matter how many times I see these memorials, they are always a highlight for trips to the Capitol. And don't forget SAAB University on Wednesday, April 17 designed for anyone to attend, but particularly for state association presidents and board members.

There is still time to register! More details are to be found at www.nciss.org. I hope to see you.  

All the best,

 

Francie Koehler

Legislative Chair, Investigations 

510-772-5512 

Francie@nciss.org

Vince Ruffolo, Legislative Chair - Security

passed away Sunday, March 17, 2013 

 

A special edition of The eReport dedicated to Vince will be available soon.  Vince's long time friend, Gay Kuty, recently shared the news of Vince's passing to the NCISS nation:

 

Friends and Colleagues:

 

It is with an extremely heavy heart I report the passing of my great friend, colleague and consummate security professional, Vince Ruffolo.  Vince passed away in the hospital Sunday evening after suffering a major stroke early Saturday morning.  I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get to Chicago Sunday morning to pay my respects to Vince and his family prior to his passing.  He will truly be missed by all of us who knew him and loved him. 

 

I am in close contact with Chris Thornton and once arraignments have been made I'll be sure to pass along that information to everyone.

 

May our dear friend rest in peace.  Our memories will last forever.

 

Gary

Gary H. Kuty

President & CEO

Kuty & Associates, LLC

 

*****     *****  

 

Here are the details for Vince Ruffolo:

WAKE: Friday, March 22, 2013 - 3:00 - 9:00PM
Richard J. Modell Funeral Home
12641 W. 143rd Street
Homer Glen, IL 60491
708-301-3595

FUNERAL: Saturday, March 23 @ 9:30AM
St. Michael's Parish
14327 South Highland Avenue
Orland Park, IL 60462

UPDATE:  Regulatory Activities

Hit the Hill Necessary to Get Message Out

The first days of the new Congress have been filled with discussions about budget, taxes and politics. 

These major national issues are discussed endlessly on the front pages of the nation's newspapers, network broadcasts and Internet blogs and get all the attention.  Sometimes people become complacent because issues of concern are not getting attention in the media.  But behind the scenes, Congressional staffers are working diligently on many of the perennial issues NCISS has confronted over the years.  Our April "Hit the Hill" visits are critical for letting Congress know that there are constituents out there who care about serious issues and pay attention to legislation which may not garner the attention of the beltway press.

 

Weapons Bills Moving

One issue that is getting attention following the tragic events at Sandy Hook is weapons legislation.  The Senate Judiciary Committee has sent several bills to the Senate floor, mostly on party line votes.  These include S-54, the "Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act," S-146 "School Safety Enhancements Act," S-374 "Protecting Responsible Gun Sellers Act," and S-150 the "Assault Weapons Ban of 2013."  NCISS, working through our SCOLA coalition has urged Senators to exempt security officers and investigators from the provisions of S-150.

 

Senators opposing these bills have not actively worked to slow their process by offering numerous amendments. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee and has been accommodating Chairman Pat Leahy's efforts to get these bills to the Senate floor even though he opposes many of them.  Conventional wisdom in Washington is that S-150 cannot pass and is highly unlikely to get out of the Senate.  In addition to broad Republican opposition, many Democrats are wary of voting for a ban on weapons and limits on magazine size.  Some Republican strategists look forward to having vulnerable Democratic Senators vote for this contentious legislation which is highly unpopular in many states.  In any case, no one in Washington thinks S-150 could pass in the House if it did emerge from the Senate.

 

Privacy Legislation Outlook

President Obama recently took several administrative actions in an attempt to improve US cybersecurity.  He is reported to have recently told the Chinese government to stop alleged hacking of American businesses and news organizations.  In addition, over the last several months "denial of service" attacks have been made against large financial institutions by some sophisticated hackers. These attacks overwhelm servers making it impossible for legitimate customers to access their accounts.  All of this activity has reinvigorated efforts by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller to push a comprehensive bill to require major firms to coordinate Internet security with the federal government.

These recent attacks and the President's executive orders make consideration of a comprehensive bill more likely. NCISS is concerned that any such legislation will become a vehicle for possible amendments.

 

In addition, as we go to press there have been several articles in the Wall Street Journal discussing online data collection practices both in the United States and in Europe where data collection is highly restricted.  Also getting attention is the posting of personal financial information of public officials and Hollywood stars apparently hacked from the major credit bureaus.  We anticipate that data breach legislation and bills to limit data collection will soon be introduced. Last year the data collection bills were not limited to online activities and the breach bills included provisions limiting certain uses of pretexting. 

 

EEOC Rule Limiting Background Checks

Last year the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued an update of guidance for employers which outlines the EEOC's views of when employers are able to conduct preemployment background checks without violating the Civil Rights Act.  The update is highly controversial because it clearly posits that background checks are only appropriate in limited circumstances where the employer can demonstrate a clear relationship to a specific job.  We are concerned that employers will fear using routine background checks for fear of being sued by the EEOC or private plaintiffs.

 

NCISS is a member of a large coalition headed by National Association of Professional Background Screeners and the Consumer Data Industry Association that continues to work the issue.  Recent activities included the hearing at the Civil Rights Commission which was intended to show that in some instances the use of background checks actually help minority applicants who have clean backgrounds.  NCISS submitted a statement to the Commission. 

 

The recent Congressional action to cut the budgets of federal agencies known as the sequester has cut funding for the EEOC by $23-30 million, about 6-8 percent of the budget. Because most of the expenditures at the EEOC are for personnel, they are expected to cut it about ten percent and some reduction in the field employees will be down.  The budget process has some potential for finding a remedy for reducing the impact of the guidance.  Last year the House passed an amendment by Representative Quayle to deny the EEOC the funds to carry out this guidance, but it did not become law.  NCISS will continue to work with the coalition to obtain some relief on this critical issue.

 

Labor Board Appeals Decision Ruling Members Illegal

The National Labor Relations Board said it will file an appeal with the US Supreme Court to a decision in

Noel Canning v. NLRB that found that President Obama had made several invalid appointments to the Board while the Senate was in session.  The US Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia ruling means that the Board does not have a quorum for making decisions. 

 

The lawsuit was brought by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace. NCISS is a member of the coalition of major US associations.  This decision is important to security companies because the NLRB has made decisions having the effect of speeding labor organizing elections, often disadvantaging employers. 

 

 

NCISS will continue to keep on top of issues affecting investigators and security companies and represents members before Congress and the agencies.

 

Larry Sabbath

Legislative Advocate

News from Around the States
South Carolina

The South Carolina Association of Legal Investigators (SCALI) join NCISS at the 38th NCISS Annual Conference at the Charleston Marriott in South Carolina, October 9 through 12, 2013.  More information to be coming soon.

  

Colorado
The Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado is hosting the
 1st Annual Private Investigators Awards Banquet to honor those professionals that have made a difference in our industry and community.  Members and non-members of PPIAC are welcome to attend, make nominations and be nominated.  Mark your calendars for April 20, 2013!
 
For more information, tickets, donations and to nominate colleagues, go to http://ppiac.org/info/presents 
 

Do you have news of your association for the eReport?  Contact your Regional Director, or the eReport editor - Dean Beers beersda@Forensic-Investigators.com
Who's on First?
by Eugene F. Ferraro, CPP, CFE, PCI, SPHR
Gene Ferraro

On January 25, 2013, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that President Barack Obama had no authority to fill three vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) five seat board on January 4, 2012, while Congress was in session. Per the Constitution's Recess Appointments Clause, the president has power to make recess appointments only between sessions of Congress, so-called "intersession appointments," the court affirmed. Lawyers representing the NLRB (board) conceded during oral argument that the appointments were not made during the intersession recess.


Background

Three seats on the board came vacant on Aug. 27, 2010, Aug. 27, 2011, and Jan. 3, 2012, respectively. The president had filled the three seats on Jan. 4, 2012, while the Senate was in what is called pro forma session-coming to order every three business days from Dec. 2, 2011, through Jan. 23, 2012, thus preserving its in session status. The three "recess appointments" to the board were Sharon Block, Terence Flynn and Richard Griffin.

The D.C. Circuit's ruling resulted out of an appeal of a decision the NLRB issued Feb. 8, 2012. Brian Hayes, an existing member of the board-plus Flynn and Block decided that Noel Canning, a division of the Noel Corp., had violated the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to reduce to writing and execute a collective bargaining agreement reached with Teamsters who at the time represented Noel's hourly employees. Noel appealed the decision, arguing that a quorum of three did not exist on the date of the board's order because two of the three were not validly appointed.

The D.C. Circuit Court agreed with Noel, stating, "As a matter of cold, unadorned logic, it makes no sense to adopt the board's proposition that when the framers said 'the recess,' what they really meant was 'a recess.' This is not an insignificant distinction. In the end, it makes all the difference." The court also noted that for at least 80 years after the ratification of the Constitution, no president attempted intrasession recess appointments, "and for decades thereafter, such appointments were exceedingly rare."

When the Constitution was written, senators could not just jet in and out of the nation's capital, so recesses between sessions were much lengthier than they are today and there was a greater need during those times for the president to be able to make recess appointments, Meisburg said.

Implications

The ruling throws decisions by this board into serious doubt and leaves questions open, such as whether cases that were decided by the board but never appealed may now be appealed or "collaterally attacked". In the meantime board has announced it will ignore the decision and will continue to issue decisions.

Appeal seems likely, given the White House's reaction to the opinion. "The decision is novel and unprecedented," said Jay Carney, the White House spokesman. "It contradicts 150 years of practice by Democratic and Republican administrations, so we respectfully but strongly disagree with the rulings. There have been, according to the Congressional Research Service, something like 280-plus intrasession recess appointments by, again, Democratic and Republican administrations, dating back to 1867. That's a long time and quite a significant precedent."

As for board operations while it awaits clarification from the courts, "Activities of the NLRB, such as the prosecution of unfair labor practice cases and the processing of representation petitions by the regional offices, will continue, but the ability to obtain effective board review is essentially eviscerated, at least for the time being," said a lawyer for the board.

 

Putting aside the constitutional questions involved (or seemingly decided), employers are advised to act cautiously. Because of the board's ability to impose sanctions for violations of the NLRA, employers should probably hunker down and play ball as if the decision does had never been made.

 

Mr. Eugene F. Ferraro, CPP, CFE, PCI, SPHR, is the founder of Convercent, Inc.  He has been involved in the study of organizational culture, governance and compliance for over 30 years. He is board certified in both Security Management and Human Resources Management. He can be reached at 800.650.7005 or eugene.ferraro@Convercent.com.
Dues Renewal and New Categories of Membership

It is not to late to Renew Membership Dues for 2013

Renew you Membership Dues and Make a Donation Today!

 

Accepting the recommendation of the Board, the members at the annual conference unanimously approved the following new categories of membership:

  • Bronze: $99 - Only available to new applicants for one year. No voting privileges.
  • Silver: $175 -- $35 of which goes to our legislative fund. Receives all rights and privileges of membership.
  • Gold: $395 -- $100 of which is designated to our legislative fund. Gold members receive one free annual conference registration per year.

Contact your Regional Director if you have any questions or need assistance.  Membership and dues information is also at http://www.nciss.org/membership/membership-information.php  

 

Brownyard Programs - Endorsed Insurance Provider
Brownyard Programs
Brownyard Programs has developed a liability insurance program that is specifically designed for small private investigation agencies with up to 5 investigators. The program is endorsed and sponsored by the National Council of Investigation & Security Services, Inc

For details visit http://www.nciss.org/membership/membership-insurance-broker.php
The eReport and The Report
You are the voice of NCISS

To submit articles, special recognition and association news:
Bi-monthly eReport - beersda@Forensic-Investigators.com

Bi-annual The Report magazine - doncjohnson@comcast.net

(click to read current issue online)

NCISS The Report Spring 2013 - In This Issue:
  • President's Report
  • Licensing: The Colorado Story
  • Stategic Alliances
  • The Vinson Award

In This Issue
Message From The President
Save The Date - Hit the Hill 2013
Legislative News - Investigations
Legislative News - Security
Legislative Update
Your State News
ON THE ALERT!

On The Alert

NCISS continues to watch bills and pending legislation at the federal level that may impact investigative and security guard services.

To view these, and other bills, currently being tracked, and donate to the NCISS legislative fund, visit:
Larry Sabbath
Larry Sabbath Legislative Advocate

      

Francie Koehler Legislative Chair,
Investigations


In Memoriam
Vince Ruffolo

Past President and recent Legislative Chair,
Security

Your Membership, Your Voice ...
The National Council of Investigation and Security Services, Inc., is a cooperative effort of those companies and associations responsible for providing private security and investigation services to the legal profession, business community, government and the public.  

 

It is the role of NCISS to meet and solve these problems while seeking to uncover and recommend action on any hidden potential problems which may have an effect on our profession.


 

Office Depot
Member Savings!

The National Council of Investigation & Security Services has partnered with Office Depot� to bring you a FREE national discount program. Save up to 80% off preferred products.

 

Effective July 1st all online Office Depot orders will be delivered next day with a $5.95 shipping & handling charge if the order is under $50.00. All orders that are $50.00 or more will be delivered next day for free.

NCISS Board
Executive Council
President
Jim Zimmer

1st Vice President
Bob Heales

2nd Vice President
James Huckabee

3rd Vice President
Tom Shamshak

Secretary
Dean Beers

Treasurer
Brad Duffy

Chair
Maria

Executive Director
Carol Ward

Directors
Region 1 
Terry Myer

Region 2
Thomas Jackson

Region 3
Ken Cummins

Region 4
Vacant

Region 5
Debbie Anderson

Region 6
Jennifer Maghinay

Members at Large
Jimmie Mesis
Dean Gluth
Bill Fletcher
David Williams 
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