National and International Private Investigators Day

NCISS, as well as the World Association of Detectives and the National Association of Legal Investigators, with many state associations, agencies and individual private investigators are joining in national and international effort to renew Private Investigators Day.

News Archive Link - http://www.nciss.org/news-and-events/latest-news.php 

Members,

Maria Vinson Landry, CPP

(985) 882-5247

Legislative Archives: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs052/1102296473151/archive/1110377933456.htm

I am very pleased to announce that NCISS's "state-level" tracking, identifying over 150 bills in 35 states is operational. To view bills impacting private investigators, private patrol operators, or security guards bills, go to www.nciss.org/Legislation/Advocacy Hub / State Legislation and either search alphabetically by State or click on the state in the United States map provided at the top of the page. If a state is not listed, it means that either that state was either not in session or no bills were introduced that met our search parameters. If you know of a bill that we need to put on our watch list, please contact me as Legislative Investigation Chair at francie@nicss.org or Maria Landry, Legislative Security Chair at mlandry@vinsonguard.com 

Keith Nelson of Lobbyit participated in PIs Declassified! webcast on May 8, 2014, along with NCISS Vice Presidents Thomas Shamshak and Dean Beers where the Advocacy Hub rollout, functioning and benefit of state-level legislative tracking via NCISS's Advocacy Hub was introduced. In the coming weeks, NCISS will be working with Lobbyit, their Washington D.C. based lobbying firm, to identify state-level legislation appropriate for member outreach and advocacy.

Net Neutrality

In response to a proposed rule by the Federal Communications Commission, Lobbyit worked with NCISS to draft and submit a formal comment, opposing the proposed net neutrality rule.

FTC Data Brokers Report

On May 27, the FTC released its long awaited report on the data broker industry. The report, Data Brokers: A Call for Transparency and Accountability, made legislative recommendations based on the three general types of data broker products that included Marketing, Risk Management, and People Search Products. There has been no mention of a future hearing.

On the House side, Representatives Joe Barton and Lee Terry (whose committees have privacy jurisdiction) expressed little optimism a data broker bill would advance. A Terry aide confirmed that the Congressman "doesn't believe that Congress should act legislatively unless there are identifiable consumer harms and right now the way forward is not clear." Industry groups like the Digital Advertising Alliance, pushed back against the report. FTC Commissioner Brill is "hopeful that there will be a conversation that takes place not only on the Hill, but also within industry itself."

 
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) -- The "Ambush" Rule

Lobbyit drafted NCISS's 12-page comment to the NLRB on their proposed "Ambush" rule, which was submitted to NLRB in early April prior to the closure of the comment period. The comments were submitted as a result of the NLRB proposed new regulations that would radically change the process for union representation elections, effectively shortening election time frames and limiting employees' opportunity to hear from employers before making a crucial workplace decision. The shorter the election, the less time employers and employees have to communicate about the impact of unionization or about a specific union attempting to organize the workplace.

Bills we are continuing to watch:

S 1737/HR 1010 - Minimum Wage Fairness Act, Harkin (D-La). S 1737, introduced on 11/19/13 and placed on the Senate Legislative calendar (bypassing committee), would provide for an increase in the federal minimum wage progressively from $8.20/hr. the first 6 months, TO $9.15/hr. six months later, then $10.10/hr. the following year. 

HR.1755/S. 815n- Employment Non Discrimination Act of 2013 (ENDA), Sen. Merkley (D-WV) S. 815 passed the Senate and is under consideration in the House, where it was referred to five separate committees. This legislation would ban employers from firing, refusing to hire or discriminating against workers or job applicants based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.   

S. 2025

The Data Broker Accountability and Transparency Act, by Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV).  S. 2025 contains a prohibition of "pretexting" by data brokers, prohibiting "obtaining or solicitation to obtain personal information by false pretenses."

HR 1312/S 639

The Geological Privacy and Surveillance Act, by Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), would require consent of the subject when using of GPS technology for tracking individuals. 

HR 645

Equal Employment for All Act, by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN.), would prohibit current or prospective employers from using a consumer credit report for either employment purposes or for taking adverse employment actions. 

If there are questions on any of the above items or on other legislative or regulatory issues, please do not hesitate to contact me. As it has been for almost 40 years, NCISS is still Your Voice in the Nation's Capital.

Do not hesitate to call me or send me an email if I can help in any way.

Francie Koehler, CPI, CCDI, CLI

(510) 772-5512

Legislative Archives:  

National and International Private Investigators Day

NCISS, as well as the World Association of Detectives, National Association of Legal Investigators, several state associations, the Association of British Investigators and many members and agencies are supporting this renewed Private Investigators Day. Here are some of the events:

Please contact your state association to find out about activities in your area. 

Colorado PI Mandatory Licensing - signed by governor

From Andrea Orozco - NCISS Regional Director (5) and PPIAC Life Member, past VP of Training:

Congratulations to this board, what an amazing feat. You all should be proud. Thank you for all of the countless hours and hard work. As an investigator I truly appreciate what you've done for our industry.

From Steve Davis, President - Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado:

Today (June 6th) the mandatory private Investigators licensure was signed by the Governor. Since the late 1970's the Professional Private Investigators Association has been working diligently in accomplishing this mission and today it happened.

Many people have been involved in this push from its inception and the hard work and efforts paid off for all. PPIAC's original members and board members are the first ones I would like to congratulate and thank for what occurred today and of course all of the past and present board members and members of PPIAC.

I hope that all investigators will accept this new law, embrace it and work to make it even stronger through the years. We are all on the same team no matter how many organizations, groups or lone individuals are out there.  I thank all that got us where we are today. Congratulations to all!

From Dean A. Beers, CLI, CCDI - Past Board Chairman and Life Member:

NCISS has several past and current members of PPIAC that have been part of the past and current efforts of licensing in Colorado. Bob Heales (Past President, Life Member), Dale Wunderlich (Past President), Gene Ferraro (Past Board Member), Robert (Past President) & Andrea Orozco (Past VP of Training, Life Member) and Charles Sullivan have been strong supporters. The licensing efforts had the support of other NCISS members in Colorado - the efforts of all are appreciated.

PPIAC President Steve Davis summed it up nicely.  My personal thanks to the leadership and membership of PPIAC for seeing this effort through in the last nearly 40 years -- and there are still a few around who were first involved.  With member support and participation, this will be a success and the stronger point of consumer protection and professionalism that PPIAC has strived for.

Region 6 - from Terry Myer Regional Director (Region 1) and Gary Brummond  

NCISS at CALI - Terry Myer and Gary Brummond

It was 112 degrees in Santa Mirage, CA for the CALI conference. Terry Myer (Regional Director, #) attended with Gary Brummond and worked the NCISS booth the full conference. With 225 attendees, and a CALI being a big supporter of NCISS, Terry and Gary were still able to get five new members. They also gave an update on SLAM and the Legislative Advocacy Hub. The next major conferences are in Iowa (July) and Texas (August) - if any members are attending these and can help with the NCISS membership table, please contact any NCISS board member.

NCISS MEMBER ASSOCIATION CONFERENCES 

This is a new section for The eReport.  Many NCISS members have articles published in trade magazines, online forums and journals of other associations.  If you are published, or find an NCISS colleague published, please send a link to the article for inclusion here.  

Articles Published by NCISS Members: 

The following articles are all in the August 2014 issue of PI Magazine  - www.PIMagazine.com.  If you see a member, including yourself, published - please let us know. 

-- Andrea Orozco 'The Versatility of a Female Surveillance Specialist'

-- Dean A. Beers, CLI, CCDI 'A look into the Practical Methods for Legal Investigations'

-- Robert Orozco 'Physical Investigations vs Unmanned Surveillance Platforms'

-- Patricia Fisher, MJ, CFDE, CFS 'Red Flags - Questioned Documents in Financial Elder Abuse Cases'

With nearly 1,000 NCISS members - tracking members in the news, published articles and newly published books will be a daunting task.  If you are, or see a colleague, in the news or published, please email The eReport editor at beersda@DeathCaseReview.com 

NCISS ENDORSED INSURANCE PROGRAMS

NCISS PI INSURANCE PLAN - Provides General & Professional Liability Insurance to private investigation agencies with up to 25 investigators. The insurance policy's limits of liability are $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate and includes: Assault & Battery, False Arrest, Libel/Slander, Invasion of Privacy, Vicarious Liability, Errors & Omissions, Contractual Liability, Independent Contractors and Additional Insured coverage. The policy is underwritten by the Lexington Insurance Company, which is the largest specialty insurer in the U.S. with over $5 Billion in policyholder surplus and A (Excellent) rated in Best's Key Rating Guide. The minimum annual premium for this policy is $750 + tax.

NCISS GUARD INSURANCE PLAN - Provides General & Professional Liability Insurance to security guard companies with less than $1,000,000 in annual revenues. The insurance policy's limits of liability are $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 aggregate and includes: Assault & Battery, False Arrest, Vicarious Liability for intentional/criminal acts committed by guards, Errors & Omissions, Contractual Liability, Independent Contractors and Additional Insured coverage. The policy is underwritten by the Lexington Insurance Company, which is the largest specialty insurer in the U.S. with over $5 Billion in policyholder surplus and A (Excellent) rated in Best's Key Rating Guide. The minimum annual premium for this policy is $1,500 + tax.

The NEWEST Benefit for NCISS from Brownyard! 

THE BESTGUARD PLAN GROUP CAPTIVE - A member-owned captive insurance program that was created for the purpose of providing lower cost Workers Compensation Insurance to select, high quality NCISS security guard member companies located throughout the U.S. The program is focused on larger, regional guard companies with standard Workers Compensation premiums of between $250,000 and $3,000,000 looking for an alternative to standard guaranteed cost programs that don't adequately reward them for their superior operations. These programs are only available to members of the National Council of Investigation & Security Services and are administered by Brownyard Programs, Ltd, the Brokers of Record of the association. 

These programs are endorsed and sponsored by NCISS

NCISS Insurance Plans are available only to NCISS members and are specifically designed to insure the unique insurance needs of private investigators and security companies throughout the U.S. It combines broad coverage with low cost. 

For details visit 

Please contact Brownyard Programs for more information and applications.

E-Mail: Info@BrownyardPrograms.com 

Website: www.BrownyardPrograms.com 

Tel # 631-581-9300; Fax #: 631-581-9385