Up to Speed - 1st Quarter 2023

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY ACT

EV SAFETY: UNDERSTANDING ELECTRICITY

JOB DESCRIPTIONS: WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

MAXIMIZING PERFORMANCE IN CHALLENGING TIMES

ISSUE #15

FIRST QUARTER 2023

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chairman, Marshall Harper HARPER MOTORS District 6, Minden

Chairman-Elect, Kristie McMath-Hebert ARCENEAUX FORD District 5, New Iberia

Treasurer, Patton Fritze RED RIVER MOTOR COMPANY District 7, Bossier City

Immediate Past Chairman Lawrence S. Searcy, Jr. WALKER AUTOMOTIVE District 16, Alexandria

Robert A. Grace

SOUTHPOINT VOLKSWAGEN District 11-12, Baton Rouge

Richard Q. Flick BANNER AUTOMOTIVE District 1-3, Metairie

Mark A. Hebert, Sr. NADA State Director

HEBERT’S TOWN & COUNTRY CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP

DIRECTORS

L. Keith Hanks LAKESIDE TOYOTA District 1-3, Metairie

Lee Carney GEAUX CHEVROLET District 1-3, LaPlace

Brett Barker TERROBONNE FORD District 4, Houma

Brett K. Oubre LAKESIDE FORD District 8, Ferriday

Hunter White WHITE FORD LINCOLN District 9, Winnsboro

Allen O. Krake SUPREME AUTOMOTIVE GROUP District 10, Slidell

David L. Fabre ACURA OF BATON ROUGE District 11-12, Baton Rouge

John R. Young

JOHN R. YOUNG BUICK CHEVROLET GMC District 13, Eunice

Corey Tarver LAKE CHARLES TOYOTA District 14, Lake Charles

Rand Alford ALFORD MOTORS, INC. District 15, Leesville

Clinton E. Hixson

HIXSON AUTOPLEX OF ALEXANDRIA District 16, Alexandria

Scott Oliphant

KENWORTH OF LOUISIANA District 17, Heavy Truck

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE | WILL GREEN PREPARING FOR EVERCHANGING CHALLENGES

I hope you’ve all had a great start to 2023. By the time this article hits your desk or inbox, most of you should have already received your dues renewal letters and PAC invoices. Thank you to everyone that has renewed and for your continued confidence and investment in LADA. We thank you for trusting us to carry out our mission to promote and protect the automotive trade in Louisiana.

We all enjoyed more flexibility in 2022 and LADA boasted record breaking turnouts at both the Annual Convention at the historic Grand Hotel in Point Clear and the Annual Golf Tournament at U Club. We extend a warm thank you to all our dealers, sponsors, and associate members that participated and invite everyone to save the dates for all of our 2023 LADA events (which can be found on our new and improved LADA website and in most email communications).

Our events not only bring together members from across the state for fellowship and networking, but also focus on the pertinent topics facing our industry, and I would be remiss not to touch on the upcoming Regional Grassroots Meetings. These meetings give dealers an opportunity to hear from Louisiana franchise law, employment law and insurance/ risk management experts. Additionally, regional meetings are designed to give our dealers an indepth insight into what we are facing as an industry leading up to the Louisiana Regular Legislative Session, where LADA will have a continued focus on an aggressive regulatory and legislative agenda which you’ve come to expect.

In order to better serve our dealer members and help promote and protect our franchise system, your Board of Directors has created the Dealer Advocacy Fund. We face bigger and evolving challenges with every passing year, and this fund sets out to support the laws, regulations and statutes defending Louisiana dealers and in turn protects our employers, customers, and the communities that we serve.

LADA wants to be prepared for these ever-changing challenges and to be a resource for our dealer body. This fund will allow for more financial flexibility as we to continue to be the voice for our consumers, our customers, and our employees. We are asking dealers to consider making a tax-deductible donation to this critical endeavor today. More information on making a donation can be found at www.lada.org/ dealer-advocacy-fund.

In closing, I again thank you for continuing to put your trust in LADA. Day after day I say what an honor it is to represent you. Our success as an association safeguards our business model, a model that creates thousands of jobs, millions in local and state tax revenue and countless consumer benefits. Your LADA staff is already hard at work preparing for a great 2023, so please be sure to renew your membership in the LADA and LADA PAC and make your donations to the Dealer Advocacy Fund. As always, do not hesitate to contact us for any need.

NADA CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

GEOFFREY PONHANKA 2023 NADA CHAIRMAN

The National Automobile Dealers Association is leading the auto industry into a brave new world. In the past few years, we’ve seen the retail automotive landscape change at a rapid pace. We’re seeing change in the cars themselves and the way people purchase them. But with change comes a wave of new opportunities for dealers across the nation! We need the help of state dealer associations, like LADA, to be as engaged and proactive as ever to meet the challenges of the year.

These six particular aspects highlight our core values and the common ground between dealers and legacy OEMs. I encourage you to review these principles and keep them in mind this year. NADA will continue to reinforce how auto dealers are ALL IN on EVs, and that we are essential for an electric future. Make no mistake, this evolution is being driven not only by consumer demand but also by government emission and fuel economy regulations. And we are doing our part to sell and service these exciting vehicles.

NADA has led dealers through a complex time in our industry. Last year, we worked to overcome a host of issues: microchip shortages, disruptions along the vehicle supply chain; low inventory on our dealership lots; and overly broad federal regulations that could negatively impact our businesses, employees, and customers. Moreover, our franchise system is currently being challenged from all directions—calls for agency relationships, expanded over-the-air updates, direct sales, new data sharing regulations, and more.

To meet these new and evolving challenges, NADA launched its Guiding Principles which capture the realities of our business:

• The Evolving Business Model

• The Franchise System

• Downstream Revenue

• Allocation-Reservations

• Data

• And Efficiencies

Rest assured NADA will continue to advocate on behalf of all dealers in our Nation’s Capital—a place where my family’s automotive story started over 100 years ago. I am eager to work with our OEMs and build bridges so we can provide our customers with a great buying experience. Dealers and their OEMs essentially want the same things; we just don’t always agree on how to do it. The NADA team will make a concerted effort to demonstrate that the new-car franchise system is the best way to sell and service vehicles; and that dealers are the competitive advantage for the legacy OEMs over the direct sellers.

I wish LADA and all its dealers a successful 2023 in this brave new world ahead!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY ACT

By: Lance Kinchen, Brezeale, Sachse, & Wilson, LLP

The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) represents the most significant reformation of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and related anti-money laundering (“AML”) rules since the U.S. Patriot Act. The CTA was passed after pressure from other developed countries to conform to financial transparency standards.

The U.S. currently does not have a centralized or complete store of information about who owns and operates legal entities within the U.S. After much media attention, there was overall frustration by both domestic and international law enforcement agencies being able to access beneficial owner information (“BOI”). In applying the CTA, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and indirectly trusts, must disclose information on their “Beneficial Owners” to prevent use of shell companies from evading AML rules or hiding other illegal activities.

The CTA reporting requirements cast a broad net and can be onerous. The CTA impacts owners, as well as practitioners who advise on, and carry out, entity formation, governance, planning and tax compliance. Final regulations have an effective date of January 1, 2024 but reporting is not required until a later date. The CTA requires “Reporting Companies” to disclose specific information regarding their “Beneficial Owners” and “Company Applicants” to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). A domestic Reporting Company is a corporation, limited liability company or other similar entity created by the filing of a document pursuant to the laws of a U.S. state or Indian tribe. A

foreign Reporting Company is a corporation, limited liability company or other similar entity that is formed under the laws of a foreign country, and registered to do business in any State or tribal jurisdiction by the filing of a document with the Secretary of State or any similar office under the laws of a State or Indian tribe.

The CTA reporting requirements generally exempt entities that are otherwise subject to significant regulatory regimes where Congress presumably expected regulators to have visibility into the identities of the owners and ownership structures of the entities. The exemptions thus avoid imposing duplicative requirements in these cases. Exemptions to the Reporting Company requirements include, but are not limited to:

• banks and bank-type entities;

• tax-exempt entities;

• accounting firms registered under the SarbanesOxley Act;

• publicly traded companies;

• large operating companies employing more than 20 employees in the U.S. with gross receipts or sales over $5,000,000 and a physical presence in the U.S.;

• subsidiaries of an exempt entity; and

• certain inactive entities in existence before January 1, 2020.

The Beneficial Owner for purposes of the CTA reporting requirements is any individual who directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement,

understanding or relationship, exercises substantial control over a Reporting Company, or owns at least 25% of the Reporting Company, or controls ownership of at least 25% of the Reporting Company.

Substantial control over a Reporting Company includes service as a senior officer of a Reporting Company; authority over the appointment or removal of any senior officer or a majority of the board of directors of a Reporting Company; and direction, determination, and substantial influence over important decisions of a Reporting Company.

The information required to be reported under the CTA includes a list of the Beneficial Owners and applicants which include the legal name, date of birth, residential address, business address and a unique identifying number from an acceptable identification document (e.g. unexpired passport

number). A Reporting Company must include its name, business address, jurisdiction of formation and unique identification number. The due date for the CTA reports is currently set for January 1, 2025 for Reporting Companies in existence before January 1, 2024.

The penalties for violating the CTA can be harsh and include willfully providing or attempting to provide false or fraudulent beneficial ownership information; or willfully failing to report, complete or update beneficial ownership information. The possible penalties include a fine of up to $500 per day up to a maximum of $10,000, plus possible imprisonment of up to two (2) years.

If you have any questions about the CTA and the reporting requirements thereunder, please do not hesitate to contact me at lance.kinchen@bswllp.com

JOB DESCRIPTIONS: WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?

By: Timothy Scott and Andrew Baer, Fisher Phillips, LLP

A common question that dealers have is whether to develop and disseminate written job descriptions. Some dealers have them, while others completely ignore them. Likewise, many dealers who do have job descriptions have not reviewed them to make sure that they accurately reflect the current reality. Like most things in human resources, job descriptions can be useful tools but only if they are done correctly. Blindly using a “form” job description without tailoring it to your workforce is generally of little value.

The reality is that job duties constantly shift within the workplace. Some tasks are absorbed by other individuals. Some requirements change for certain jobs. Some responsibilities are eliminated alltogether. The evolving workplace often leaves job descriptions outdated and irrelevant.

While updating or creating job descriptions may be on the backburner, accurate job descriptions can be the cornerstone of an effective compliance program that can help minimize litigation risks. The new year provides dealers with a good opportunity to address this issue.

Discipline, Performance Management, and Hiring

Job descriptions help set expectations for your employees. When considering discipline or evaluating job performance, a job description can be a helpful tool to guide the employee and employer. There’s no reason for surprise when everyone is on the same page about the expectations, which hopefully are clearly laid out in the job description. They can also be helpful during the hiring process to ensure that you are communicating what you are looking for to potential candidates.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

One of the easiest ways for an employer to create legal liability is to run afoul of the FLSA with respect to meeting the law’s minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements. Job descriptions can serve as useful tools in defending whether an employee is properly classified as exempt. On the other hand, a poorly written job description can severely hurt you when making your case to the Department of Labor that a particular job is not eligible for overtime. While the job description itself is not determinative of whether a classification under the FLSA is correct, it is often good piece of

evidence for the employer to use in identifying a position is exempt and defending its position. For example, if an employer is claiming the executive exemption with respect to a particular position, the job description should accurately list job duties that track the requirements of the exemption. In this way, developing or finetuning the job description will also assist in auditing the dealership’s wage and hour compliance.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

When an employee presents with a disability, understanding the employee’s essential job functions is an extremely important part of the ADA analysis. The job description will help identify whether an employee can perform the essential functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. In fact, when permissible, employers often attach a copy of the employee’s job description with a medical questionnaire to a healthcare provider to determine whether the individual is fit to perform the job duties. The medical certification based on that description will help determine what, if any reasonable accommodation the employee may need. If the job description is inaccurate or incomplete, the employer’s decisions under the ADA may be incorrect.

Family and Medical Leave Act

Under certain circumstances, employers may require a fitness-for -duty certification from an employee’s healthcare provider before they can return to work after a leave of absence. Under the FMLA, an employer must include a job description and/or list of essential functions of the employee’s position with the certification. If the job description is inaccurate or incomplete, an FMLA analysis may be incorrect. Not having a job description can limit your rights as an employer to fully evaluate a request for FMLA leave.

Worker’s Compensation

A job description will also be helpful to assess an employee’s rights under worker’s compensation. An accurate job description will help the claims process determine what types of benefits an employee may be entitled to. The job description can help determine whether the employee requires light duty, a limited schedule, or leave.

Essential Elements of a Good Job Description

1. The following are the best practice elements of a good job description:

2. The job title (it is helpful to identify the department and the position to which it reports)

3. A brief summary of the purpose of the job (this should be no more than a sentence or two)

4. A listing of the essential or primary duties of the job (it is also helpful to list out the secondary duties as well)

5. The minimum requirements of the position (such as required education level, necessary certifications or licenses, abilities, skills, training, etc.)

6. The mental and physical requirements of the position and a description of the working conditions

Please reach out to Tim Scott (tscott@fisherphillips. com) or Andrew Baer (abaer@fisherphillips.com) if you have any questions about either revising your existing job descriptions or developing new job descriptions.

THE OTHER HAND, A POORLY WRITTEN JOB DESCRIPTION CAN SEVERELY HURT YOU WHEN MAKING YOUR CASE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR THAT A PARTICULAR JOB IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR OVERTIME.

Always here for Louisiana

A lot has changed since Casey & Casey began helping dealers with their title & registration needs in 1957. But even now, as we are known as Dealertrack and Auto Title Express, one thing will never change: Our commitment to giving every dealer in Louisiana the personalized service you deserve with:

• Dedicated training staff here to help you with any needs or questions

• “Louisiana Cancel Plate Program” that cancels plates on the spot for your customers

• “Louisiana Temp Tag Program” that makes issuing temp tags for your customers a snap

Schedule a demo with Mike Finney, Regional Sales Manager for Louisiana at us.dealertrack.com/LADA

F&I Document Review

How Do You Review the Documents Used in Your F&I Process?

Introducing a Free Service from Reynolds Document Services!

Having the right F&I documents is an essential part of managing dealership compliance risks. Are you doing enough to manage them? Reynolds and Reynolds can help by conducting a free F&I Document Review.

The F&I Document Review will help you:

 Identify areas of risk with key documents.

 Improve efficiencies by highlighting duplicate documents.

 Evaluate best practice documents not currently used in your F&I process.

 Increase standardization of F&I documents within dealer groups.

The free F&I Document Review can add critical insight and focus to your existing document compliance legal review process.

The F&I Document Review process is simple. We’ll collect all of your F&I documents (print and electronic). We’ll review them and then meet with you to discuss our findings Contact your Document Services Consultant to get started today!

MAXIMIZING PERFORMANCE IN CHALLENGING TIMES

By: Jason Rasti, The LDS Group

As we wrap up January and advance through the first quarter of 2023, a clear view of new challenges is quickly emerging. Rising interest rates and a lingering hangover from the most favorable conditions in the history of the car business lead us to wonder if the party is over.

Rising interest rates affect finance penetrations, rate spread, and product penetrations, which all can result in a lower PRU. We have seen this in F&I performance across our region. Year over year comparisons for January tell us that finance penetration dropped from an average of 78% to 73%. VSC penetration declined from 58% to 55%. PRU is down $190 from $1,995 to $1,805. F&I numbers are decreasing for our industry. Despite 2023’s early obstacles, there are some ways dealers and managers can continue best in class performance.

Establish Performance Standards

Performance standards meetings are a must. F&I managers, sales managers, general managers, dealers, and your LDS territory manager should be present and participating. A thorough review and group discussion should take place to establish one set of performance standards. These are not “goals” but standards that will be attained by the team. Everyone signs off and comes together on a process and plan to make it happen. Each manager is accountable to that process and plays their role in completing them!

Training made easy

We all learned a thing or two during COVID. For us, it was virtual training. Not only did this play a key role during that time, but it continues to be a cornerstone in the LDS training offerings. Each day for 15-20 minutes at 10am LDS presents a positive training message delivered by Cole Miller (our Director of Training) or any one of our 11 territory managers. We are continuing to average over 100 virtual attendees daily as we look to give you an edge on our current economic times!

Performance Driven Pay Plans

If you have not reviewed your F&I managers’ pay plans lately, now is a great time to do so. Are they aligned with your performance standards? Do they motivate your desired behaviors? Do they cultivate teamwork while rewarding top performers? These are just a few questions to ask. LDS territory managers are available for a complete pay plan analysis and review.

While there are many other actions that should be taken to ensure we are maximizing results, starting with these three will certainly get you on the right track. Please contact your LDS Territory Manager or myself for assistance. We would love to help!

EV SAFETY: UNDERSTANDING ELECTRICITY

By: Micah O’Shaughnessy, CSP, ASP

Electricity is an everyday part of our lives. Flip a switch and the lights turn on. Plug your phone in and the battery charges. At home, you may not think about how electricity works (until your power goes out). But when your work involves electrical vehicles, it’s imperative to understand the mechanics of electricity to stay safe on the job.

In this post, we explain basic electrical terms, how to calculate voltage and wattage, the risks of working with electric vehicles.

Basic Electrical Terms

Let’s start with the basic terminology.

Electricity is a function of electron movement. An electron is a particle and a component of each and every atom. The continual flow of electrons from one atom to another is what creates electrical current.

Current

An ampere, shortened to “amp” or abbreviated as “A,” is the standard measurement of electrical current that moves past one point of an electrical circuit. One amp is equal to over 6,000,000,000,000,000,000 electrons per second, or six quintillion.

Voltage

Voltage, shortened to “volt” or abbreviated as “V,” is used to measure electric potential difference, which is the force that pushes electrons through the circuit.

Resistance

Electrical resistance is measured in ohms, which is abbreviated as “Ω.” An ohm is a measure of the conductivity of the medium through which the current is flowing. Mediums like copper, which have low resistance, are good conductors.

Wattage

Wattage, shortened to “watt” or abbreviated as “W,” is a measure of the amount of work or power that can be performed with the electricity that is supplied. In other words, it is the rate at which energy can be transferred from electricity to some other function, such as powering a vehicle or lighting a bulb.

Putting the Pieces Together

Determining Voltage

You can determine voltage (V) by multiplying current (A) times resistance (Ω). In other words, a circuit requires one volt of pressure to push one amp of current through one ohm of resistance. That relationship is represented by this formula:

V = A x Ω

If resistance increases, we require more voltage to move the same amount of current.

Suppose you’re using a 12 V source. If the resistance is 100 ohms, the amperage is 100 divided by 12, or .12 A.

12 V = .12 A x 100 Ω

Now double the resistance to 200 ohms. The amperage is 12 divided by 200, or .06 A. Amperage is halved when the resistance is doubled.

12 V = .06 A x 200 Ω

Determining Wattage

Wattage is the work that gets done by electrical current. A watt of work is a function of the voltage and amperage of an electrical system. It is calculated as follows:

W = A x V

Suppose you have a 12 V source and .06 A. The wattage is 12 x .06, or .72.

High-Voltage Batteries Are, Well, Electrifying Electric vehicles (EVs) present a significant risk to the technician. A high-voltage battery creates a large amount of pressure (voltage) in order to move an electrical current through any medium, including you!

If a person enters an electrical circuit, it only takes 10 mA or 0.01 A to paralyze the respiratory system.

Currently, EV batteries operate at 200 V to 800 V. The resistance of a human body varies wildly and can be anywhere between 500 Ω and 100,000 Ω. If we assume skin resistance to be 20,000 Ω, we arrive at:

V = A x Ω -> 200 V = A x 20,000 Ω -> A = 200 V / 20,000 Ω -> A = 0.01

This calculation assumes the smallest of today’s highvoltage batteries and reasonable resistance factors.

The 10 mA result is enough to kill a human being.

Due to the wide variety of factors that contribute to skin resistance, exposure to a high-voltage battery is a very risky endeavor.

That’s where personal protective equipment comes into play. Make sure you’re staying on top of EV safety requirements at the KPA content hub designed for LADA. For questions or to learn more about our solutions, please reach out to info@reply.kpa.io

ur attorneys can help you steer through the labor laws affecting the car usiness. Since 1943, we have been the labor lawyers of choice for utomobile dealers. Fisher Phillips is dedicated to helping the members the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association with their labor and mployment legal matters. We’re driven to help you succeed.

Our attorneys can help you steer through the labor laws affecting the car business. Since 1943, we have been the labor lawyers of choice for automobile dealers. Fisher Phillips is dedicated to helping the members of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association with their labor and employment legal matters. We’re driven to help you succeed.

Our attorneys can help you steer through the labor laws affecting the car business. Since 1943, we have been the labor lawyers of choice for automobile dealers. Fisher Phillips is dedicated to helping the members of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association with their labor and employment legal matters. We’re driven to help you succeed.

Krystal Hudson Meador Executive Assistant & Membership Director khudson@lada.org

Fermin Rodriguez Accountant frodriguez@lada.org

Lance J Kinchen

Jeanne C Comeaux

Claude F Reynaud, Jr