Take The NOLN Survey Today! 
AOCA members are encouraged to take National Oil & Lube's Annual Fast Lube Operator Survey. This survey provides the industry with critical data on fast lube business operations. The deadline to complete the survey is June 29th and the results will be shared in the September issue of NOLN. Support your industry by taking the survey today! 

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY!
Are Your Managers AOCA Certified Managers?
Now's your chance to ensure your management team is trained to meet the highest level of industry standards.
You can get your managers AOCA certified September 11th and 12th in Chicago or October 23rd & 24th in Dallas. 

Click here for more information on our management course and to register students today! 
Q&A  with Affinity HR's  Claudia St. John: Unpaid Internship
Q: We have a new intern - the daughter of one of the owners. It's an unpaid internship, but I thought those were illegal. Should we be paying her for the work she performs?

A: The answer is most likely yes.  In recent years, the Department of Labor has issued clarifying guidance on what qualifies as a bona fide internship.  For a review of that guidance, click here

Essentially, unpaid internships have to benefit the intern, not the employer. To be bona fide, courts have identified the following seven factors as a test:
  1. The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, expressed or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee-and vice versa.
  2. The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
  3. The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern's formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
  4. The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern's academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
  5. The extent to which the internship's duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
  6. The extent to which the intern's work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
  7. The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.
If your internship cannot pass the test above, your intern is most likely entitled to both minimum wage and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Supreme Court Decision on Arbitration - What It Means For You
On Monday, May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a split 5-4 decision (along party lines) regarding the enforcement of arbitration agreement clauses prohibiting employees from seeking class or collective action for certain employment claims, in this case, FLSA claims.

The decision consolidated 3 cases (Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, NLRB v. Murphy Oil Co, and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris) with conflicting decisions in different circuits of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In these cases, arbitration agreements required employees to submit their wage and hour claims to binding arbitration and to do so on an individual basis.

Exclusive Offers from 
AOCA's Savings4Members
Savings4Members is offering our members huge savings with limited time promotions. 

A few featured programs include:
  • ADP switch and get 3 months FREE payroll service through 06/30/2018
  • Card Connect FREE ICT220 terminal or waived ONE-TIME licensing fee ($195 VALUE) through 06/30/2018
  • Office Depot get $20 off your minimum purchase of $150 or more & get $50 off qualifying $300 order through 07/09/2018
  • Exxon Mobil save 10 cents per gallon for 7 months, then save 5 cents per gallon. Apply by 09/30/2018
Don't miss out on all current Savings4Members' vendor promotions. View all promos.

Learn more or contact a Savings Consultant at [email protected] or 844.346.3746
How To Give Your Website a Spring Tune Up: 4 Simple things you can do to make sure all your info across the web is updated and correct.
The ice, snow, sleet, hail, frost and other assorted winter ills are grudgingly giving way and soon the world will be born anew.

As you're taking stock of the changes that are going on in the world and thinking of attracting new customers just now emerging from the long hibernation of winter, it's a good idea to take stock of your web site and social media sites, too. The last thing you want is incorrect or outdated business information.

Studies have shown that four out of five shoppers lose confidence in a business if they spot something wrong with their website-it could be a simple typo, it could be an incorrect address, hours of operation or just reference to an  oil change special that expired during the cold war. Or, maybe the information they're looking for is simply too hard to find.

Calculate Intermittent FMLA Leave?
Q:  We have an employee who will be starting dialysis and has requested to work from home. She works 40 hours a week. She would come in 2 days a week and work 4 hours before or after the dialysis on the remaining 3 days. She would be working 28 hours a week and using 12 hours a week for FMLA. She doesn't know when they will start or her schedule as of yet. She does know it will be 3 days a week and 3-4 hours a day. I know FMLA is for 12 weeks in a 12 month period, but I am not sure how the intermittent leave would work. How long would she actually have to be out?

A: You are correct that leave under the FMLA can be taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule basis, but ...
Marsha A. Lee Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund
AOCA is collecting funds for The Marsha A. Lee Memorial Scholarship Endowment fund, which was created by longtime friend and member of AOCA, Dr. Scotti Lee. The fund will support deserving students at Delaware Tech. Click the here for more information or to donate!
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