by Becca Anderson
OFA RAISES THE BAR ON BENEFITS
Up to $200,000 in Legal Protection for Members
It may be hard to put a dollar fi gure on the value of networking at association meetings, or being represented by articulate people when legislation is proposed that will affect your business. One you can put a fi gure on is that most association dues include a valuable membership in the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI), a $400 value for the basic membership.
Ontario Fabricare Association (OFA) raised the bar on providing
benefi ts that can directly impact the bottom line of their members. In addition to the DLI membership, it offers discounts on insurance, and savings at Nebs and Staples online offi ce supply as well as the Staples Copy Centre. The crown jewel for OFA, however, is the unique DAS Legal Protection insurance that all its members enjoy – though few have taken advantage of it. “Even a quick legal consultation by phone can cost you hun- dreds of dollars these days,” said Sid Chelsky, OFA executive direc- tor. “The basic legal defence insurance is included in OFA dues, and for $90 more it can be expanded to cover contract disputes and debt recovery. This is a phenomenal benefi t to our members.” The protection covers unlimited telephone legal advice for the year, and up to $200,000 in services.
The insurance is offered through Wiesner Insurance. “If you had to pay for this insurance on your own, it would cost a typical plant $900 to $2,000 per year,” said Jason Wiesner. “Certain things are a cost of doing business. Having legal protection is one of them. It’s a no-brainer; one call to a lawyer covers your whole cost of being an OFA member for the year.”
REAL LIFE SCENARIO #1: Employment Disputes
“A driver I hired wasn’t working out,” said Brad Maxwell of Suedemaster. “We tried retraining and worked with him, but I knew we’d fi re him at his three-month review. Unfortunately, that fell right before Christmas. I called DAS Legal Protection for advice on how to handle it. They advised that I could fi re him without cause, and give him proper severance pay. Before I had a chance to meet with him, he bought a new car. When I let him go, he turned around and fi led suit in Small Claims Court for $20,000 – the amount outstanding on his car loan. I called DAS again, and an attorney fi led all the paperwork for me with the right legal terminology, and represented me at the pre-trial conference. If there had been a trial, they would have handled that, too. The key was getting advice fi rst. This insurance saved me a lot of hassle and money.”
Perhaps a company terminates an employee for cause (such as having evidence that money was stolen). That doesn’t stop the employee from suing for wrongful dismissal and saying the evi- dence was fabricated. It could become ‘he said/she said’ without good legal representation.
SCENARIO #2: Statutory Licence Protection
You have licences for various things in order to operate your business. What happens if, out of the blue, a licencing body fails to renew one of them? Where do you go to get help? The DAS insurance covers the costs associated with appealing to a regula-
16 FABRICARE CANADA September/October 2015 Michael Dillon
tory body to get your licence cleared up. That can keep you in business.
SCENARIO #3: Legal Defence
Things happen that are beyond an operator’s control. For instance, if an employee restrains someone during a robbery attempt, the employee could be charged with forceful confi nement and assault of the person restrained. It’s up to the owner to defend the employee. If an employee is injured on the job while working with dry cleaning chemicals, the Work Safety Inspection Board will come to investigate the plant’s safety procedures. This can lead to many legal diffi culties, which will require representation. Even if a business is inspected and found in breach of regu- lations resulting in a fi ne, there are legal actions that can be taken to mitigate the situation.
SCENARIO #4: Sometimes you just need to ask somebody
Running a business is com- plicated. An owner may be a great dry cleaner, an expert laundry provider, fantastic in customer service. But he or she may not know all about business legal matters, such as environmental issues involving industry-related chemicals, suc- cession planning, or the need for tax advice. OFA members can pick up the phone all year long and talk to an expert who will get them the answers they need to stay on the right side of the law.
AS IF THAT WEREN’T ENOUGH
All the above scenarios are covered under the basic legal protection insurance. OFA members who opt to pay a reasonable $90 more per year have robust protection for additional common situations.
SCENARIO #5: Contract Disputes
Every business is undergird- ed by contracts. These bind- ing agreements between the company and its landlord, customers, suppliers and oth- ers are what make day-to-day operations possible. It might be a normal Monday, but it becomes a nightmare when the landlord sends a notice say- ing he’s terminating the plant’s agreement – and the opera- tor feels it’s not justifi ed. Or a supplier is consistently late, and costing the company money and customers because it can’t get work out on time as a result. Contract law is complex but
usually clear cut. The average business owner doesn’t have time to fi gure out all the intri- cacies and still keep his or her business going and growing. DAS lawyers sort it out and represent companies through- out the process.
SCENARIO #6: Debt Recovery
If you work with the public and with other companies, even- tually somebody will owe you money and be reluctant to pay it. The cost of contract- ing with a collection agency is much more than the rider on the legal protection insurance. Having an attorney on call to contact the debtors and pursue debt recovery is a luxury few companies can afford. OFA has made sure its members have this available.
The OFA is to be commended for proactively negotiating a low premium rate for quality cover- age of many of the legal issues that face its members every day. OFA members are encouraged to utilize this unique benefi t on a regular basis.
For more information about OFA, visit the website, www.
fabricare.org, which includes helpful information for cleaners and customers, as well as mem- bership details. █
TINGUE, BROWN & CO. has appointed Michael Dillon as its Pacific Northwest sales representa- tive. In this capacity he will service the industry in British Columbia.
CONGRATS
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