September 7, 2023

Top Stories This Week:

Gas Tax Will Increase October 1st

Last week we mentioned that a decision on the gas tax would be made very soon. This year the Treasury waited until the Friday morning before Labor Day weekend to announce that due to a decrease in total motor fuel consumption in the state over the last year, the state petroleum products gross receipts tax would be increased this year by 0.9 cents per gallon on gasoline and diesel motor fuel. This rate increase is effective on Sunday, October 1st. There is nothing that you as retailers need to do, the change in tax will be automatically applied on invoices for fuel that you get delivered on or after October 1st. The total state and federal taxes on gasoline will be 60.7¢ and the total on diesel will be 73.9¢ per gallon.  

Proposal Includes More Employees Eligible for Overtime Pay

The Biden administration proposed a new rule last Wednesday that will increase the eligibility for overtime pay to more employees. This is something the Obama Administration proposed at the end of his term but was struck down by the courts. It would affect salaried workers who don’t already get overtime, such as store managers. Under current law, if someone holds a “white collar” position, they are not qualified to receive overtime pay. They can just be paid a flat rate as long as they make more than $35,568 per year. This proposal would increase the base salary level to $55,068 ($1,059 a week). For employees who earn less than that, regardless of title or workload, the employer would have to start tracking their hours and paying them time-and-a-half for any hour worked over 40 per week. While this has only just been proposed and will be quite a while before becoming law there are about 300,000 retail workers nationwide that would be affected by this. This is still less than the threshold proposed by some Democrats in Congress who wanted it to be $82,000/year.

Member Benefit Partner Spotlight: Environmental Alliance

The NJGCA and Environmental Alliance, Inc. (Alliance) continue to advocate for your business and alleviate your concerns/worries with: NJDEP enforcement actions; property assessments and investigations; closing outdated UST systems; and performing site remediation. Alliance is a local, full-service environmental consulting and engineering firm specializing in: 

• Consulting/Addressing NJDEP Notices 

• Site Sampling & Monitoring (soil, soil, vapor, groundwater) 

• UST System Oversight, Investigation & Closure 

• Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) Services 

• Insurance Claim Support & Litigation Support Services 

• Real Estate Due Diligence Services: NJ Preliminary Assessments, Phase I / Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (We are Approved with Numerous Lending Institutions) 

• Turn-key Site Remediation Solutions Customized to your Property Conditions 

• Permitting & Regulatory Compliance Assistance

EXCLUSIVE NJGCA MEMBER BENEFITS: 

• A discounted rate schedule 

• Complimentary review of NJDEP documents and evaluation of your property by senior staff 

• A knowledgeable, local staff (including LSRPs), that keep tabs on the ever-changing NJ regulations and guidance documents 

• We will always have your best interest in mind; offering practical solutions

Top Industry News:

Available Real Estate

Cape Harbor Shell

795 Route 109

Unit B

Lower Township, NJ, 08204

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