The Best Practices of Financial Planning …And Why They Aren’t as Complex as You Think They Are.

By: Jason D. Nickerson, CFP®, EA, President & Chief Operating Officer, John G. Ullman & Associates

We have all heard of the KISS acronym; “Keep It Simple Smarty Pants!” as Ted Lasso so eloquently put it.  You see, the world only continues to grow more complex, and managing our personal finances is no exception;  however, at the root, there are many basic foundations we can apply that stand the test of time.  This is not to suggest that all things in our planning are simple, but if you remember some simple core concepts, you can do pretty well. We all have heard the Financial Talking Heads talk about things like “save more, spend less,” “create a budget,” “invest,” blah, blah, blah.  They all seem to say the same thing.  These might hit a little differently: 
 
• Use debt as an asset, but smartly:  If you have a good credit score, it may be in part because you have already done this.  Do not be afraid to use debt as an asset.  My favorite example is buying a home.  You can certainly go overboard and make yourself house poor;  however, before you make it your goal to pay off your house, ask why that is your goal.  Using debt to finance your home allows you to leverage free cash flow and other assets for investments to hopefully, over time, outperform the interest you are paying the bank.  Other financial professionals can be anti-debt.  I say use it smartly; it is okay.
 
• Start saving early: We have all probably seen or heard this and have even seen it illustrated.  If you start saving today for the next ten years and then stopped, you will have the same or more 30 years from now as if you started saving 10 years from now and saved the same amount for the next 20 years after that.  Compound earnings are one of the most powerful financial forces in the universe.
 
• Invest with a purpose, and it is usually not to maximize returns: The investing world has only become more accessible to the everyday person.  And it seems that we are all chasing the big win.  I implore you to have a different approach.  When you hear of everyone’s big wins, notice what you are not hearing about are their big losses.  So please, invest with a purpose in mind.  This means having a plan and your plan should not be maximizing returns.  You should be investing for adequate returns to support the achievement of a goal.  If you constantly aim for the highest return, you will likely take more risk than you should and likely end up with some big losses along the way, some that you may never be able to recover from. 
 
• Save more than you think: I am telling you that you need to save more for your future than you think you do.  This is pretty common advice, but people are living longer, and they want flexibility earlier in life.  Saving earlier will allow for that flexibility.
 
• Live for today, plan for tomorrow: A mentor taught me this early in my career and it has stuck with me.  We can get overly consumed with saving for a future that may never come.  Make sure you enjoy today, while still adequately planning for tomorrow.  It is all about balance.
 
Coming from someone who makes a living helping people in this area, it would seem I am writing myself out of a job.  That is not the case.  These are just some basics that everyone can use to get started and fall back on when things get more complex.  When the moment is right, seek help from a qualified professional, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t… 
Keep It Simple Smarty Pants! 

Tetris Anyone?

By: Pierre Morrisseau, CEO, OneGroup

We are entering an exciting time of the year with emphasis on family, holidays and camaraderie with friends and coworkers. At the same time, it can be a very stressful time as we approach year-end results and forward planning. Additionally, most of us are feeling bombarded with a steady stream of negative news and social discourse that at times make the world feel upside-down. The perfect time to change our thinking about how we define and achieve happiness.

Last quarter, I shared some valuable insight I had gained from several sources, particularly from Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, about the effects of happiness on one’s self as well as on an entire enterprise. I also shared some startling statistics about how few employees feel happy and fulfilled at their jobs. The solution, it turns out, is changing our view of “the chicken or the egg.” By that I mean most business leaders and productivity pundits advise us that if we just work harder, we will achieve happiness. That is, thinking of happiness as a goal. In fact, the science of positive psychology has proven that it’s the other way around: Happiness is actually the catalyst that allows our brains to achieve goals—often incredible goals. This was eye-opening. Consider the various results of scientific studies of achieving a “positive brain”:


• Students do better on tests
• Employees do better at work
• Improves brain health
• Increases energy by up to 31%
• Decreases heart disease by up to 30%
• Decreases fatigue-related symptoms by up to 23%
• Reduces the chance of depression by up to 31%


This isn’t about irrational optimism. It turns out that we are not born with a predetermined positive or negative mindset. Neuroscience has shown us that our brain can change at any age. This was underscored by reading about Tetris. For those unfamiliar with Tetris, it is a game where four kinds of shapes fall from the top of the screen and the player works to arrange the shapes in a way to create an unbroken horizon line. And it’s addictive.

In a Harvard Medical School study, Tetris players played for multiple hours a day for three days in a row. Even after they stopped, their minds continued to see shapes everywhere—in the supermarket, sidewalks, skylines—that they could not stop trying to assemble to fill in the “gaps.” This was dubbed the “Tetris Effect.”

What I learned was that the brain can be rewired in just a few days to achieve a positive mindset. Where we typically operate with a two-option view: Maintain the status quo (safety), or fail and lose (vulnerability), there is a third option: Embrace failing knowing it will help catapult us to success (positivity). The latter is what Achor calls “falling up.” He defines it this way: “In the midst of defeat, stress and crisis, our brains map different paths to help us cope and succeed. If our Tetris Effect is to view all that has or could go wrong, then that is all we see. If, on the other hand, our Tetris Effect is to see the opportunity in it, then suddenly we see many other options to fall upward. Our mindset can create blind spots, or it can expand our vision.

This led to my epiphany that if I and others could train our brains to continually see things through a positive lens and continually share our positivity and enthusiasm with others, we could create our own version of the Tetris Effect leading to better success, better employee engagement and better mental health. The great news is this is contagious, and you can leverage one of the most important elements; creating a strong social support network in your workplace.

We are just at the beginning of this journey but excited about how well people are attracted to this approach. We are clearly better together. As we build more champions of positivity, we individually and collectively become better—and happier—every day. That’s the goal.

As always, I am most interested in learning about what others are doing to solve business challenges.
I would love to hear your thoughts!

CRAL Contracting, Inc. CRAL’S Craig Zinserling walks the talk

Tami S. Scott

Perseverance is a character strength that most entrepreneurs would agree you must embrace to accomplish your dreams. This virtue is one that Craig Zinserling developed years ago, initially through watching and learning from his parents, Jack and Marcia. He would observe how they handled life – the good, the bad, and the ugly – just by sitting around their kitchen table and witnessing how they faced their challenges with a great attitude.

“You’re never given too much that you can’t handle,” he said. “My parents brought me up that way and [I’ve] been able to adapt that into my life.”

Zinserling, who founded CRAL Contracting, Inc., is celebrating the company’s 18th anniversary this year as an indoor air quality specialist. The “acronym” CRAL comes from combining Zinserling and his wife’s first names together: Craig and Lori. It’s perfectly fitting, too, since the company’s backstory involves a collaborative effort between the couple to get it started. “I’d always watched my father in his business endeavors, and I always aspired to have my own business,” said Zinserling, despite having worked his way up to a vice president relationship working for a national environmental contracting company. “My wife Lori – she would encourage me. We had many, many long discussions trying to figure out how to make that leap even though we had a mortgage, three kids, and a couple of car payments – how do you pay all that?”

They persisted and they made that leap but not without a multitude of sleepless nights, seven-day workweeks, and attending many of his son’s soccer games with laptop in tow. As the sole “employee,” Zinserling wore many hats, selling, managing, and actually doing all the jobs on his own.

“In the beginning, it was hard getting established, but we made it through and we were able to establish a foothold through relationships we had built here in Syracuse, having grown up here my entire life,” Zinserling added.

CRAL now has two locations – one in Syracuse and one about an hour and a half west of Syracuse, in
Rochester. Zinserling said the second location was a natural fit as he and Lori had lived there for some time, too.

The relationships he’s built over time have played critical roles in the building of CRAL and where it is today. For instance, once CRAL was established, its first customer was Crucible Steel in Syracuse – and that was in large part due to connections he made and maintained.

“If I have a friend who has a tax business or a barber shop, I’m giving my friend business even if it’s more money. I want to support my friends and those relationships that I’ve developed for over 55 years in Syracuse,” Zinserling said. “It’s a small town and doing work right and treating clients well will follow you.”

Loyal customers and a good-standing reputation also mean publicity in the form of “word of mouth.” When the pandemic began, Zinserling feared the worst.

“I think with any business owner, there was complete panic. From a business standpoint, I was wondering if I’d lose everything,” he said. “How do you close a business down and have no [money] coming in, and not be able to pay people? How will we survive?”

As the saying goes, perseverance pays off. Office staff continued to come to work and “didn’t skip a beat,” he remarked. The team was able to complete the projects for which they were hired and “like manna from heaven,” Onondaga County called CRAL for work. The first testing site had been set up in the inner city, but it needed disinfecting and sanitizing, and CRAL is the expert.

“Our crews [went in] on a daily basis with specialized equipment. They were in full PPE, we had HEPA air cleaning devices spread out throughout their facility and we were disinfecting, and sanitizing around the clock,” Zinserling said.

Soon after, this service branched out to private businesses and nursing homes throughout NYS and downstate into NYC. “The nursing homes weren’t set up for isolation and that’s what we do. We’re very good at engineering isolation, containment, and we would contain an entire wing of these nursing homes and put them under HEPA negative air pressure and disinfect and sanitize around the clock.”

Other than a few calls here and there from a private business or nursing home, Zinserling said that type of work is essentially over. Regular services, such as mold remediation, lead abatement, and asbestos abatement, can again take the lead in project acquisition.

Giving back

Zinserling remembers what it was like to find and rent office space when he was just a budding business owner himself. About six years ago, he began pursuing real estate to purchase and eventually found a building that was reasonably priced but had a large footprint – 22,000 square feet. “I don’t need that much space,” he said.

So, he came up with an idea that stuck and worked. He set up that building, and another one that he acquired, to be incubators for young local, minority entrepreneurs. “They rent a simple office from us and a space for their startup business.”

He’s had several renters leave to buy their own real estate to work from and he said it’s so fun to watch. “It’s absolutely a joy for me to watch these young guys and gals pursue their dreams and be successful.”

Zinserling also sits on the board for David’s Refuge, a local charity that over the years has grown exponentially. The nonprofit provides respite and other support to parents and guardians of children with special needs or life-threatening medical conditions. Warren and Brenda Pfohl

formed David’s Refuge in honor of their son to encourage parents to keep pressing on. David was diagnosed with and battled Batten Disease for thirteen years.

“Parenting and marriage are difficult enough under regular circumstances and on top of being a full-time caregiver, it’s extremely difficult,” Zinserling said. “They really saw the need for caring for the caregivers.”

The organization provides caregivers with respite weekends, putting them up in nice places that also support the local community. To learn more about David’s Refuge, visit DavidsRefuge.org.

Zinserling’s steadfast spirit is a trait that, by the way he chooses to live his life, does not go unnoticed. And because he has a deep, personal, and meaningful sense of meeting life’s challenges with patience and perseverance, he wants to help those he works with daily to adopt that same attitude.

Now having grown a company to include up to 50 employees, professionally surviving a pandemic, and personally helping others through complicated life journeys, Zinserling is a stellar example of success.

And so are those who have helped him achieve his dreams.

“We have a core group of staff that has been here from nearly the inception. They are the backbone of the business,” Zinserling said. “Frankly, I am no longer needed. They are so talented and caring that they run the business.”

For more information on CRAL Contracting, Inc., visit cralinc.com or call 315.671.6006. For more information about David’s Refuge, visit davidsrefuge.org

 

Construction Career Aspirations Are Achievable

Earl Hall, Executive Director, Syracuse Builders Exchange

Long before governmental entities began to focus on “inclusivity” and other “workforce development” initiatives targeting minority, women and “disadvantaged” groups of people who may not have had a presence in particular segments of the economy, construction industry employers have tried for decades to include all people into the industry, including immigrants. The United States of America provides all people equal opportunity to participate in the economy, including the regional construction industry. Determination, self-motivation, hard work, perseverance, and the will to succeed are human attributes necessary to be successful in life and business. Gul Ahmad Hamidi is an example of how an Afghan immigrant successfully entered the local workforce and pursued a career in the construction industry.

Hamidi was born in Afghanistan, earned a degree in Civil Engineering in New Delhi, India, and was a civil engineer and a construction project manager in Kandahar, Afghanistan. While his career accomplishments were impressive and his future full of opportunities, it all ended Aug. 31, 2021, when he escaped Afghanistan on a United States military C-17 cargo plane, leaving his family behind.

As an interpreter for the United States military, Hamidi was taken by the United States military and hidden for the month of August, before being rushed to one of the final C-17 cargo planes leaving Afghanistan. While on board, he assisted pilots by communicating important instructions and information to those on the plane, which was headed for Germany. Hamidi would spend the next several months at United States military bases in Germany and in Philadelphia, preparing to begin his new life in the United States.

In March 2022, InterFaith Works of Central New York introduced Hamidi to me via an email. He expressed a strong interest in working in the construction industry as a project manager. After meeting Hamidi during two different interviews, it was apparent that he had all the characteristics necessary to become a successful employee and a productive member of society as he embraced the United States’ way of life, freedom, and culture.

After interviewing with local construction companies and having nothing more than the clothes on his back and documents from the United States government, Hamidi was hired by one of the area’s premier general contractors. Today, Hamidi is enjoying the infancy of his construction career and the many wonderful benefits of living in central New York.

Hamidi is a shining example of one’s ability to pursue the American dream by applying the human attributes necessary to be successful in life and in one’s career. He escaped Afghanistan on the very last day before the Afghan government collapsed, now controlled by the Taliban. Arriving in central New York with nothing, Hamidi today has a car, an apartment, clothes, and money to enjoy the many entertainment opportunities central New York has to offer. He continues to send money back home to his parents in Afghanistan and saves money to someday own his own business or to buy a home.

Hamidi’s story reinforces the notion anyone can be successful in entering and participating in the construction workforce. Being successful in a career is not a right – it is earned. It is earned by self-motivation, hard work, perseverance, and the will to succeed. Overcoming adversity is something most people experience at some point in life, whether it is personal or career.

Hamidi’s story is compelling and is a prime example of how citizens in New York who really desire to enter the construction industry workforce can do so, if they have the drive and commitment to be successful in life and with their chosen career.

Understanding Workers’Compensation Insurance Rates

Steven Bell, Vice President of Underwriting & Sales, Lovell Safety Management

For the last seven years, Workers’ Compensation (WC) Insurance has been one of the few bright spots in the insurance landscape. Unlike other coverages, rates for WC have been falling. More importantly, insurance carriers have had an appetite for WC risk, and market competition has benefited employers throughout the state. As 2024 approaches, the landscape is changing ever so slightly as carriers appear to be becoming more selective. What does that mean for the typical construction company? When the market begins to turn, it first starts to affect businesses with higher losses. At this point, your WC costs should not be rising unless you have had adverse loss experience or payroll growth.

Several key trends that are expected to shape the WC market in the coming year:

1. Loss Costs, Experience Rating and Rates: Effective October 1, 2023, WC loss costs/rates on average will decrease another -2.6%. Since 2017, WC loss costs/rates have decreased approximately 45% in New York. There are many factors that have been driving the loss cost/rate decreases, such as loss experience and development; loss frequency, severity, and wage trend factors; loss adjustment expenses; benefit levels; catastrophe and disaster premium; and industry differentials. While all these factors play a role, the future wage trend had the most impact on loss costs. All other factors being equal, as more wages are paid, more premium is generated and, if losses remain the same, then loss costs/rates will go down.

Experience Rating is designed to modify the loss cost to better fit an individual employer’s loss experience. You may have seen a larger credit or debit on your most recent renewal due to the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (NYCIRB) changing the methodology and formula for determining your experience modification. To temper the change, NYCIRB used the lowest of either the new formula, a claim-capping procedure, or the old formula plus 30 points. Effective 10/01/23, the new formula will use the lowest of either the new formula or claim capping procedure, which may further impact these changes.

Since 2022, we have seen a steady increase in interest rates. While higher interest rates can stagnate economic growth, they may extend the competitive workers’ compensation market as improved investment returns may offset the need to increase pricing if losses and frequency deteriorate.

2. Regulatory Revisions: In 2023, the legislature passed two bills that may impact system costs: the Minimum Weekly Rate A.2034-A/S1161-A and the Mandatory Initial Hearings A.6208/S.5867. The Minimum Weekly Rate legislation establishes a new minimum weekly indemnity rate of compensation that would be indexed to not less than 1/5 of the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) or the employee’s full wages if equal to or less than 1/5 of the SAWW. The Mandatory Hearing legislation will require the Workers Compensation Board to index a claim upon receipt of a medical report, hold a hearing within 60 days, or 45 days upon request, hire stenographers to record hearing minutes and send all notice decisions to claimants in their native tongue. All businesses should be concerned about the potential financial impact of these bills.

3. Technology: The latest technological trend is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Carriers are actively deploying AI to improve claim processing, early intervention, diagnosis, treatment, fraud detection, pricing, and loss prevention. In terms of occupational safety, you will see the rise of AI tools such as wearable technology that can monitor employee vital statistics and monitor things like air quality and warn workers instantly of unsafe air quality. Other technology includes video monitoring where AI monitors video of employee activity identifying unsafe behavior and actions and instantly sends out notices to address them. While these potential advancements may be able to impact safety, they raise concerns about privacy.

4. Labor, Subcontractors, Independent Contractors, and Gig Contractors: The shortage of labor has employers expanding the use of subcontractors, independent and gig contractors. New York has clear rules such as the Fair Play Act, that distinguish an independent contractor from an employee and additional rules that define who is chargeable for the premium. The Fair Play Act rules can be difficult to understand but as a simple rule of thumb, if you hire someone to do work for you and they don’t have valid WC coverage it is likely you will be charged premium for a portion of that work. In summary, it is likely the New York State’s WC market in 2024 will remain competitive for most employers. Political and Regulatory reforms have the potential to increase system costs, but only if signed into law by the governor. AI technology is poised to significantly impact carriers, employers, and workers as its use continues to evolve. Finally, the use of subcontractors needs to be closely monitored to ensure proper coverage, and avoid premium charges.

For more information on workers’ compensation, please contact the professionals at Lovell at 1-800-5-LOVELL or visit online at www.LovellSafety.com.

Deducting Business Travel Expenses

Nicholas L. Shires, CPA, Dannible & McKee, LLP

Historically, there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the tax deductibility of travel expenses within the construction industry. The shift to a more remote workforce resulting from the pandemic has furthered complications and confusion. We will answer a few of the most frequently asked questions about deductible business travel expenses.

When Are Business Travel Expenses Deductible?

Business travel expenses are deductible when an individual must travel away from their tax home or main place of work for business reasons. This is a straightforward definition, right? Well, maybe additional clarification is needed. 

An individual is traveling away from their tax home if they are away for more than an ordinary workday and need to sleep to meet the demands of their work while away. Obviously, this brings in the cost of traveling to the destination. It also brings in deductible expenses such as lodging, meals, cleaning (uniforms, work clothes, etc.) and telephone costs.

Where Is an Individual’s Tax Home?

The answer to this question is complicated. Generally, your tax home is your regular place of business, regardless of where you maintain your family home. It includes the entire city or general area in which your business or work is located. For instance, if you’re living Central New York while working in a main office in
Syracuse, your tax home is considered Syracuse and the immediate surrounding area.

In the construction industry, individuals will often have more than one regular place of business because they work on different job sites. In these cases, their tax home their main place of business or work. An individual’s main place of business or work is determined by:

  • The total time the employee ordinarily spends in each place,
  • The level of business activity in each place, and
  • How much money the employee earns at each place.

It is important to note that commuting travel is not deductible. Therefore, an individual cannot deduct the cost of traveling between their main place of business or work and their residence. They can, however, deduct the cost of traveling between business locations. This means that traveling from the main office location to a job site would be deductible.

How Do You Handle Temporary Work Assignments?

It is common within the construction industry to have a temporary work assignment at a different location than the individual’s tax home. In cases where an employee’s work location assignment is temporary, the individual’s tax home doesn’t change, and the individual is considered to be traveling away from home for the entire period of the assignment. Generally, a temporary assignment in a single location is one that is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for one year or less.

An employer can deduct an employee’s travel expenses if the employer paid or incurred those expenses during an employee’s temporary work assignment and the employee’s work assignment doesn’t last for more than one year.

If an employee is given an indefinite work assignment at a different location, the individual’s tax home changes to the new work location. This would be the case if the employee is scheduled to work at a job site for work expected to last longer than one year. In this situation, the employer cannot deduct the employee’s expenses as business travel expenses while they are working at the new location because the employee is not considered to be traveling away from his tax home. Individuals with indefinite work assignments must include in income any amounts they receive from their employer for living expenses.

What Travel Expenses Are Deductible?

To be deductible, business travel expenses must be ordinary and necessary expenses for traveling away from home for a business, profession, or job. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in the individual’s trade or business. A necessary expense is one that is helpful or appropriate for the business.

Examples of deductible business travel expenses include:

• Travel by airplane, train, bus or car between the individual’s home and business destination;
• Fares for taxis or other types of transportation between an airport or train station and a hotel, or from a hotel or to a work location;
• Shipping baggage and sample or display material between regular and temporary work locations;
• Using a personal car for business travel;
• Lodging and meals while away;
• Dry cleaning and laundry while away;
• Tips paid for services related to any of these expenses; and
• Other similar ordinary and necessary expenses related to business travel.

What Records Should Be Kept?

The business traveler should keep well-organized records that substantiate the amount, time, place, and business purpose of their travel expenses. A business traveler must substantiate the cost of each separate expense for travel, lodging and meals. Incidental expenses, such as taxis, fees, and tips, may be totaled in reasonable categories.

Besides keeping receipts, canceled checks, credit card statements, bank statements (for debit card purchases) and other documents, an individual traveling for business should keep a diary, log or calendar noting the dates and times of any business travel, as well as the business reason for that travel.

As the deductibility of travel expenses continues to become increasingly complex, it is a great idea to have a plan. I always recommend consulting with your tax professional up front to properly document and structure an expense reimbursement plan to maximize the tax benefits of business travel costs.

Nicholas L. Shires, CPA, is the partner-in charge of tax services at Dannible & McKee, LLP, a public accounting firm with offices in Syracuse, Auburn, Binghamton and Schenectady, New York. The firm has specialized in providing tax, audit, accounting and advisory services since its inception in 1978. For more information on this topic, you may contact Nick at (315) 472-9127 or visit
online at www.dmcpas.com

NYS 2023 Workers’ Compensation Updates

Brett Findlay, Vice President, Business Risk Specialist, OneGroup

In this article, we’ll give a brief update on the significant changes to New York State Workers’ Compensation in 2023. None are as big as the 2022 change to the experience modification rating formula (or EMR), the effects of which some policyholders with effective dates prior to October 1, 2023, have yet to see .

Yet again, an aggregate rate decrease is on the horizon, minor increases to both the maximum weekly payroll limitation cap and maximum weekly workers’ compensation benefit are now in effect, and the New York State Assessment dropped in January. Also, the impacts on individual workers’ compensation policies from the changes to the experience rating (EMR) formula have come to fruition.

On May 15, 2023, the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board filed its annual loss cost indication with the New York State Department of Financial Services. An approved and published filing for the expected decrease of 2.6% of the overall loss cost level was confirmed and announced Aug. 1, 2023. The change in rates is effective on policies renewing on or after Oct. 1, 2023. This is the eighth consecutive year with an overall workers’ compensation rate decrease in New York state.

The impact of the loss costs, or rates, will vary depending on each individual classification code. For an understanding of the potential impact on your business, please reach out to OneGroup; you’ll find our contact information below.

Again, it is important to note that these rate changes will not go into effect on any individual policy until Oct. 1. If your effective date is before that date, you will have to wait until your policy renewal before any potential rate changes apply. Regardless of when your effective date is, you should know the exact rate changes to your classifications sooner rather than later. It’s important to not only forecast the future costs of your program, but also to develop a plan for your upcoming renewal.

Also, the maximum weekly payroll limitation/cap for eligible classifications has risen. Effective July 1, 2023, the new cap is $1,718.15. This is a 2% increase from last years’ cap of $1,688.19 and a 7% increase from 2021 cap of $1,594.57. This will have an impact on the cost associated with eligible employers’ workers’ compensation premiums. Furthermore, the maximum weekly workers’ compensation benefit rose from $1,125.47 to $1,145.43 effective July 1, 2023.

In January, the New York State Assessment saw another decrease. This year the assessment dropped to 9.8% from 10.2% in 2022 and even more so from 11.8% in 2021. Overall, there’s been a 17% decrease in the aggregate cost to policyholders since 2021.

As far as the new formula to determine Experience Modification Ratings, or EMR’s, those changes went into effect on Oct. 1, 2022. The formula is significantly different than in years past. OneGroup has been monitoring the impact on policyholders, hosted multiple educational seminars and developed materials to explain the changes in detail. The formula changes significantly impacted many businesses, both positively and negatively. For more information on how you have been or will be affected, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

Finally, you may ask what any of this means for your organization? For any individual questions and/or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Brett Findlay, Vice President of Business & Construction Risk. We are a team of specialists, dedicated to risk management and construction industry-specific insurance issues. We hope to serve as a resource to your organization for all your construction specific questions and concerns. OneGroup takes great pride in being at the forefront of industry trends and assisting others where we can.

You can find out more about us here: www.OneGroup.com or more specifically, http://www.OneGroup.com/business insurance/uniqueindustry-solutions/construction-industry/.

Please feel free to call me directly at (315) 280-6376 or email me at BFindlay@OneGroup.com for any further clarification.

Roadway Excavation Quality Assurance Act

Diana Plue, Esq., Sheats & Bailey, PLLC

New York State has once again passed new legislation that will affect contractors and their bottom line. The state has passed new legislation known as “The Roadway Quality Assurance Act” that amends Labor Law §220 and adds a new section, Labor Law §224-f. The purpose of this act is to ensure that when a private utility company hires contractors or subcontractors to perform work that requires a permit for the excavation, opening or use of a public street those workers are paid prevailing wages. 

The Roadway Quality Assurance Act mandates that contractors and subcontractors to a utility company, as defined under Public Service Law §2 (23), pay prevailing wages to workers performing work on a “covered excavation project.” Utility Company is defined as individuals or corporations that operate an agency or agencies for public service and are subject to the jurisdiction, supervision, and regulations prescribed in the Public Service Law. 

A covered excavation project means a construction project where a permit is issued by the state, a county or a municipality to a contractor or subcontractor of a utility company to use, excavate, or open a street. The statute does not define “use” or provide any guidance on what “use of a street means, but we believe it will be liberally construed. The prevailing rate to be paid is the prevailing rate set for the trade or occupation performing the work in the locality where the covered excavation project is situated. 

Covered excavation projects are not considered public works but are subject to the requirements of: (a) Labor Law §220, which limits a legal work day to 8 hours and requires overtime for all hours worked over 8 hours a day, requires payment of prevailing wage and certified payroll be maintained and also sets out consequences for failure to pay prevailing wage; (b) Labor Law §220-a, which requires subcontractors upon receipt from the contractor or subcontractor above them of the schedule of prevailing wages to review such schedule and submit a verified statement to the above entity that the schedule was reviewed and the subcontractor will pay the applicable prevailing wage and also requires contractors to certify to the owner that all certified payroll has been received from subcontractors and the amount, if any, that is known to be owed to laborers; (c) Labor Law §220-b, which addresses the withholding of money to contractors for the benefits of laborers who were not paid and addresses penalties contractors and subcontractors may be assessed for failure to pay prevailing wages; (d) Labor Law § 223, which makes a contractor responsible for a subcontractor’s failure to pay prevailing wage; (e) Labor Law §224-b, which allows the fiscal officer to issue a stop work order to any contractor or subcontractor not in compliance with Labor Law section 220, 220-a, 220-b and 224-f and; (f) Labor Law §227, which discusses the procedure to review an order by the fiscal officer pertaining to hours of labor or prevailing wage rates under Labor Law §220. 

Utility company contractors and subcontractors as a condition to the issuance of a permit to use, excavate or open a street on a covered excavation project must file with the department of jurisdiction an agreement confirming that the payment of prevailing wages to workers on the project has been contractually mandated. Labor Law §224-f, defines Department of Jurisdiction as “the state, board or officer in the state, or municipal corporation or commission or board appointed pursuant to law, whose duty it is to issue a permit to a utility company, or its contractors or subcontractors, for a covered excavation project.” 

The New York State Department of Labor has indicated this prevailing wage will be enforced like any other prevailing wage in New York state. If an employee is not being paid a prevailing wage for their occupation, they can file a complaint with the Bureau of Public Work. Also, violations of this new act (i.e., Labor Law §224-f) will be subject to determinations and orders pursuant to Labor Law §220-b.

This Act was signed into law on Aug. 16, 2023. Despite aspects of the law being unclear and there being no guidance on its application, the law will go into effect on Sept. 15, 2023, and will apply to all contracts for construction and permits issued on a covered excavation project on or after its effective date. 

For more information, contact Sheats & Bailey, PLLC; a law firm dedicated to serving the construction industry. Tel: (315) 676-7314 

The information provided in this article is not intended to serve as specific legal advice for any particular situation. Competent legal and experienced counsel should be consulted.

St. Joseph’s Health:Trailblazers in Robotic Surgery

By Martha Conway

St. Joseph’s Health has always been an early adopter of technology, so it is no surprise they became the first facility in Central New York to acquire da Vinci robotic surgery technology and start a comprehensive program for patient care – not long after the FDA approved da Vinci for general surgery, such as cholecystectomy and Nissen fundoplication to treat foregut problems. Surgeons performed 43 robotic surgeries the first (partial) year, nearly quadrupling that number the following year. St. Joseph’s Health has performed 13,284 robotic surgeries to date. As a result, they have attracted the surgical expertise of a range of specialists who use the technology to improve the health of patients, and their robotic surgery program is second to none in the U.S. In addition to the above, St. Joseph’s surgeons are using da Vinci for revascularization (coronary artery bypass), heart valve repair, hiatal hernia repair and other gastric reflux procedures, as well as groin or belly hernias, gynecological procedures, urology (including prostate) procedures and colon procedures. They are the leaders in robotic general surgery cases in Central New York. 

The breadth and depth of surgeon expertise mean patients experience less scarring, shorter hospital stays, faster recoveries, less pain and few infections with da Vinci.

“To continue recruiting high quality surgeons – including our newest surgeon coming in September, we need to have robotic access availability,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Philip Falcone.

“Virtually everyone in a surgical residency and fellowship training receives robotic instruction and expects this to be available in the hospitals where they work. Robotics are now the norm, and access to this technology is an expectation for most surgeons.” 

The Heart of the Robotic Surgery Program at St. Joseph’s Health 

“St. Joseph’s started investing in robotic surgical technology at least 15 years ago,” said Dr. Zhandong Zhou, a cardiac surgeon who performs bypass and valve procedures using da Vinci. “Surgeons can do single bypass surgery, but not many people need single vessel revascularization, so we started doing robotic bypass to the left anterior descending artery, then PCI [percutaneous coronary intervention] to non-LAD territories, which we called ‘hybrid’ revascularization.”

“St. Joseph’s is dedicated to robotic surgery.” “We put resources into it, employ excellent robotic surgeons and lead the market in terms of technology… ”
Dr. Belfield

Defects in the LAD cause widow-maker (often fatal) heart attacks; PCI opens narrowed or blocked sections of the artery, restoring blood flow to the heart.

“One of the major benefits is that patients recover very well, and – after a couple of weeks – they can do pretty much everything,” he said. “The results from this procedure have been wellreceived, but most people need multivessel bypass. Not everybody can have hybrid revascularization bypasses, so we started the multi vessel bypass. Initially, it was stressful, difficult and took a long time. We recently revised the technique to get them done more quickly and achieve identical results to standard surgery. We just presented our results at the STS Coronary Conference and got very positive feedback.”

“There are only a handful of people doing this in the country, and that makes us stand out,” Dr. Zhou said. “We are showing the world we are one of the few hospitals with the technology and expertise to perform robotic revascularization as good as standard surgery and with quicker recovery. Now patients come in and ask for robotic bypass, but the robots are in high demand because there are a lot of specialties using them, so we just don’t have enough spots.”

Dr. Zhou focuses on coronary bypass surgery because so many patients need it. “About half of open heart surgery patients need coronary bypass, and about half need valve surgery,” he said. “Mitral valve repair can be done robotically, but with limited scheduling slots and minimally invasive surgery being very successful – also done through a very small incision – we can do those either robotically or standard using special instruments, and we can do as good a job as with the robot. For the coronary bypass surgery part, we can do more along the lines of bypass, if we have the [scheduling] spots. Down the road, one of the areas to explore is total robotics – make the incision even smaller.”

Dr. Zhou said while the priority right now is catching up on patients needing bypass, there are other things they can do. “If we can get bypass surgery caught up and I find more time, I can do more,” he said. “We do about 1,000 surgeries a year; 400 to 500 of them are coronary bypass surgeries. We have about 100 mitral valve surgeries, some of which can be done robotically, but I can use special instruments and do as good a job. We do about 400 to 500 coronary bypass surgeries; last year, we did about 20 to 30 percent of them robotically. ”

By avoiding sternotomy and using a rib spreader to access the heart, there is less trauma to the body, minimal scarring, very low infection rates, shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times. Patients should still expect some discomfort for a few days because of the need for a chest tube.

“After that comes out, things are dramatically better,” he said, adding that cryotherapy is available. “I don’t think patients know the range of options available at St. Joseph’s Health. I’m operating all the time, so I don’t have time to spread the message, but anyone who needs these procedures can call my office. I am happy to talk to them.”

Not everyone is a candidate.

“Some patients are too obese, and that makes it hard,” he said, “and some patients have very small arteries.”

Dr. Balasubramaniam Siva Kumar, a general surgeon who has performed well more than 2,000 robotic surgeries to date, agreed.

“It’s a definite advantage in many surgeries, but it’s not the answer for all surgeries,” Dr. Kumar said. “It’s still not ideal for very large growths and tumors, because it’s riskier to maneuver around larger structures. The size of the patient is a consideration, too. It’s difficult to use robotic surgery in pediatrics because of the positioning required for smaller patients. There is a need to miniaturize the equipment to use robotic surgery in smaller people and on larger masses and growths, as well as extensive cancers.”

Over the years, we’ve been able to maintain the highest standards through a committee approach to program oversight. The range of services is wide and very high-quality.”
Dr. Kumar

Infection rates are almost non-existent because they don’t do sternotomies, Zhou said.

“Chest wall incisions rarely become infected,” he said. 

“Occasionally, a large breasted woman gets an infection because the incision typically is under the breast, and moisture can collect there; but cosmetically for women, it’s very good. With large breasted women, we can make the incision above the breast to avoid chances of infection.”

Exemplifying the Range of Possibilities

Dr. Kumar started performing robotic surgery about 17 years ago when Chief of Urology, Dr. William Roberts, asked him to collaborate with the urology team to do laparoscopic urologic procedures.

“He asked me to lead an expansion into general surgery,” Dr. Kumar said. “I learned everything I could, and we were among the very first to adopt robotics for general surgery.”

Foregut and hiatal hernia surgeries top the list of robotic procedures Dr. Kumar performs today. He’s also done colon surgery, hernia repair and pancreatic surgeries.

“Robotic technology adds dimension to surgery,” he said. “We can gain a much wider range of access to more radius and with more precision, expanding the ability to do more precise surgeries.”

Dr. Kumar said there also are hybrid procedures that allow access to areas of the body that are difficult to reach and previously required large openings to access. “You can use  robotics to reach the areas, then do hands-on surgical procedures via very small openings,” he said. “I do quite a range of robotic surgeries and don’t plan to add any new ones; however, the technology continues to evolve, and St. Joseph’s Health is working on developing further services in this field.”

Like Dr. Zhou, Dr. Kumar said robotic surgery minimizes trauma to tissue. He said surgeons used to do exploratory surgery with a wide-open field to see inside the body. Now the same results are achieved without that trauma. He said there are benefits to surgeons, also.

“Surgeons can work in a comfortable, seated position and achieve better reach with robotic instruments,” Dr. Kumar said. “They can perform much more intricate procedures for much longer periods of time, and they experience much less fatigue doing laparoscopic surgeries than they did during traditional procedures that required great manipulation.”

St. Joseph’s Health Tailors Care to Each Patient

Dr. Beata Belfield is a minimally invasivetrained general surgeon whose fellowship was in robotic surgery; she was recruited by St. Joseph’s Health for precisely that reason.

“Robotic surgery was an absolute prerequisite for any hospital in which I chose to work,” she said, adding that the program is cutting-edge, and the staff are very happy to help create a great patient experience. “I specialize in gallbladder removal, hernia repair and anti-reflux procedures; I’m very happy with my niche, but I would like to do more acute surgeries – procedures we would otherwise do through a big open incision – emergency procedures I’d prefer to do robotically, if possible.”

Dr. Melinda Stevens, a general surgeon, said she’s been doing robotic surgery since about 2015, starting out with small hernias under the mentorship of Dr. Kumar.

“The smaller the incision, the less risk of infection,” Dr. Stevens said. “As for intra-abdominal complications, they are slightly less with the robot because of the 3D visualization and the ability to handle the tissue with instruments that move exactly like our hands. It’s so much better than standard laparoscopic cameras, which are very good, but it’s better with 3D visualization.”

Dr. Belfield said robotic surgery is a good option for appropriate patients. “Certain procedures are not conducive to being done minimally invasive, so robotic surgery is another tool in our tool kit,” she said. “There are certain hernia procedures I do mostly robotically, then at the very end do something open, such as scar revision or removal of excess skin. But most surgeries are either open or robotic.”

“I’ve since developed further skills with larger, more complicated hernias, colon surgery, emergency surgeries – including appendix – and also use the robot more now for doing gallbladders because of the superior visualization and tissue handling,” Dr. Stevens said. “Every year, I’m growing the list of things I do with robotics vs. what I used to do just laparoscopically.”

Dr. Stevens said she wants to add large, complicated hernias that normally are done with a component separation in open fashion.

“I’d like to do it robotically, which is a longer procedure, but in the end, it’s less post op pain for patients, so it’s worthwhile doing it that way,” she said, adding that certain surgeries are not ideal to be performed robotically.

“Patients who’ve had numerous surgeries and who have a lot of scar tissue may not do well with robotic surgery,” she said. “It is best to talk to your surgeon about whether you’re an ideal candidate, because it’s hard to know what your surgeon will think, even if you’ve had surgery before. Meeting with the surgeon helps patients understand their disease process and whether it is a good option for robotic surgery. We tailor our approach to individual patients.”

Dr. Stevens agreed. “It’s difficult to gain access to the abdomen,” she said. “You really need to be able to fully see everything in order to get in safely to avoid injury to the bowel, in particular. Sometimes we have to convert to open in those patients. Some patients are extremely petite – very thin. For a tiny umbilical or groin hernia, the openfashion incisions for those wouldn’t be much bigger than with the robot, so sometimes it doesn’t make sense to use the robot for those. It’s really patientby- patient. I sit down with my patients and  explain the ins and outs of standard laparoscopic vs. open vs. robotic, and we decide together.”

Drs. Kumar and Belfield emphasized that the robot is one of the tools the surgeon uses – it does not move independently of the surgeon.

Dr. Belfield said she believes robotic instrumentation will get smaller and less expensive as other companies enter the field, driving competitors to make more efficient, smaller, and less expensive technology.

“Years ago, robotic technology was focused on cardiac surgery, but so many specialties use it, there isn’t focus on particular specialties,” Dr. Zhou said. “In a few years when the patent expires, a lot of companies will likely try to come up with new and better technologies.” Dr. Stevens believes some of the instrumentation will result in smaller incisions; she also thinks the number of procedures surgeons are able to do with the robot will continue to increase as more physicians become proficient with the technology, which will allow them to increase the versatility of its use with time and experience.

Dr. Kumar added he thinks technological developments are going to focus on miniaturization for pediatric patients and imaging improvements that will allow 3D images to be overlaid on the patient’s anatomy to better target more precisely something like a tumor.

“Applications will widen,” he said. “Resulting enhancements could mean da Vinci isn’t just a surgical tool anymore, but possibly a treatment delivery method for something like precision radiation completed with surgery. The next 20 years we will see things very different from what we are seeing today.”

Why St. Joseph’s Health?

“St. Joseph’s is dedicated to robotic surgery,” Dr. Belfield said. “We put resources into it, employ excellent robotic surgeons and lead the market in terms of technology. We were the first to have a robot in an outpatient surgical center and the first to have the newer generation of Xi surgical robot in the main hospital. St. Joseph’s is cutting-edge on surgical robotic technology and a high volume center that leads to shorter hospital stays and fewer complications for patients.”

“St. Joseph’s has the longest and broadest range of experience with robotics in Upstate New York,” Dr. Kumar said. “Over the years, we’ve been able to maintain the highest standards through a committee approach to program oversight. The range of services is wide and very high-quality.”

“Our longevity in the field and ability to attract the most talented surgeons are the reasons we get superior results,” Dr. Zhou said.

“St. Joseph’s has been at the forefront of robotic surgery and particularly in the field of general surgery, which really got started doing upper abdominal surgeries, like hiatal hernias,” Dr. Stevens said. “St. Joseph’s has been doing this longer and in significantly higher numbers than any other hospital in the area, and we have continued to increase its use across the breadth of general surgery. We have numerous surgeons with various levels of robotic surgical expertise and experience.

In general surgery, we work as a team, and there’s always someone there to take care of any problem.”

St. Joseph’s:
• leads robotic general surgery cases in Central New York (9,300-plus cases vs. the closest competitor with 7,000);
• has the busiest cardiac robotic program in CNY;
• was the first in CNY to have a da Vinci system at an outpatient facility and the first to have an Xi at a surgery center;
• has performed more than 1,700 robotic cases in 2022 and more than 1,100 so far in 2023;
• have five surgeons who have passed 1,000 robotic cases each; and
• they are the leaders in da Vinci foregut procedures in Central New York, performing 153 cases in 2022 and 102 so far in 2023.

“I think it’s important for people to understand this technology will be the standard of care in many facets of surgery, and it isn’t offered everywhere,” Dr. Stevens said. “Having a hospital filled with surgeons very experienced with the robot is an important option people should know about.” 

Workforce Challenges, Part Two

BY Kathryn Ruscitto, Advisor

Earlier this year, I wrote about nursing workforce challenges. As the year has progressed, I find myself bumping into deeper workforce challenges in rural communities; leading the list is housing. I don’t believe this is just a rural issue; I think it extends to urban areas, as well. A few times in my career, I was involved with large organizations that took on housing challenges from building senior and building workforce housing to improving a neighborhood. Some projects required direct involvement as a sponsor; other times, it was acting as a catalyst by attracting a partner. 

So whose responsibility is it to ensure a community has all levels of housing? As short term rentals have gained popularity, much of the low rent stock has been eaten up by more profitable ventures. Teachers, service workers, young families find themselves fighting for access to affordable rentals and first time homes. 

They often have to handle further distances from work, move in with their families or co share a more expensive rental.

Generally, not-for-profits have taken the lead in Central New York, such as Home HeadQuarters, Housing Visions and Christopher Community. Some for-profit builders have also taken on tax credit projects. Tiny Homes for Good addresses the needs of the homeless; others facilitate apartment rentals for special needs populations.

Home HeadQuarters CEO Kerry Quaglia is focused on the rehabilitation of older homes in Syracuse and new construction. Quaglia says new construction often offers a better option to reduce costs to a first-time homebuyer.

“Housing continues to be a major priority for our communities, especially helping low-income and first-time homebuyers access the housing market safely and affordably,” Quaglia said, adding that part of what is slowing his work at adding affordable housing units is finding contractors, who are facing workforce shortages.

Occasionally, I post blog thoughts on LinkedIn and recently issued a challenge to anchor institutions such as colleges and health systems to look at workforce housing as a challenge and strategic requirement. I took notice of the many comments and cheers from colleagues across the country. I hope it stimulated some thinking about next steps. 

While housing projects may not fit the priorities of a small practice, talking to elected officials and developers about locations and needs might. Use your voice to share what you are hearing from your employees and communities. If you sit on anchor institution boards, ask about their plans or conversations on this topic.
Communities that look at this issue and offer tax incentives or deed restrictions, or land banks dedicated to workforce development, will begin to solve workforce challenges at all levels.

Further resources on this topic:
“Adirondack Housing at a Threshhold”: https:// www.adirondackexplorer.o g/stories/adirondack- housing-at-a-crossroads

“In Vail, housing shortage threatens America’s ski wonderland”: https:// apnews.com/article/travel sports-colorado- sheep-vail-7a622d88e2678b32ce-
8be58be6884dd4#

Local resources:
Christopher Community https://christopher-community.org/
Home HeadQuarters
https://www.homehq.org/
Housing Visions
https://www.housingvisions.org/
Two Plus Four Construction
https://twoplusfour.com/


Kathryn Ruscitto, Advisor, can be reached at linkedin.com/in/kathrynruscitto or at krusct@gmail.com