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Cooperative Extension and Department of Labor partner to help businesses By Kerry A. Newman
Mary Arch, small business specialist with the U.S. Department of Labor, and Deno De Ciantis, county extension director, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Allegheny County, are working on a pilot program to help Pennsylvania business owners comply with the federal workplace and workforce laws and regulations administered by the Department of Labor. The Coordinated Compliance Assistance for Business Program is one of several pilot programs being developed across the nation.	A pilot program offered by the U.S. Department of Labor in conjunction with Penn State Cooperative Extension, provides Pennsylvania business owners with a new resource to help them comply with the federal workplace and workforce laws and regulations administered by the department. The program, called the Coordinated Compliance Assistance for Business Program, is offered as a service of Penn State Cooperative Extension through the Allegheny County office in Pittsburgh, Pa.   According to Deno De Ciantis, county extension director, this program is one of several pilot programs being developed across the nation. Two of the pilot programs are located in Washington, D.C., and Albany, N.Y. While the Pennsylvania program is housed in the Penn State Cooperative Extension office in Allegheny County, it is not solely a service for businesses within the region. The program is designed to be a resource to people from across the state; anyone with a need may contact the office for assistance.   The Coordinated Compliance Assistance for Business Program is one of the Department of Labor’s efforts to develop community-based outreach programs that will help educate businesses about the laws and regulations they encounter on a daily basis. The objective is to create a more effective way of communicating the information businesses need. The ultimate goal is to reduce violations by providing advice, training and solutions to businesses. By establishing the compliance assistance program within a Cooperative Extension office, information is easily accessible and available to a community. Instead of contacting separate agencies each time they have a question or encounter a problem, business owners will have one resource to turn to for information.   Dr. Theodore R. Alter, associate vice president for outreach, director of Cooperative Extension and associate dean, College of Agricultural Sciences, said, “This collaborative partnership between Penn State Cooperative Extension and the U.S. Department of Labor is another great example of our efforts at Penn State to find creative new ways to work with others to improve the economic vitality of Pennsylvania’s economy.”   Brenda Bernatowicz, regional director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Southwest Region, agrees. She said, “Helping business owners understand and comply with the complex federal workplace and workforce laws and regulations they face every day will be extremely beneficial to business owners in our region and throughout the state. I’m pleased that one of our Cooperative Extension offices is assisting the Department of Labor in this important nationwide effort.” The Southwest Region includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington and Westmoreland counties.   The partnership between Penn State Cooperative Extension and the U.S. Department of Labor is coordinated through the department’s Office of Small Business Programs. The Office of Small Business Programs is a liaison to all agencies within the Department of Labor and focuses on disseminating compliance assistance, education and information that is pertinent to small businesses. In addition to the Office of Small Business Programs, other agencies participating in the program include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Office of the Solicitor and the Employment Standards Administration’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and Wage and Hour Division.   A key element to making the information available and user friendly to the community is committed personnel. Mary Arch, small business specialist with the Department of Labor, began working out of the Cooperative Extension office in Allegheny County in January. Her duties center on developing connections within the region, partnering with state and federal agencies, sharing information about the new program and providing solutions to businesses with needs. While she works in the company of extension agents, she devotes her time to Department of Labor compliance assistance issues.   De Ciantis said having the Coordinated Compliance Assistance for Business Program housed in a Cooperative Extension office provides unique possibilities for education and collaboration. Extension agents will have the opportunity to learn about the different laws businesses must follow and the issues that arise when complying with regulations. As a result, they will be better informed and can better meet the needs of the people they serve. The relationships fostered by the partnership will benefit all involved — the individual workers, the businesses and the supporting agencies.   “Cross-referencing will occur,” De Ciantis said. “We see the Coordinated Compliance Assistance for Business Program as a program of extension. It provides a different resource for small businesses to turn to for labor compliance issues. By housing a person in an extension office, we felt that would be a way to help alleviate fears.   “It’s all educational in nature,” he concluded.   According to De Ciantis, other programs are under consideration in other states. By engaging in the partnership, Penn State Cooperative Extension is pioneering practices that should improve the quality of life for individuals and businesses across the nation.   For more information about the Coordinated Compliance Assistance for Business Program, contact the Allegheny County Cooperative Extension office at 412-473-2540 or e-mail Mary Arch at arch-mary@dol.gov. For more information about the Office of Small Business Programs, contact June Robinson, director, at 202-693-6466, or visit the Web site at www.dol.gov/dol/osbp.
Penntap official appointed in southwestern Pennsylvania By Deborah A. Benedetti
Roger Price has joined the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program as a senior technical consultant based at Penn State McKeesport.	The Coordinated Compliance Assistance for Business Program is just one of a number of outreach programs targeted to business and industry in southwestern Pennsylvania, according to Brenda Bernatowicz, regional director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach for the Southwest Region. The newest outreach program in the region is Penn State’s Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PENNTAP).   “Adding the services of PENNTAP to those of Penn State Cooperative Extension offices and other University outreach units in southwestern Pennsylvania will greatly enhance our ability to make life better for residents,” Bernatowicz said. “We welcome PENNTAP’s contributions to our outreach efforts in the region.”   Roger Price joined PENNTAP as a senior technical consultant in November. Based at Penn State McKeesport, he is providing free technical assistance services to meet the needs of area businesses and industries. His responsibilities include answering companies’ technical questions, as well as connecting them with appropriate resources to answer their questions.   He brings more than 25 years of experience as a practicing professional engineer to PENNTAP. He earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering from Cornell University and a master of science degree in sanitary engineering from Penn State.   A new aspect of PENNTAP’s presence in the region is a partnership with the Electrotechnology Applications Center (ETAC) at Northampton Community College, Price said.   “ETAC is a nonprofit organization specializing in applying infrared, ultraviolet, microwave, radio frequency, electron beam and other types of energy to improve heating, drying, coating and curing processes used in manufacturing facilities,” Price said. “An important component of these technologies is their ability to help industries reduce volatile organic carbon emissions.”   Some manufacturing facilities are using older technologies that emit volatile organic carbon into the atmosphere. On hot days, these emissions can increase the level of ozone in the atmosphere, creating health problems for people with respiratory illnesses, he explained.   “Newer manufacturing technologies are more environmentally friendly,” Price said. “While converting from older to newer technologies is an added expense for business and industry, the newer technologies improve production, increase efficiency and reduce costs. The result is that companies are more competitive.”   As a representative for the Electrotechnology Applications Center, Price connects companies with ETAC to help them convert to new technologies.   An example of an older manufacturing process is the painting of a metal part. The old method involves spraying a liquid paint on the part. As the paint dries, the solvent in the paint evaporates into the air, increasing the amount of ozone in the atmosphere. Today, metal parts are “painted” with a powder coating, eliminating the solvent. The part is then cured in a heating process.   In addition to working with the Electrotechnology Applications Center, Price is working closely with Mary Arch, small business specialist with the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Coordinated Compliance Assistance for Business Program, housed in Penn State Cooperative Extension’s Allegheny County office. He also is meeting with businesses and industries and Penn State Cooperative Extension staff members in the region and participating in Team Pennsylvania activities and trade fairs to promote the services available through Penn State’s Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program.   As part of a program funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Price is performing limited pollution prevention/energy efficiency site assessments for small businesses in southwestern Pennsylvania. During these assessments, he identifies problems and recommends solutions. For larger businesses and manufacturing facilities, he is connecting the companies with consultants who perform the assessment.   Price can be reached at Penn State McKeesport by phone at 412-675-9482, by cell phone at 412-889-5821 and by e-mail at rogerprice@psu.edu. PENNTAP’s Web site is at www.penntap.psu.edu. (Please also see story and story for more information about PENNTAP.)