When a landscape company’s truck with trailer is pulled over by a state trooper, one of the top two most common violations is lack of US DOT markings on the truck.

Troopers with the Colorado State Patrol readily admit that landscape industry vehicles are some of the least compliant with Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations.

What is our industry doing to take advantage of growing environmental awareness?

Not much. The green industry is way behind other industries when it comes to promoting and marketing green. That’s partly because no one is asking us for the service. It is also because when we do provide a naturally green product or service, we fail to promote it or to think about related opportunities.

The Small Business Administration is promoting a new retirement savings account which will allow owners of small businesses to provide a simple, safe and affordable way to help employees start saving.

The program – “myRA” (“My Retirement Account”) - will be initially available only through employers and the investment held in the account will be backed by the U.S. Treasury.

It's not a random roll of the dice. According to the numbers from ALCC’s recent poll, chances are about 50/50 that your payroll or tax records will be audited by the federal government, state government or a local jurisdiction.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of all respondents said they had not been audited by any agency during the last 4 years – and a number of companies have never been audited. Still, 30% of respondents said that they have been audited by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) – and the overwhelming majority of them were audited during 2014. Many are still waiting to learn the outcome.

Landscape companies are frequently found in violation of labor laws due to a variety of pay practices and scenarios. The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division is responsible for enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the number of FLSA investigations is on the rise.

In fact, in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Data Enforcement website, landscape companies were the third most commonly investigated sector in Colorado, only behind child care services and full-service restaurants.