First DEMA Board of Directors Meeting of 2020 to Take Place February 25-26, 2020 in San Diego, CA

DEMA’s Board of Directors will gather for the first Board Meeting of 2020 on February 25th and 26th in San Diego, CA. The Board will focus on setting DEMA’s strategic goals for the year in order to help fulfill its mission of bringing businesses together to grow the diving industry worldwide. Topics for discussion will include developing and expanding the current Member Engagement Strategy and a review of proposed programs and DEMA’s budget. In addition, the Board will select officers and make committee recommendations for 2020. 

Day one of the Board meeting will begin with the election of the Board Chair from among the 2020 Board Members. 2020 Board Members include:

• A1-Manufacturing
  Chuck Fultz, Innovative Scuba Concepts, Inc.
  Jenna Meistrell, Body Glove
• A2-Diver Certification and Training Agencies
  Tom Leaird, Scuba Educators International
  Kristin Valette-Wirth, PADI Americas
• A3-Dive Publishing, Media, Consulting and Non-Retail Service Providers
  William Cline, Cline Group Advertising
  Jerry Beaty, Dive Training Magazine
• A4-Retailers
  Bill Cole, Sea Experience
  Patrick Hammer, Dive Right In Scuba, Inc.
• A5-Travel & Resorts
  Steve Weaver, Dream Weaver Travel
  Tim Webb, Caradonna Dive Adventures

Once the 2020 Board Chair is elected, the Board will approve the “consent agenda,” which includes routine items such as reports from past completed activities, all of which are provided to the Board ahead of the meeting. The February consent agenda will include:

• Board Meeting Minutes, November 2019
• DEMA Show 2020 Update
• Membership Update
• 2020 Committee Proposals
• 2019 Year End Financial Summary and Manufacturer’s Fund Report

Following approval of the consent agenda, the Board will move into matters on the regular agenda including the appointment of Board Officers and Committee Chairs. Committees are a crucial way for the DEMA Board to engage Members and gather input as they guide the Association. Committees are tactical, feeding into the association’s overall strategy, and the goals of Committees include creating new ideas and improving current programs and benefits.  Within their areas of focus, Committees’ ideas and suggestions are well-researched, strategically-developed, and when ready for further action, proposed to the entire Board for input, further development, and implementation.

Members interested in volunteering on a DEMA Board committee can find more information and apply online.

Day two of the Board Meeting will begin with a brief “Open Session” to discuss relevant Member business. During this time, current DEMA Members are invited to participate by bringing their topics of interest to discuss with the Board. (Please note: The Open Session is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Members planning to attend should email Member Services Assistant, Alicia Vasquez, at alicia@dema.org by 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time on February 21, 2020 to confirm their attendance.)

The remainder of day 2 will involve discussions of Member engagement and a final review and discussion of the previously proposed budget and programs. Once those items are finalized, the Board of Directors will address any new business and adjourn. More information on DEMA’s Board of Directors and Bylaws is available on the DEMA website. Complete minutes from past Board of Directors Meetings are available to current DEMA Members from the Member Dashboard of www.dema.org.

2020 Go Dive Now Pool Tour Provides Member Dive Centers with Opportunities to Acquire New Customers

“Big Wave” Dave Reidenbach and the traveling Go Dive Now Pool Tour have a full event schedule planned for 2020. With events spanning from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, CA, the traveling pool tour will bring the “try diving experience” to hundreds of event participants in the coming months.

Each pool tour stop helps increase business for the participating local DEMA Member dive centers who volunteer to work the event. Being part of the event provides an invaluable opportunity to acquire new customers and generate media coverage for their store and for recreational diving, both locally and nationally.

“By bringing the Go Dive Now Pool to large-scale events, we are able to provide a unique opportunity to introduce scuba diving to our target market. This memorable experience also provides local dive retailers with a way to directly connect with potential new customers,” commented Dave Reidenbach, Pool Tour Coordinator for DEMA. “The experience that the Go Dive Now Pool provides attendees often piques their interest in the sport leading them to inquire with their local dive center about certification and gear.”

By being part of someone’s first diving experience, participating retailers are able to establish trust and loyalty with potential new customers. Participating retailers often find the connections they make at the event convert into certifications, goods sold, and long-term customers.

Rich Thomas of International Scuba says he acquired his biggest customer from a prior Go Dive Now Pool event at EarthX in Texas. “She came to try scuba, fell in love with it and has spent over $20,000.00 with us so far. She has purchased all of her gear, bought a drysuit, taken numerous classes with us and helped pioneer an annual Ice Diving trip that is helping several stores around the country drum up a nice wintertime business.” Not only has this particular customer brought in significant revenue for his dive center, the connections he has made at the Pool event has helped increase his revenue in other areas as well. Read more from Thomas’ testimonial and other retailers here.

DEMA Member Retailers also benefit from the program because DEMA advertises the pool event using Facebook ads targeted to the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the DEMA Member Retail location. Retailers who would like to volunteer for an upcoming Pool event can sign up online.

Sponsored by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, PADI, and SSI, and supported by the DEMA Manufacturers Fund and participating DEMA Member Retailers, the Pool will continue its tour as a top consumer event feature throughout 2020 at various consumer-oriented travel, outdoor activity and adventure shows providing anyone 10 years old and up the opportunity to discover the fun and exciting sport of scuba diving for FREE. 

CA DIVING INDUSTRY ALERT – Support Needed for AB 1925

DEMA is requesting your immediate help in supporting the passage of California Assembly Bill 1925 (AB 1925), which would amend the current California Labor Code, and under the right circumstances, allow small diving businesses (retailers and others) to hire workers as “Independent Contractors.” These workers could be diving instructors or trip leaders, repair technicians, photographers and others.

As you may be aware, on January 1, 2020 California enacted Assembly Bill 5, a change to the labor code which classified ALL workers as EMPLOYEES unless they met a three-part “ABC Test” that includes:

A.  The person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact.

B. The person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business.

C. The person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

While there are several types of businesses and occupations that are currently exempted from the ABC Test, AB 1925 offers an opportunity to exempt “small businesses” that fit specific criteria. The definition of small business within AB 1925 is:

• Is independently owned and operated.
• Is not dominant in its field of operation.
• Has fewer than 100 employees.
• Has average gross receipts of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) or less over the previous three years.

SMALL BUSINESSES FORM THE HEART OF THE RECREATIONAL DIVE INDUSTRY. IF YOU AGREE, DEMA urges you to contact your lawmakers immediately and ask them to support AB 1925.  You can easily reach your state Senator and Assembly Member by clicking here and inputting your address.  The website will permit you to send an email directly to your lawmaker’s office.

DEMA has also included email verbiage that can automatically be sent to your lawmaker, or you can substitute your own comments, if you choose.

AB 1925 WILL BE UNDER CONSIDERATION BY THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE DURING THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 10.  PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR STATE LAWMAKERS TODAY!

The Potential Impact of AB 5 on the Recreational Diving Industry in California

California Assembly Bill 5 was signed into law in September 2019, marking a departure from the state’s previous definitions of “employee” and “independent contractor.”  With many dive businesses in California utilizing diving instructors, photographers, repair technicians and others on an independent contractual basis, this new law may have an impact on your business operations.  The law went into effect on January 1, 2020.

While DEMA cannot dispense legal advice, we do strongly suggest that all dive businesses consult with their legal counsel about how AB 5 could impact them, prior to using “independent contractors.” 

Background:

This law codifies a California Supreme Court Decision from 2018 involving Dynamex, a courier and delivery service that offers on-demand and same day pickup and delivery services nationwide.  In 2004 Dynamex converted its drivers from employees to independent contractors and a group of drivers sued to retain the protections available to “employees.” The California Supreme Court issued a decision in April 2018 wherein the court reinterpreted S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989), a test that has long been utilized in California for determining whether a worker should be classified as an “employee” or “independent contractor” for the purposes of a wage order. 

In reassessing Borello, the court adopted a new standard that presumes ALL workers in California are EMPLOYEES instead of contractors.  The court ruling places the burden of correctly classifying the worker on the EMPLOYER, and the classification decision is made by using a required three-part “ABC test.” While this is the first time such a test has been created by a court without legislative approval, similar tests do exist in other states, adopted by their respective legislatures.    AB 5 now makes this “ABC test” part of the California labor code.

What is Required to Classify a Worker as an Independent Contractor?

According to AB 5, employers can only classify a worker as an “independent contractor” by establishing that such classification is proper under the newly adopted “ABC Test.” A “no” answer to any of these standards presumes the person is an employee rather than an independent contractor.

PART A: The person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact.

PART B: The person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business.

PART C: The person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

AB 5 also retains the 12-part Borello test for certain professions.  Additional details can be found on this website. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_IndependentContractor.htm

AB 5 has been tied to worker issues in the “gig economy.” For example, under this law it appears that drivers for Lyft or Uber could be reclassified to “employees” rather than independent contractors.  As such, the hiring entities (Lyft or Uber in this example) are now required to pay payroll taxes and premiums for workers’ compensation, Social Security, unemployment, and disability insurance. 

While some professions have been exempted from the law, the law itself is generating confusion, and until enforcement begins taking place there may be conflicting opinions arising from the bill’s implementation.  DEMA highly recommends contacting your legal counsel to obtain their opinion and advice on the use of independent contractors.