Jan-Feb 2015 OFDA Director Magazine

The Oklahoma DirectorOFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE

Jan/Feb 2015

2014-15 OFDA District GovernorsL. to R. District I Governor Vincent Friederich, District II Governor Scott Smith, District IV Governor Mark Johnson,District III Governor Keri Haines, District VI Governor Terry Burch & District V Governor Daren Flanagan.

Jan/Feb 2015 1

From YourPresident

VOLUME XLVII NUMBER 1 & 2

EditorGORDON WELCH6801 N. Broadway, Suite 106Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116Phone: 405/843-0730 / 1-800-256-6332FAX 405-843-5404e-mail: [email protected]

OFFICERSPresidentJEREMY SPARKS, CFSP Oklahoma [email protected] ElectKENNY TIGNER, [email protected] PresidentBRIAN DOUGLAS, [email protected] BURRIS, [email protected] Past PresidentTHOMAS BURKHART, CFSP, [email protected] Policy Board Rep.PAUL I. THOMAS, [email protected]

BOARD OF GOVERNORSDistrict IVINCENT FRIEDERICH, Midwest [email protected] IISCOTT SMITH, Sand [email protected] IIIKERI HAINES, [email protected] IVMARK JOHNSON, [email protected] VDAREN FLANAGAN, [email protected] VITERRY BURCH, [email protected]

DISTRICT CHAIRPERSONS:District ILINDSEY JEFFRIES, [email protected] IIJEFF BROWN, [email protected] IIIKACEY FERGUSON, [email protected] IVPHILLIP HART, [email protected] VJOHN HALE, [email protected] VIRYAN OLMSTEAD, [email protected]

THE OKLAHOMA DIRECTOR, the official publica-tion of the Oklahoma Funeral Directors Association,6801 N. Broadway, Suite 106, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116, is published every month for thepurpose of providing information to the members ofthe association. The annual subscription rate for association members is $5.00. Other subscriptions areavailable to non-members at an annual rate of $22.00.

Dear Fellow Professionals;

It’s hard to believe that another holiday season has come and gone andwe are now beginning 2015. It seems as if it was yesterday that manywere panicking with the arrival of the Y2K. The new year has broughtchange to the Oklahoma Funeral Directors Association. The ExecutiveBoard and the Board of Governors is pleased to announce that Mr. GordonWelsh is our new Executive Director. Gordon is a native of Bartlesville,Oklahoma and comes to us with outstanding Association background. Heserved as Director of Education and Sr. Vice President of the Club Man-agers Association of America in Alexandria, VA for eight years. CMAAserves over 6,000 members globally. For the past five years Gordon hasbeen a speaker, coach, author, and consultant to the Hospitality,Association and Private Industry. The Board is eager to have Gordonassist us in building a stronger value in being a member of the association.Our industry continues to change every day thus together we can“preserve the past while we pioneer the future.”

I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to express sinceregratitude and appreciation to Jay and Carol Baines for all that they havedone for OFDA and the funeral profession over the past 27 years. We wishJay and Carol the very best and please continue to pray for improvementto Jay’s health so that he is able to again do those things he enjoys doing.

In closing I will leave you with the following short story. There was aman taking a morning walk on the beach. He saw that along with themorning tide came hundreds of starfish and when the tide receded, theywere left behind to die under the rays of the morning sun. The tide wasfresh and the starfish were alive. The man took a few steps, picked one upand threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. Right behind himthere was another man who couldn’t understand what this man wasdoing. He caught up with him and asked, “What are you doing? There arehundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What difference does itmake?” This man did not reply, took two more steps, picked up anotherone, threw it into the water, and said, “It makes a difference to this one.”What difference are we making? Big or small, it does not matter, ifeveryone made a small difference, we’d end up with a big difference,wouldn’t we? What difference have you made today in the life of yourfamily, your employees, your friends or the families that you serve?

Sincerely

Jeremy T. Sparks CFSPPresident

2 The Oklahoma Funeral Director

If you haven’t renewed your NFDA membershipfor 2015, be sure to do so soon! We don’t want you tomiss out on the many benefits that you currentlyenjoy. Through your membership, NFDA keeps youinformed on the latest in funeral service andbusiness, offers you the most comprehensiveeducational programs and advocates on your behalf.

Renew today to enjoy uninterrupted access to:

• FAMIC’s Have the Talk of a Lifetime®

consumer education campaign• More than 120 legal forms and legal advice• Free public relations/media consultation and

resources• Free OSHA compliance and human resources

consultation• Advocacy support• And so much more!

Choose one of these easy ways to renew yourNFDA Membership:

1. Mail*: Fill out the renewal materials youreceived in the mail. You can mail the form

and your payment to NFDA.2. Phone: Call your personal NFDA member

services representative at 800-228-6332 andrenew with a credit card.

When you renew your NFDA membership, don’tforget to purchase a 2015 music license for each ofyour locations. With NFDA, you pay only $243 fora music license and $47 for a webcasting license –the lowest rates available – covering all threelicensing organizations (BMI, SESAC andASCAP).

*If your firm is located in a “partnership” state(your state association collects dues for yourfirm’s membership in NFDA and the stateassociation), you will receive a separate invoicefrom NFDA for a 2015 music and/or webcastinglicense. If your firm is located in a “choice” state(you pay dues for your firm’s membership inNFDA and the state association separately), theoption to purchase a music and/or webcastinglicense will be included on your NFDA renewalinvoice

Have You Renewed Your NFDA Membership for 2015?

Updated: January 2, 2015

As of January 1, 2015, OSHA changed itsrecordkeeping and reporting requirements forfatalities and workplace incidents in whichthree or more workers are hospitalized.

Under a recent revision of the OSHA record-keeping requirement, which takes effect in Jan-uary 2015, employers are required to report anyfatality to OSHA within eight hours and any in-patient hospitalization, amputation or enucle-ation (loss of an eye) within 24 hours. Allemployers will have to adhere to these new re-porting requirements for fatalities and severeinjuries.

While the new rule does require a number ofpreviously exempt industries to now maintainannual safety and health records, funeral serv-ice is still exempt unless required to do so by anOSHA state plan state. In addition, the exemp-tion for any employer with 10 or fewer employ-ees, regardless of industry classification, has notbeen changed.

The industrial code, however, for exempt in-dustries has now been revised to follow theNorth American Industry Classification System(NAICS). As before under the Standard Indus-trial Classification Code (SIC), employers inthese industries are not required to keep an-nual OSHA injury and illness records unlessthey’re asked to do so by OSHA, the Bureau ofLabor Statistics or a state agency operatingunder the authority of OSHA or the Bureau ofLabor Statistics. The new NAICS ClassificationCode for the funeral industry is 8122, DeathCare Services.

Funeral home employers, in states that runtheir own OSHA program, should verify thatthey are also exempt from maintaining annualinjury and illness logs under the state OSHAlaw and regulations.

For any questions regarding OSHA and stateOSHA record keeping requirements, NFDA mem-bers can Contact Edward M. Ranier, NFDAOSHA and Labor Legal Counsel, at 410-967-1812.

New OSHA Reporting Requirements for Fatalities and Severe Injuries

Jan/Feb 2015 3

Given the heightened concern surrounding cremation, I encourage you to be proactive on cremation with the families you serve to put themat ease, and thor oughly educate them about thecremation process and your high standards.

* Use extreme thoroughness using high pro-fession al standards of care, providing the great-est dignity and respect to families and their lovedone, be it a burial or cremation.

* Funeral directors have a moral and businessresponsibility to all fam ilies to ensure that theyunderstand the entire cremation process. All fu-neral home staff members should have an un-derstanding, including anyone who transfersremains to a crematory. That individual must beeducated about the process and be able to makea cursory inspection of the crematory, and beaware if any thing seems out of the ordinary.

Funeral directors should make unannouncedinspections of crematories, and formal inspec-tions should be done at least 3 times a year. Keepa “log book” of inspections to document the dateof your inspection, along with your findings.Check on the licensing status of the crematoryand confirm the information with the state li-censing bureau.

* For every outside crematory a funeral homeuses, funeral directors should prepare a “due dili-gence” file. In it, place all documentation thatshows the funeral home routinely reviews the li-censing status and operation of the crematory.

* Funeral homes should periodically have theirinsurance agents review their malpractice (alsoknown as errors and omissions) insurance to deter-mine if it is at adequate levels and covers liabilityfor independent contractors such as a crematory.

GOOD -PRACTICE REMINDERSby Robert F. Vandenbergh, CFSP

President, National Funeral Directors Association


The Crematory Association of North Amer-ica (CANA) has issued a helpful list of ques-tions that funeral directors should ask thecrematory they use or plan to use, as well aswhat they should expect. The cremation fa-cility should be able to answer or provide thenecessary information so that the funeral di-rector can make an informed decision as tothe competency and the adequacy of the fa-cility.

ADMINISTRATION • Review the cremation facility cremationauthorization form. Does the form complywith state law? Has the authorization formbeen reviewed by legal counsel?• Review the rules and regulations of the cre-mation facility. Are they available to the gen-eral public? Review the price list and servicesavailable to the general public.• Does the cremation facility have a policyand procedures manual? Is there a synopsisof the manual available to the general public?• How are the records of the cremation facil-i ty maintained and stored? How long are theystored?• Is the cremation facility subject to inspec-tions by local, state or federal regulatoryagencies? If so, are there any reports that canbe reviewed?• Are any permits or licenses required to op-erate the cremation facility? Are they postedin the facility, if required?• Are maintenance logs or reports kept onthe cremation equipment? Are maintenanceinspections performed on a routine basis?• Is the cremation facility a current memberof the Cremation Association of North Amer-ica or some other cremation association?• Have the cremation technicians receivedany formal training from CANA or some othercertifying agency in cremation operations?

• Are the employees of the cremation facilitywell mannered, informed, dressed appropri-ately and professional?

FACILITY• Is the cremation facility clean, neat, or-derly and secure?• Is the holding or storage for casket/con-tainerized human remains clean, neat, order -ly and secure? Are there individual holdingspaces for each casket/container? Is the hold-ing or storage area refrigerated?• Is the cremation facility open to inspectionby the general public? • Is there an area for the family to allow themto witness the placing of the cask/containerinto the cremation unit?• Is the cremation facility handicap accessi-ble?• Is the processing and packaging area clean,neat, orderly and secure?

OPERATIONS• What methods does the cremation facilityemploy to preserve the identity of the humanremains?• What is the cremation facility policy ontime to perform cremation and prepare cre-mated remains for final disposition?• Is the cremation process monitored at alltimes by a cremation technician?

• What is the cremation facility policy on dis-posal of surgi cal prosthesis?• Does the cremation facility contract for bio-hazard disposal?• Does the cremation facility perform crema-tion of anatomical or pathological human re-mains? If so, what is their policy?• If all of the recovered cremated remainswill not fit in a single receptacle, what is thepolicy of the cremation facility in handling theexcess?

Jan/Feb 2015 5

QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASKYOUR CREMATORY OPERATOR


Jan/Feb 2015 7

WANTED: Licensed emb. & F.D. for S.E. Okla. firms.E-mail resume to [email protected] or call 918-649-7548.

FOR SALE: 6 Double Casket Display Racks. ContactJohn at 580-465-3768.

WANTED: Licensed embalmer & F.D. Call Smith F.H.,Anadarko 405-247-3701 and ask for Darla or Mary.

BUGLER AVAILABLE: Contact Everett Fleharty, StateBugler for the American Legion at 405-771-4321.

BUGLER AVAILABLE: Buglers Across America.orgprovides “Taps” for veterans. Call Jay at 580-774-8593.

OKLAHOMA NATIONAL GUARD Military FuneralHonors Program. 405-228-5089 or 405-228-5076.

FINAL RIDE — Harley Trike & Hearse Trailer. 405-641-5276.

CLASSIFIED

2015OFDA Convention

April 13-15, 2015

Hard Rock Hoteland Convention Center

Catoosa, OK

OFDA E-MAIL ADDRESS: [email protected] out our new website at OKFDA.com


Jan/Feb 2015 9

FRANSISCO-MONROE FUNERAL CAR SALES, LLC

THANK YOUFOR THE BUSINESS YOU HAVE GIVEN US IN THE PAST AND

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE FUTURE!

RAY FRANSISCO JIM MONROE800 644 6777 CELL 214 912 8540

Updated Information from OSHA - January 2, 2015New reporting requirements now in effect

Beginning yesterday, January 1, 2015,there is a change to what covered employersare required to report to the OccupationalSafety and Health Administration. Employ-ers are now required to report all work-re-lated fatalities within 8 hours and allinpatient hospitalizations, amputations, andlosses of an eye within 24 hours of finding outabout the incident.

On December 11, OSHA held a conversa-tion on Twitter to answer questions about thenew reporting requirements going into effectat the beginning of the new year. Some of themost frequently asked questions are dis-cussed in a blog by Dr. David Michaels, as-sistant secretary of labor for occupationalsafety and health.

Previously, employers were required to re-port all workplace fatalities and when three

or more workers were hospitalized in thesame incident. The updated reporting re-quirements have a life-saving purpose: theywill enable employers and workers to preventfuture injuries by identifying and eliminat-ing the most serious workplace hazards.

Employers have three options for reportingthese severe incidents to OSHA. They cancall their nearest area office during normalbusiness hours, call the 24-hour OSHA hot-line at 1-800-321-OSHA (1-800-321-6742), orthey will be able to report online atwww.osha.gov/report_online. For more infor-mation and resources, visit OSHA’s Web pageon the updated reporting requirements andwatch OSHA’s new YouTube video, where Dr.David Michaels, assistant secretary of laborfor occupational safety and health, explainsthe new reporting requirements.


Throughout the eight years thatthe Federal Trade Commission (FTC)and state agencies have been usingundercover shoppers to test whetherfuneral homes have been distributingprice lists in compliance with the Fu-neral Rule, the compliance rate amongfuneral homes that were shopped wasabout 85%. This means that some-where between 1 to 2 out of every 10funeral homes visited by the shopperseither failed to hand out the price listsin a timely manner or failed to handthem out at all.

In the most recent undercoversweeps completed in New York andNew Jersey the FTC reported that thecompliance rate had fallen to 65%.Wich such a sizable drop in the levelof compliance, questions arise as towhether funeral homes are gettingcomplacent or is the FTC beingstricter in its interpretation and en-forcement of the Funeral Rule. What-ever the case, it is clear that funeralhomes need to redouble their efforts toinsure their staffs, including non-li-censed personnel, understand theirobligations when distributing price in-formation under the Funeral Rule.

To avoid being stung by an FTCundercover shopper, we have put to-gether the following list of trainingtips for funeral homes. If the funeralhome follows these steps, it should beable to avoid being stung by the FTCundercover shoppers.

FUNERAL RULE PRICEDISTRIBUTION TRAINING TIPS

1. The funeral home has placed astack of GPL’s by the front door ofthe funeral home, the receptionarea of the funeral home, and inthe arrangement office.

2. The funeral home has copies of theCasket Price List available outsideof the entry of the casket displayroom.

3. The funeral home staff has beentrained to hand out the GPL im-mediately to anyone who entersthe funeral home and indicates aninterest in funeral goods, services,arrangements or prices.

4. Funeral home personnel have beentrained to hand out the GPL to anyindividual (regardless of whetherthey are a competitor, governmentofficial, or newspaper reporter)who inquires in person about fu-neral goods, services, arrange-ments or prices.

5. Funeral home personnel have beentrained to give out a GPL at the be-ginning of a preneed or at-needarrangement conference before oras soon as there is any discussionof funeral goods, services, arrange-ments or prices.

6. The funeral home distributes theGPL in a free-standing form whichconsumers are free to retain.

7. The funeral home requires anysales counselor representing thefuneral home (whether as an em-ployee or as an agent) to havecopies of the GPL with them and todistribute them immediately upondiscussing any funeral goods, serv-ices, arrangement or prices duringhis or her sales pitch.

8. The funeral home has trained itsnonlicensed personnel to distributea GPL whenever an individualasks about funeral goods, services,arrangements or prices and a li-censed funeral director is not avail-able.

9. The funeral home has trained itspersonnel to always hand out theGPL before distributing any pack-age price list, cremation price list,or any other specialized price list.

10.The funeral home has trained itspersonnel to have a Casket PriceList available to offer a consumerupon any discussion of casket of-ferings or the price of caskets.

11. The funeral home has trained itspersonnel to hand a copy of theCasket Price List to individualsbbefore showing them into the cas-ket display area.

12.The funeral home has trained itspersonnel to have an Outer BurialContainer Price List available tooffer a consumer upon any discus-sion of vaults or grave liners.

13.The funeral home has listed all ofthe caskets and alternative con-tainers which it regularly offers forsale on one Casket Price List.

14.The funeral home provides the con-sumer a copy of the Statement ofFuneral Goods and Services se-lected at the end of all preneed orat-need funeral arrangements.

15.The funeral home regularly trainsits staff (licensed and nonlicensed)on FTC Funeral Rule arrange-ments.Funeral homes should note that

the pace of sweeps and the number offuneral homes joining the FuneralRule Offender’s Program (“FROP”)has doubled in each of the past twoyears. More and more, we find thatstate agencies, such as Attorney Gen-eral’s Offices and Departments of Con-sumer Protection, team with the FTCto conduct sweeps.

While NFDA continues their ef-forts to raise compliance levels amongfuneral homes, are are also urging theFTC to tighten up the price list distri-bution list requirements in the Fu-neral Rule. Currently the GPL mustbe given to an individual during aface-to-face meeting whenever there isa “discussion” of funeral goods, serv-ices, arrangements or prices. Becausethe term “discussion” is very open-ended and subjective, it leads to con-fusion among funeral directors andgovernment agencies enforcing theFuneral Rule.

For over 14 years, we have beenadvocating to the FTC that the GPLdistribution requirements should betriggered by “selection” and not by“discussion.” Before any consumer se-lects any funeral goods or services, theGPL should be distributed. This mod-ification will insure that the consumerhas the GPL when they want price in-formation and before they make anyselection of funeral goods and services.It will also make it easier for funeraldirectors to understand exactly whenthey are required to distribute priceinformation.

Preventing FTC ‘Stings’By T. Scott Gilligan, NFDA General Counsel

Jan/Feb 2015 11

Every January, NFDA fields questions from membersregarding cash advances and Form 1099. Typically, thequestions arise because the funeral home’s accountant in-structs the funeral home to issue a Form 1099 to eachminister, hairdresser, musician, or florist who has re-ceived cash advance payments in an aggregate amount of$600 or more from the funeral home during the tax year.The purpose of the Form 1099 is to report to the IRS thatpayments have been made, who received the payments,and how much the payments were. Obviously, the is-suance of the Form 1099 places an onerous paperworkburden on the funeral home and often triggers the ques-tion as to whether funeral homes are legally required toissue a Form 1099 to each recipient of cash payments.

The answer in most cases is NO. Section 1.6041-1 ofthe IRS regulations governs the issuance of Form 1099.Subsection (e) addresses the situation where a businessserves as a middleman in the payment process. The reg-ulation requires the business that makes a payment as amiddleman to issue a Form 1099 to the payee, but only ifthe business:(1) performs management or oversight functions in con-nection with the payment; and(2) has a significant economic interest in the payment.

Several years ago, the IRS was asked whether a fu-neral home was responsible to issue a Form 1099 with re-gard to cash advance payees. Relying upon Regulation1.6041-1(e), the IRS issued a private letter ruling (PLR

20010632) which found that generally funeral homes donot perform management or oversight functions with re-gard to services performed by cash advance payees. Inthat regard, the IRS noted that the funeral home “neitherdirectors or inspects the quality of the work provided.” Italso does not select the providers, negotiate the price forservices, or have the discretion to withhold payments forunsatisfactory performances. As such, the IRS found thatthe funeral home was not obligated to issue Form 1099 tothird party providers who receive cash advance paymentsfrom the funeral home.

When issuing private letter rulings, the IRS alwaysnotes that the ruling does not serve as precedent in othercases. However, they do provide an indication to taxpay-ers on how the IRS interprets its own regulations. SinceRegulation 1.6041-1(e) has not changed since the privateletter ruling on cash advances was issued, it appears thatthe private letter ruling is still applicable to the questionof whether funeral homes have to issue Form 1099 to cashadvance payees. As long as the funeral home is not exer-cising supervisory control over the third party serviceprovider, the IRS private letter ruling would indicate thata funeral home does not have to issue a Form 1099 to acash advance payee.

Any NFDA members who have questions regardingthis article or who wish to obtain a copy of Private LetterRuling 200106032, should contact NFDA General CounselScott Gilligan at 513-871-6332.

Issuing Form 1099 To Cash Advance PayeesBy T. Scott Gilligan, NFDA General Counsel


Expand Your OpportunitiesExpand your Funeral Service career opportunities with a dual degree or double major in Forensic Science to

become a crime scene investigator or coroner

University of Central Oklahoma students may earn a double major by completing

30 hours in the Forensic Science Program where all or part of the 30 hours in

the Forensic Science Program may be obtained as free electives in the student’s

Funeral Service Degree program. As an option, students may earn a dual degree

by satisfying all requirements in an existing undergraduate program at UCO and

concurrently complete an additional 30 hours in the Forensic Science Program.

For more information, contact:Department of Funeral Service

100 North University Drive, Box 186Edmond, OK 73034

(405) 974-5001 Fax (405) 974-3848

Live CentralTM

The UCO Forensic Science Institute is a world-class institute dedicated to quality forensic science education, training, and research for professionals and students. www.uco.edu/forensics

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(405) 974-5001 Fax (405) 974-3848Edmond, OK 73034

100 North University Drive, Box 186Department of Funeral Service

For more information, contact:

(405) 974-5001 Fax (405) 974-3848Edmond, OK 73034

100 North University Drive, Box 186Department of Funeral Service

For more information, contact:

L mond, OK UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

Live C (405) 974-2000 Edmond, OK

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

Live Central.uco.edu www (405) 974-2000


ral.uco.edu


PRSRT STD.US POSTAGE

PAIDPermit No. 1474

Oklahoma City, OK 73125

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Documents

Jan-Feb 2015 OFDA Director Magazine