The July/August issue of Cleaning & Maintenance Management is now available in a digital format.

This edition focuses on restroom care topics, from maintaining busy restrooms in healthcare facilities to ensuring sustainable restroom practices in hotels and other hospitality venues. It offers a glimpse into public restrooms of the future and explores new designs for baby changing stations. Beyond restroom care, the latest issue of CMM provides guidance on improving your facility’s water conservation efforts and setting adequate staffing levels. It offers tips on school facility trouble areas to deep clean over the summer and reveals the benefits of using data analytics to improve cleaning efficiency.

Here’s a quick look at what you’ll find in this issue:

• Don’t Fear What’s Lurking in Healthcare Facility Restrooms: EVS crews work to inspire the confidence of patients and their families
• Think Green for Hospitality Restrooms: Five simple tips that don’t sacrifice comfort for sustainability
• Will Public Restrooms of the Future Know Your Name?: U.S. restroom innovations prioritize the practical over fantastical
• Putting Data-Driven Cleaning Into Practice: Data analytics beat out guesswork and intuition for improving cleaning efficiency
• Setting Cleaning Staff Levels to Ensure Business Success: Defining the scope of work is key to workloading efficiency
• Water Conservation Starts With Auditing the Drips: Steps for implementing a water management plan
• School’s Out for Summer, Unless You’re a Custodian: Deep clean these school hotspots during break
• The Baby Changing Station Boom: Innovations keep sinks clean and baby-changing friendly

Check out the table of contents to see all this edition of CMM has to offer including a restroom care showcase.  

New overtime-pay regulations took effect on July 1, which the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) passed under the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to a press release, the new rule extends overtime protections for millions of salaried workers.

“For more than 80 years, the 40-hour workweek has been a pillar of fairness for American workers,” said Julie Su, acting labor secretary. “It’s the promise of going home to loved ones after putting in your time, not endless hours for flat pay. Far too many are stuck in jobs that disregard this principle. Today, our rule to restore that balance by expanding overtime protections for our nation’s lower-paid salaried workers goes into effect. This rule helps ensure that more lower-paid salaried workers who should receive overtime protections under the law actually receive those protections.”

Starting earlier this week, roughly 1 million workers making US$43,888 or less are newly eligible for overtime benefits. On Jan. 1, 2025, the salary threshold will increase to $58,656, then update every three years. As CMM previously reported, this represents more than a 60% increase over the current threshold of $35,568. 

This significant change will profoundly impact both business owners and employees. Scott Tackett, a business development advisor with Violand Management Associates, recently explained the impact and path forward for businesses in a CMM Strait Talk! episode.

ISSA submitted comments to the DOL opposing the then proposed final ruling late last year. The association’s comments in opposition to the rulemaking were cited in the final rule. To learn more about this issue and ISSA advocacy, please contact ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft. Additionally, three separate lawsuits have been filed that charge the DOL lacks the authority to make the change.