Running a small business and being an entrepreneur requires considerable time spent navigating through legal requirements and best practices. One of the many goals of AASPMN is to make this process a bit easier for members by providing general resources and templates. Some of the newest resources include a privacy policy, website terms and conditions and an updated hazard notice. As a member, you have access to these templates, which are worth thousands of dollars, at no cost! 

This month’s Legislative Update (see page 5) focuses on Minnesota’s new privacy law, which is actively being rolled out. Both the privacy policy and website terms and conditions templates have been created to be compliant with the new regulations. Privacy is a particularly big deal for shops because of vehicle data. It is widely known in the industry that the data transmitted through scans and parts searches is sold. Unfortunately, there is little understanding of who is selling it and at what step in the process. Having a privacy policy means you are clearly telling your customers that you are doing all you can to protect their privacy, but that it is outside of your control if that data is sold by a different entity. Clearly disclosing this information is critical in protecting your shop from legal trouble. 

The vehicle hazard notice was mentioned several times in last month’s feature, Exploring Shop Liability: Is a Partial Repair Ever Acceptable? (See grecopublishing. com/aasp0725coverstory/) The point of that article was to help shops navigate the very real and frequent issue of repairs being turned down. The vehicle hazard notice is designed to be used when a vehicle is in disrepair to the point that the safety of passengers or others on the road is in question. A signature by the customer and good shop notes are key for protecting a shop if something does go wrong. When and how to start using this form is a judgement call for each shop. The AASPMN legal team at Larkin Hoffman can help shops further tailor the form to meet specific needs and answer questions. 

There are several other templates available and there will continue to be others added as needs from members arise. Let us know what you would like to see or are struggling with! 

If you would like a copy of these valuable templates, please reach out to the AASPMN team at aasp@aaspmn. org or call (612) 623-1110. 30659 Pearl Drive Unit #3 • St. Joseph, MN 56374 CALL US TODAY!! Randy: (320) 428-6200 Office (320) 363-410