Regulations

The practice of “Experimental Decedent Model” donations is increasing

By Funeral Director Daily / February 8, 2024 /

    Every funeral director has had that call from a non-profit life donation organization that the recently deceased Mr. Doe will be unable for removal for 24 hours or so while his organs are harvested.  Funeral directors are also keenly aware of of those families or individuals who have been in to the funeral…

My Prediction: Get ready to add mandatory online pricing

By Funeral Director Daily / February 7, 2024 /

    When the New York Times starts writing articles that include thoughts on the Federal Trade Commission’s “Funeral Rule” I think it is time to say that the issue has caught some attention.   My wife and I spend the months of January, February, and March in a rented condo in South Florida and…

Lower wage increases coming? . . .Is that good news for employers?

By Funeral Director Daily / February 6, 2024 /

    There’s no doubt that for the last 3-4 years most of the news coming on the business front has resulted in employers raising wages and benefits to their employees even while other aspects of the business were not necessarily positive.  For instance, inflation at higher than anticipated rates has caused most employers to…

Will the First Amendment change funeral licensing?

By Funeral Director Daily / January 29, 2024 /

  In America our court systems help define what is a Federal issue and what is an issue for a lesser proportion — say a “State’s Rights Issue” or an issue of a city or county within a state.  And, sometimes the decision can be confusing and the decision on how to approach the issue,…

Is Jessica Mitford’s “The American Way of Death” still relevant

By Funeral Director Daily / January 23, 2024 /

    2023 marked the 60th anniversary of Jessica Mitford’s book related to the customs of American funerals, “The American Way of Death“.  If you are much younger than I am you probably don’t even remember it or have never heard of the book.   It is my opinion that funeral directors and funeral homes…

Opioid deaths just keep on coming

By Funeral Director Daily / January 22, 2024 /

    It’s difficult to know exactly this early into 2024 if 2023 was a year in which opioid deaths continued to climb or if the United States is starting to make progress in its fight to limit these number of deaths.   However, every funeral director in the country has probably had to deal…

Protecting the dead from the living

By Funeral Director Daily / January 18, 2024 /

    According to this recent article from Bloomberg Law there are laws in Illinois, Texas, and Washington that already provide living residents with specific biometric privacy rights.  According to the same article, Florida will be looking at instituting those rights to the deceased when their legislative members meet in 2024.   The same article…

Don’t let politics get in your way

By Funeral Director Daily / January 15, 2024 /

    Maybe you’ve been living under a rock and have not heard multiple and multiple times from media and social media that today is the Iowa Caucuses. . . .the first step in whittling up the candidates that will lead to the upcoming 11-month process in selecting our next President.  So, brace yourself for…

What embalmers have seen — Pre- and Post- Pandemic

By Funeral Director Daily / January 12, 2024 /

    My wife and I happened to be staying on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the date of the Chinese New Year in 2020. . . that date was January 25, 2020.  I remember it vividly because as we came back to the hotel from dinner the Chinese New Year party was starting…

Pierce Colleges appoint new President and CEO

By Funeral Director Daily / January 5, 2024 /

  Pierce Colleges of Funeral Services (PMC) announced via a press release on January 2, 2024, that Joseph Finocchiaro has been named the President and CEO of the three campus system.  Finocchiaro has most recently been serving as President of the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science and will continue in that role as well as…