NJSFDA Prepares Comments on Proposed Funeral Rule Changes

NJSFDA Prepares Comments on Proposed Funeral Rule Changes

The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, acknowledging it is likely that the Federal Trade Commission will mandate funeral homes to place their General Price Lists online in some form, has stressed to the FTC that funeral homes should maintain some discretion on whether to engage in online marketing.

Those funeral homes without websites should not be forced to create them, the NJSFDA said in additional comments submitted to the commission following a workshop held on September 7, 2023 to explore changes to the FTC’s Funeral Rule. Those with existing websites, however, should only be required to embed a PDF or a “clearly labeled link directly to the GPL on the home page or main landing page of the provider’s website,” the NJSFDA said.

Any changes to the Funeral Rule concerning the online placement of GPLs should clarify that the exact location of the link or PDF should be left up to the funeral homes, as long as it provides maximum visibility to the consumer. In addition, any business posting its GPL online should be exempted from FTC Undercover Price Shoppers because of the readily available information.

Calling the use of a website a “best business practice” for funeral homes, the NJSFDA nonetheless said that a regulatory body should not mandate that a business create a website so a price list could be posted on it.

“Consumers who engage funeral providers who are not operating in a fashion commensurate with their technological level can select another business that can better respond to them in their desired manner,” the NJSFDA wrote. “In this way, the Rule should not seek to legislate business best practices.”

Calling social media sites “volatile” and saying that funeral providers lack full control of their presence on the platforms, the NJSFDA said that communications and information on social media should not fall under the Funeral Rule.

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Ask the Manager

The NJSFDA Manager of the Day program provides members with a resource for addressing and resolving problems that arise in the daily operations of their funeral homes. Here are some matters that were brought to the attention of the Manager of the Day in recent months.

How Do I Handle Death Certificates for Multiple Fetal Deaths?

I’m handling a case for a family where a woman miscarried triplets at 20 weeks. Will one fetal death certificate suffice, or will I need three?

Read the answer

Are Cash Rebates to the Funeral Home for Obituaries Allowable?

We just received an email from a newspaper company offering us a 5 percent rebate on any obituary we place in one of their local publications. The payment, which the company is also calling a “reward,” would be made directly to the...
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Who Can Authorize a Disinterment?

I was approached by siblings who are hoping to disinter the remains of their brother and move him to a family plot. The brother had no spouse and no children. I noticed that N.J.S.A. 45:27-23 only mentions surviving spouse and adult...
Read the answer
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