What is SBREFA?
In 1996, Congress passed the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, or SBREFA, in response to concerns
expressed by the small business community that Federal regulations were too numerous, too complex and too expensive
to implement. SBREFA was designed to give small businesses assistance in understanding and complying with regulations
and more of a voice in the development of new regulations. Under SBREFA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) and other Federal agencies must:
- Produce Small Entity Compliance Guides for some rules
- Be responsive to small business inquiries about compliance with the agency’s regulations
- Submit final rules to Congress for review
- Have a penalty reduction policy for small businesses
- Involve small businesses in the development of some proposed rules through Small Business
Advocacy Review Panels.
In addition, SBREFA established 10 Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards to receive comments from small
businesses across the country about Federal compliance and enforcement issues and
activities, and report these findings annually to Congress. The legislation also gives small
businesses expanded authority to recover attorney's fees and costs when a
Federal agency has been found to have acted excessively in enforcing Federal regulations.
About the Panel Process
When an OSHA proposal is expected to have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities, the agency must
notify the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy. The
Office of Advocacy then recommends small
entity representatives to be
consulted on the rule and its effects. OSHA next convenes a Small Business
Advocacy Review Panel, consisting of officials from the agency, the SBA's Chief
Counsel for Advocacy, and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs. The panel hears comments from small entity
representatives and reviews the draft proposed rule and related analyses
prepared by OSHA. A written report of this
interagency
panel is submitted to OSHA within 60 days. OSHA reviews the report, makes any
appropriate revisions to the rule and publishes the proposed rule
along with the panel’s report in the Federal Register.
The SBA's Chief Counsel participates in the
small business advocacy review panels and identifies the small entities that the
panel should consult. The chief counsel also submits comments on agency
proposals. These comments can be viewed on the Office of Advocacy's
home page:
http://www.sba.gov/ADVO.
Concerns about proposed regulations can be addressed to the
SBA’s Chief Counsel for
Advocacy, 409 3rd. St., S.W.,
Suite 7800;
Washington, DC 20416; or faxed to the Chief Counsel at (202) 205-6928.
SBREFA Provision for Judicial Review
When small businesses believe a rule or
regulation will adversely affect them, and that the agency failed to meet its
analysis and disclosure obligations under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980
(RFA), SBREFA provides those small businesses with the opportunity to seek
judicial review of the agency's action. The SBA's Chief Counsel for Advocacy can
become directly involved in such appeals by filing
amicus
(friend of the court) briefs in the court proceedings brought by the small
business appealing the rule and claiming a violation of the RFA.
Commenting on the Rulemaking Process
After a proposed rule is printed in the Federal Register, anyone can
submit comments that must be considered by the proposing agency. This is a good
way to participate in Federal
rulemaking. To find out what proposed
OSHA regulations are available for comment, go to
http://www.regulations.gov and select "Occupational Safety and Health Administration" from the government
agency list at the top right portion of the opening page. (Note: If no OSHA
regulation is open for comment, the agency will not appear on the list).
Commenting on Enforcement Actions
Under a law passed by
Congress in 1996, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has established an SBA
Ombudsman and SBA Regional Fairness Boards to investigate small business
complaints about
Federal agency enforcement actions.
If you are a small business and believe that you have been treated unfairly by OSHA, you may file an
electronic comment/complaint to the SBA Ombudsman over the Internet [PDF
- 543 KB].
Or you may contact the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman by:
- Toll Free Phone: (888) REG-FAIR (734-3247)
- Fax: (202) 481-5719
- E-mail
- Mail:
Office of the National Ombudsman
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd Street, SW, MC2120
Washington, DC 20416-0005
To view the SBREFA Act in its entirety, please visit the following web link:
http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/sbrefa.html
For more information on
SBREFA the following web links
may prove helpful:
http://www.sba.gov/ombudsman/
http://www.sba.gov/ombudsman/dsp_overview.html
http://www.sba.gov/ombudsman/dsp_faq.html
http://www.sba.gov/advo/
http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/is_oshapanel.html
NOTE: Filing a complaint with the SBA Ombudsman does not affect any obligation that you
may have to comply with an OSHA citation or other enforcement action. Nor does
it mean that you need not take other available legal steps to protect your interests.
Accessibility Assistance:
Contact the OSHA Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs at 202-693-2220
for assistance accessing PDF materials.
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