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SBREFA:
- encourages small businesses to participate in the federal regulatory
process;
- requires federal agencies to write regulations in plain language;
- requires federal agencies to develop more accessible sources of
information for small businesses on the regulatory and reporting
requirements;
- creates a more cooperative regulatory environment among agencies and
small businesses that is less punitive and more solution-oriented; and
- makes federal regulators more accountable for their enforcement
actions by providing small entities with a meaningful opportunity for redress
of excessive enforcement actions.
- Under the SBREFA, SBA has established a National Ombudsman and 10
Regional Fairness Boards to receive comments about DOL enforcement actions. The
comments may be sent to the Ombudsman at:
409 Third St., SW,
Washington, DC 20416.
You also may call the Ombudsman at
1-888-REG-FAIR, your local DOL Regional Office or OSBP at 1-888-9-SBREFA.
Please note that any obligation you might have to comply with the
enforcement or compliance actions is not affected by the filing of your
comments with the Ombudsman; and the filing of your comments with the Ombudsman
is not a substitute for any legal options you believe are in your best
interest.
The SBA National Ombudsman reports his findings on federal agencies
implementation of SBREFA in an
Annual
Report to Congress.
- SBREFA expands the ability of small businesses to recover legal costs
under the
Equal
Access to Justice Act (EAJA) by allowing small businesses to recoup legal
expenses when the government seeks unreasonably high penalties in certain types
of cases.
- SBREFA requires enforcement agencies to have a program for reductions
and waivers of penalties for small businesses under certain circumstances.
- The Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2003
- DOL is required to obtain and consider small business input and
interests when writing a new regulation that will have a significant economic
effect on a substantial number of small businesses. Alternatives that would
reduce the economic burden on small businesses must be considered.
- The Occupational Safety & Health Administration must convene a
Small Business Advocacy Review Panel to collect advice from small-business
representatives and consult with SBA when it is developing such a rule.
- Once a new rule is completed, SBREFA requires that it be submitted to
Congress; Congress then has the opportunity to vote to disapprove of the new
rule.
- DOL publishes a Semiannual Regulatory Agenda of regulations that will
significantly affect a substantial number of small businesses that are
scheduled for review or development. For a copy, call the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office on 202/512-1800. The Agenda is also
available on the Internet at
http://www.dol.gov/dol/public/regs/agenda.htm
- To find out about proposed regulations of the Department of Labor, go
to
www.regulations.gov.
Workers and Wages
Employment Standards Administration
Wage and Hour Division . . . . . . . . .
202/693-0745
- New FairPay Regulation. . . . . . . . . 202/693-0745
- Minimum Wage and
overtime pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
202/693-0067
- Child labor (non-agricultural) . . . . . . 202/693-0072
- Immigrant labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202/693-0071
- Family and medical
leave rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 202/693-0066
- Restrictions on use of
polygraph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 202/693-0064
- Restrictions on garnishment
of wages . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 202/693-0067
- Wage rates for government
construction and service contracts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202/693-0064
- Service contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202/693-0073
Office of Labor-Management Standards . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 202/693-0123
- Union/union members relations
Office of Federal Contract Compliance . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 202/693-0101
- Federal contracting rules on affirmative action and
non-discrimination
Employment and Training Administration
Unemployment Insurance Service . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 202/693-3200
- Unemployment Insurance Requirements
- Downsizing and closing Adjustment and
Retraining notification .
. . . . . . . . . 202/693-3032
Pensions/Employee Benefits
Employee Benefits Security Administration . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 202/693-8500
- Private-sector pensions plans and welfare
(employee) benefit
plans: fiduciary, reporting, disclosure, and other requirements
- Health plans: right to continue health-plan
participation under
COBRA.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202/693-1999
- Occupational safety and health laws
- Voluntary protection programs
- Compliance assistance programs
Mine Safety and Health Administration . . . . . .
. 202/693-9899
- Coal, metal, and non-metal safety and health laws
- Compliance assistance programs
Veterans' Employment and Training Service . .
. . . . . . . . . . 202/693-4700
- Rights to reemployment with the employer
the servicemember was
working for when the servicemember went on active duty.
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