The Small Business Watchdog

            There has been a flurry of activity this week in the employment law front impacting the small business community.
 
President Obama Signs Bill Relaxing Rules on Pay Equity Suits
            President Obama signed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, overturning a recent Supreme Court case that found restrictions on the statute of limitations for individuals [...]

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            This week, the Office of Advocacy released its annual Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which outlines federal agency compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and reports on Advocacy’s efforts to relieve the regulatory burden on the nation’s small businesses.
 
            The RFA requires agencies to analyze the economic impact of proposed regulations on [...]

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            The United States lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008, the greatest decline in annual nonfarm payrolls since 1945; meanwhile, the unemployment rate has crept up to 7.2 percent.  Later this week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis will release what most economists expect to be horrible gross domestic product figures for the fourth quarter of [...]

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            The most recent Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories—published in January 2009 captures the economic activity and condition of small businesses of each state including the U.S. Territories.
 
            Differences among the states reinforce the “regional” nature of the U.S. and the possible perils of assuming national trends apply to our neighborhoods.
 
            [...]

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            The Federal Aviation Administration has finalized its Special Flight Rules Area rule for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.  The new rule imposes flight restrictions on aircraft operating in and around the national capital area.
 
            Our office designated the rule one of the 2008 Top 10 Rules for Review and Reform as part of the [...]

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            On January 15, 2009, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce will host a Business Outlook Summit.  This first-ever event will focus attention on key business and economic trends for the Nashville area in 2009.  CEOs, sales and marketing managers, human resources staff, facility managers and other local leaders are expected to attend the event [...]

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            On January 8, I attended the National Economists Club (NEC) presentation by Laurence Meyer, Vice Chairman, Macroeconomic Advisors, on “Whatever It Takes: Outlook for US Economy and Monetary Policy.” 
 
            The presentation was based on output from models developed at his forecasting company.  Meyer believes that the US is in a deep recession.  According [...]

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            The Washington Post reports that Cass Sunstein, a longtime University of Chicago law professor, and most recently, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard is expected to be nominated to be the new regulatory czar, as Administrator of the OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. 
 
            Professor Sunstein is a prolific author [...]

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            The ADA Amendments Act took effect on January 1.  It overturns a series of Supreme Court cases, expands the number of workers who are considered disabled under the ADA, and increases the number of employers that must make reasonable accommodations for these employees.
 
            The ADA defines a “disability,” in part, as “a physical or [...]

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