Overtime, paid sick leave, and more top the small business agenda under Trump.
President Donald Trump now has the opportunity to end the “regulation nation” that small business owners have been struggling with for decades.
Unreasonable federal regulations are the second-biggest problem for small business owners, behind only the cost of health insurance, according to NFIB research. Atop the list of priorities? Overtime pay, paid sick leave, and energy considerations—to name a few.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TODAY’S SMALL BUSINESS NEWS.
The year already kicked off with some good news for owners: the House passed a bill aimed at curbing harmful regulations, including regulations that unfairly target owners. Here’s an additional look at what some small business experts anticipate regulations will look like under a Trump presidency and Republican-led Congress.
Overtime
The overtime rule was set to take effect Dec. 1, 2016, before a federal appeals court judge blocked it. The rule would’ve doubled the salary threshold, from $23,660 to $47,476, at which employees become eligible for overtime pay.
The government is appealing the injunction, so small business owners are hoping that the Labor Department (which Trump has nominated Andrew Puzder to lead) could restructure the law if the courts don’t strike it down.
Paid Sick Leave
Under a Trump presidency, many of President Barack Obama’s executive orders can be undone with a snap, including one that requires businesses with government contracts and subcontracts to provide eight days of paid sick leave a year. The rule also requires employers to pay at least $10.10 an hour to the contractors.
There’s not much work that Trump needs to do to repeal this executive order.
Energy
The coal industry has suffered in recent years, but Trump might be able to make things easier. He has vowed to bring back jobs to the coal industry, so the EPA’s coal-plant emissions rules, which were temporarily stopped by the Supreme Court from going into effect, may never see the light of day.
Congress will most likely take a “wait and see” approach while a federal appeals court hears the emissions case, said Karen Harned, executive director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center.
These wishes of small businesses may be within reach, as steps have already been taken to ease regulatory burden with the House’s passing of the Regulatory Accountability Act.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
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