01/09/2003
The Problem
Federal regulations and mandates create an enormous burden on Main Street and are much harder on small businesses than their larger counterparts. Small businesses don't have legal teams or HR departments to sort through Washington's red tape and they can't absorb the financial costs as well as big businesses can. The federal government needs to consider the effect that even the most well-intentioned regulations and mandates will have on the job-creating small-business sector of the economy.
The Legislation
- Promote common-sense enforcement and compliance-assistance programs at federal agencies. For decades, agencies like the IRS, OSHA and EPA have taken a confrontational approach toward small business. Instead of playing an aggressive game of "Gotcha!" with well-intentioned entrepreneurs, federal agencies should offer a helping hand that helps small-business owners successfully and efficiently navigate the way through Washington's complex regulatory maze. NFIB will support any efforts that promote this new, more cooperative approach.
- Stop expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA was passed in 1993 and mandates that small businesses with 50 or more employees grant them 12 weeks of unpaid leave in the specific cases. Lawmakers are likely to once again introduce legislation to expand the current FMLA by eliminating or lowering the 50-employee small-business exemption and expanding options for leave, such as children's school activities and routine medical appointments.
Expansion of the FMLA would create considerable burdens on small businesses. Most small-business owners already provide a great amount of flexibility in allowing their employees to take time off for family or medical purposes. Government mandates take away small employers' and employees' freedom to negotiate the benefits package that best meets their mutual needs. Expanding FMLA mandates would drastically increase the amount of paperwork and money spent complying. In addition, NFIB supports the revocation of the Clinton executive order that would allow the use of unemployment insurance funds for paid family leave.
- Stop any mandated minimum-wage increases. Mandatory wage increases hurt not only small businesses, but their employees as well. Big corporations usually do not have to absorb the cost because most minimum wage jobs are offered by small businesses. Government manipulation of the starting wage has failed as tool of social and/or economic justice. It has not been proven to reduce poverty or narrow the income gap, and puts a stranglehold on America's top job creators: small businesses. The overwhelming majority of economists continue to affirm the job-killing nature of mandatory wage increases, and NFIB will continue to fight for job creation.
