The Legal Center continued its work to ensure that state governments adopt more business-friendly regulations that will save NFIB members and small businesses time and money by reducing red tape. Our efforts included filing comment letters in Maryland and Colorado opposing proposed rules that would have increased regulatory burdens on small business.

NFIB submitted a comment letter to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment challenging a proposed rule on employee reinstatement from paid family and medical leave. The letter urges the Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance to withdraw the proposed rule to “provide clarity and stability for Colorado’s small businesses.” It argues that the proposed rule exceeds the Department’s authority, conflicts with the statutory language, will confuse small business owners by replacing a threefactor test with a thirteen-factor test, and will create unnecessary and duplicative jobs.

NFIB State Director Michael Smith added, “The Division lacks the statutory authority to promulgate the proposed rule, which is needlessly complicated, vague, confusing, and requires small business owners to undertake burdensome steps to reinstate employees. To prevent this, NFIB recommends withdrawing the proposed rule.”

In Maryland, NFIB submitted a comment letter to the Department of the Environment in response to a proposed rule concerning the use of heating fuel that would impose burdensome reporting requirements on small businesses. NFIB argued that the regulation creates significant reporting and financial burdens on Maryland’s small businesses.

“[S]mall businesses do not need another superfluous recordkeeping requirement added to their plates,” said Mike O’Halloran, NFIB Maryland State Director. “Without dedicated compliance officers on staff, this additional paperwork becomes one more responsibility on the backs of every small business owner whose time would be better spent running their business.”