About UsYour small business has to comply with numerous local, state and federal laws and regulations. It is worth your time to research the laws and regulations carefully - or talk to a business advisor - to avoid penalties and other serious consequences. US SBA Office of Advocacy statistics show that it costs the smallest of businesses almost $7,000 per employee every year to comply with federal regulations. That cost places a burden on small business that is 60 percent greater than costs incurred by large corporations.
Need Help with a Regulatory Issue?
If you are a small business owner in New York, and you need help dealing with a federal regulatory agency, there is a person you can call. The SBA Advocate for small business owners in New York State is Christine Glassner, whose office is at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City. If you need help with a regulatory issue, you can reach her by phone at 212-264-7752 or by email.
The SBA also has someone in Washington, DC who is looking out for small business owners. The National Ombudsman receives complaints and comments from small businesses, and acts as a "trouble shooter" between them and federal agencies. The National Ombudsman’s office works with 10 regional fairness boards whose membership is drawn from 50 small business owners from across the country. In fact, each federal regulatory agency is required to designate an impartial party to serve as a Regulatory Fairness Representative. Contact information for those representatives is available here.
The SBA Office of Advocacy, which gives small businesses and their representatives the opportunity to make their voices heard, also lends small business owners a hand. A Regulatory Alerts page at the SBA website lists proposed rules that may affect small business owners, and allows visitors to comment on proposed rules important to their business.
The resources below provide information on regulations for the following topics:
Permits & Licenses
Taxes
Insurance
Environmental Issues
Workplace Safety
Workers' Compensation
Wages, Hours & Benefits
Going Public
If you are thinking about starting a business, you should be aware of local laws. It is important to contact the village, town, or city and county clerk where the business plans to locate. Examples of local considerations are zoning, parking, sign regulations, and certain occupational licenses such as auctioneers, electricians, and plumbers. It is advisable to contact your local government first.
The NYS Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform (GORR) provides useful information at its website, including the following:
The website also has links to many local government offices in NYS.
Small business owners have to pay taxes, and to eliminate unwelcome surprises, it is wise to learn about them before you have to pay a penalty. The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a section on its website for small business owners and self-employed individuals. There is a lot of information, including an online classroom, at the site.
- Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource
- Starting, Operating or Closing a Business
- Tax Law Changes for Business
- IRS Online Classroom
To help small business and self-employed customers better understand record keeping and other tax related issues, the IRS has developed a number of educational products to help small businesses start and keep their businesses on the right path. Fact sheets at the Tax Gap Page address common areas of difficulty for small business owners.
Additionally, the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance has a special section with information for small businesses. Go to the address listed below and scroll down until you see the heading, “Small Business Information” on the left side of the page.
Business Insurance. You are not required by law to have liability, property damage or other types of business insurance, but very few businesses can realistically operate without some form of optional coverage. Chief among these is general liability insurance and property insurance. In some situations, life insurance may also be important. The New York State Department of Insurance supervises all insurance business in New York State. For more information, contact the New York State Department of Insurance or call 518-474-6600 or 800-342-3736. There is additional insurance and other small business information available at the NY Loves Small Business website.
Health Insurance. Healthy NY, from the NYS Department of Insurance, is a unique program designed to encourage small employers with 50 or fewer employees to offer health insurance coverage to their employees, dependents, and other qualified individuals. Healthy NY is also available to eligible working uninsured individuals including sole proprietors.
Frequently Asked Questions by Small Employers – about health insurance
Unemployment Insurance: The NYS Department of Labor website information for employers
Your small business probably does not have an environmental manager, consultant or attorney on staff to interpret complex air quality requirements or to keep up with regulatory changes and developments in environmental rules. The Small Business Environmental Ombudsman (SBEO) program at Empire State Development provides a wide range of compliance assistance services.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) also has an ombudsman to assist small business owners with federal environmental rules.
The EPA Small Business Compliance page leads you to a wide range of resources that are available to help small businesses learn about environmental rules.
The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has a page at its website containing environmental information for small businesses.
The US Department of Labor (DOL) encourages all businesses to establish safety and health programs, and to find and fix hazards to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. The DOL website includes a “Small Business Resource Center” with a lot of information about federal rules for small business, including workplace poster requirements.
The NYS Department of Labor also has a list of required workplace posters at its website:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the US DOL has a small business Compliance Assistance page that you might find helpful.
The NYS Department of Health has a page at its website – “Health and Safety in the Home, Workplace and Outdoors.” Scroll down through the information to find the section on health and safety in the workplace.
If you or an employee is injured on the job, you should contact their state workers' compensation board. The website of the New York State Workers' Compensation Board to give businesses quick and direct access to workers' compensation information.
The Americans with Disabilities Act gives civil rights protections
to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on
the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees
equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations,
employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications.
You will want to read the “ADA
Guide for Small Business” (PDF) to learn about the basic requirements
for small businesses that provide products or services to the public.
Small business owners need clear and easy-to-access information on how to comply with federal employment laws that relate to wages, health benefits, retirement security, employment rights. The US Department of Labor provides a shortcut to the information and services the DOL provides on various labor and employment topics. Visit the website before you hire employees, and whenever you have a question.
Did you know that in cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages? Learn more about minimum wage rules.
The US DOL Wages and Hours Division has variety of materials available for both employers on the subject of work hours.
Providing an employee pension plan can be a powerful recruitment and retention tool for small-business owners. A pension plan is an employee benefit plan established or maintained by an employer or by an employee organization (such as a union), or both, that provides retirement income or defers income until termination of covered employment or beyond. There are a number of types of retirement plans, including the 401(k) plan and the traditional pension plan, known as a defined benefit plan. The US Department of Labor (DOL) has a lot of information at its website for employers. Go to the page with the heading “Small Business Pension Plan Options” at http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/retirement/smallbusiness.htm
You may want to learn more about ERISA - The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.
For questions about the tax provisions in the Internal Revenue Code relating to pension plans, please contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
When your company needs additional capital, "going public" may be the right choice, but you should weigh your options carefully. If your company is in the very early stages of development, it may be better to seek loans from financial institutions or the Small Business Administration. The Securities Act requires companies to give investors "full disclosure" of all "material facts," the facts investors would find important in making an investment decision. The Act also requires companies to file a registration statement with the SEC that includes information for investors. Go to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) page containing information for small businesses to learn more about the rules.
The SEC has an Ombudsman that can answer your general questions or help you find the answers to your specific questions. The Ombudsman's telephone number is (202) 551-3460.
Other Links
The SBA Office
of Advocacy is responsible for examining the contributions and challenges
of small businesses in the United States economy. A variety of research reports,
small business statistics, and other documents are available at www.sba.gov/advo/research.
Recent reports discussed growth and decline trends for small business and the
importance of small startups to state economic growth.
The Empire State Development’s NY Loves Small Business website is a gateway to small business information from several state agencies.
Business.gov is the “official business link to the U.S. government.” The website features a list of the compliance assistance resources available at Federal agencies for small businesses.
The federal Office of Management and Budget provides information about compliance assistance, including points of contact, for several federal agencies, from Agriculture to Veterans Affairs. It also provides a wealth of links to websites with detailed information.
