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Funding the Government When the House and Senate are both in session next week, members of Congress will have only 11 legislative days to come to an agreement on the continuing resolution (CR) before the current fiscal year expires on September 30, 2023. Speaker McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Schumer agreed on the general idea…

Supplement Disaster Assistance Sen. Scott (R-FL) and other Republicans have called for passing disaster relief separately from the rest of the emergency package, fearing extensive debates over Ukraine aid and border security could delay relief to hard-hit areas.  President Biden rejected that suggestion and additional funding for Ukraine continues to face resistance from some GOP…

Overtime Proposed Rulemaking Released The Department of Labor (DOL) released its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking altering the overtime pay regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The proposal increases the minimum salary threshold to $55,068, up from the current $35,568, a 55% increase. The proposal also implements automatic increases to the threshold. The threshold will…

ASA Supports Rep. McHenry (R-NC)’s Protecting Small Business Information Act Rep. McHenry (R-NC)’s Protecting Small Business Information Act (H.R. 4035) would delay the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)’s January 1, 2024, effective date.  The CTA’s reporting requirements will subject tens of millions of small businesses to higher compliance costs, privacy risks, and hefty fines and prison…

IRS Reminds Taxpayers to Prepare for Natural Disasters September is National Preparedness Month and with the peak of hurricane season just ahead, the Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers to develop an emergency preparedness plan or, if they already have one, to update it for 2023.  Per the IRS, taxpayers can begin getting ready for a…

Pay Raise for Federal Workers President Biden submitted the paperwork to move forward with what averages out to a 5.2 percent federal pay increase next year. The President notified Congress of his intent to implement a previously announced alternative pay schedule for many federal civilian workers in 2024, in line with his budget request earlier…

Congress Returns on September 5th! When Congress returns from its August recess on September 5th, there will be just 25 calendar days left in the 2023 fiscal year.  Speaker McCarthy has advised House Republicans that he believes Congress will have to pass a short-term government funding bill to avoid a shutdown this fall.  The remarks reflect…

ASA and SBA’s Office of the National Ombudsman In the fall, ASA will once again host a webinar with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of the National Ombudsman.  Their mission is to achieve regulatory fairness while leveling the playing field for small businesses.  Many of our ASA members are small businesses that are required…

OSHA Proposed “Walk Around Rule” Clears White House Review On August 24th, the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) completed its review of OSHA’s Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Notice of Public Rulemaking (NPRM). The regulation could be released any day now. While we do not have specifics about the rulemaking, we expect it will allow…

OSHA Releases Some Details on Heat Proposal as Part of Small Business Review Obligations As part of its obligations under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), OSHA must involve small business representatives in the development of some rules.  This requires the agency convene a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel consisting of representatives from OSHA, the…