Small Business Notes Newsletter
Small Business Notes is a monthly newsletter that provides timely, accurate and useful information on topics of interest to small businesses in Minnesota.
January 1, 2020 Is Effective Date for New Minnesota Minimum Wage Rates; Minneapolis and Saint Paul Rates Effective January 1, 2020 or July 1, 2020 Depending on Business Size
U.S. Department of Labor Releases New Rule on “Joint-Employer” Standard
U.S. Small Business Administration Publishes Final Rule Implementing “Small Business Runway Extension Act” Providing New Method of Size Calculation for Businesses Using Revenue Based Size Standards
U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Adopts New Rule Allowing “Test the Waters” Communication by Securities Issuers to Institutional Buyers and Accredited Investors
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Discrimination “Because of Sex” in Cases Involving Sexual Orientation and Transgender Status
U.S. House of Representatives Passes New Regulatory Requirement for Start-Ups and Small Businesses. Senate Action Still Uncertain
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Decision That Mobile Apps Used to Access Company Website Are Subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act
New Treasury Regulation Clarifies Self Employment Tax for Partners in a Partnership That Owns a Disregarded Entity
New Federal Law Offers Opportunity for Small Business Reorganization in Bankruptcy
U.S. Department of Justice Settles Claim Involving Fast Food Franchisee’s Employment Discrimination Against Work-Authorized Non-U.S. Citizens
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule Adopting New Standards for Salary Minimums for Exemption from Overtime Pay Requirements for Executive, Administrative, or Professional Employees
Census Bureau to Publish New Report on Business Owner Demographics of Non-Employer Small Businesses
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Sets September 30, 2019, Deadline for Receipt of New Pay and Hours Worked Data
U.S. Department of Labor Announces Availability of New Online Toolkit to Aid Employers In Complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Provisions of Minnesota’s New “Wage Theft” Law Take Effect July 1 and August 1
Internal Revenue Service Releases Proposed Income Tax Regulations on Cloud Transactions and Transfer of Digital Content
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Seeks Comment on Major Questions Surrounding Harmonization of Securities Offering Exemptions
UPDATE: SBA Proposes Rules on Small Business Size Standards and Calculation of Annual Receipts
(See: Small Business Notes for May, 2019, "Still No Movement on Small Business Administration Rules on Small Business Runway Extension Act")
New Law Gives Original Jurisdiction to Minnesota District Courts on Disputes Relating to Public Procurement
Still No Movement on Small Business Administration Rules on Small Business Runway Extension Act
Federal Trade Commission Announces First Enforcement Decisions and Orders in Enforcement of the Consumer Review Fairness Act
U.S. Department of Labor Reviews Standards for Workers as Employees or Independent Contractor in "Gig-Economy" and "Virtual Marketplace" Context
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Posts Online Tutorial for Proposals for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals Affirms SBA Area Office Denial of 8(a) Disadvantaged Business Application Based on Gender Discrimination Not Directly Connected to Applicants Business Activity
A Caution from a Recent Federal Trade Secrets Case: Proprietary Information May Not Be a Trade Secret Absent Reasonable Efforts to Protect It
Proposed Legislation Responds to Minnesota Court of Appeals Decision Allowing City of Minneapolis to Require Employers to Pay a Minimum Wage Greater than that Required by Minnesota Statute
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Opinion Letter on Delay in Designating Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Qualifying Leave as Actual FMLA Leave and on Providing FMLA leave Beyond the Statutory 12 Week Entitlement
Briefly Noted: U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Copyright Registration Occurs Only When Copyright Office Actually Issues Registration
Securities and Exchange Commission Amends Regulation A+ Rules to Allow Use by Reporting Companies
Bill Introduced in Minnesota Legislature to Give Primary Jurisdiction to Minnesota District Courts in Public Procurement Actions
U.S. Supreme Court, In a Unanimous Decision, Addresses When a Commercial Sale Of an Invention To a Party Required by Terms of Sale to Keep the Invention Confidential Can Prevent Inventor from Obtaining a Patent
U.S. Supreme Court to Address Legal Precedent on Deference Due by Courts to Regulatory Agency's Interpretation of Its Own Ambiguous Regulations
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Opinion Letter: Rate of Pay is An "Actual Fact" Not An Arbitrary Choice When Computing An Employee's Overtime Pay
Some Emerging Technologies May Soon Be Subject to Export Control Regulations
Some Federal Contractors May Lose Small Business Status Under New Law if U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Delays Rulemaking
Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Holds that Employee Request for Religious Accommodation May Not Be Protected Activity under Anti-Retaliation Provision of Title VII of Civil Rights Act
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Releases Draft of New Form 8996 for Taxpayers to Use with Qualified Opportunity Fund
Calculating W-2 Wages for Internal Revenue Code Section 199A
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Issues Invitation to File Briefs on Questions of Employee Use of Employer E-Mail and Communications Systems for Protected Activity
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Physical Presence Nexus But Allows "Economic Nexus" for Collection of State Sales Tax by Online Sellers
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Seeks Comment on Proposed Goals for Disadvantaged Businesses
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Regulation Amendments to Increase Employers' Ability to Offer Health Coverage to Employees
Will Cryptocurrencies Ever Make Sense for Small Businesses?
Small Business Issues Emerge in Oral Argument on Internet Sales Tax Collection
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Cost of Remediation as an Affirmative Defense to Suit Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) [Disability Support Alliance; Eric Wong v. Heartwood Enterprises, LLC, No. 16-1759 (March 21, 2018)]
Minnesota Court of Appeals Affirms that the Minnesota Human Rights Act Does Not Impose a Duty on Employers to Engage in an Interactive Process to Identify Possible Disability Accommodations
"Kill-Quill" Legislation to Get U.S. Supreme Court Review
Federal Court Upholds U.S. Small Business Administration Decision to Remove Business from List of Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business but Says that Decision Leads to "Draconian and Perverse Results"
New Tax Law Makes Important Expansions for Small Business Expensing
Pre-Markup Business Provisions in the Proposed "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (H.R. 1)
Certiorari Sought in Case Questioning When Copyright Registration Occurs
U.S. Tax Court Rebuffs IRS Effort to Narrow Scope of "Reasonable Reliance" on Advice of Tax Professional
SEC Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies Asks Full Commission to Act Soon on Issue of Finders and Financial Intermediaries
2017 Legislature Clarifies Exemptions From Securities Integration for Offerings Using MNvest Crowdfunding
2017 Legislature Imposes Sales Tax Obligation on Some Marketplaces That Facilitate Sales by Third Party Sellers Located Outside Minnesota
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Takes Testimony On Reversing the Decline in Entrepreneurial Activity
Congress Takes Testimony on Joint Employer Standards
First Decision in Lawsuit on Website Accessibility Under Federal Americans With Disabilities Act
U.S. supreme court decision May Work to Restrain "Patent Trolls"
Federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Issues Guidance to Federal Agencies on Implementing January 30, 2017 Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs
U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill Amending Regulation D to Allow for Road Shows and Demo Days Without Running Afoul of Prohibition on General Solicitation
