SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Small Business Size Standards; Adoption of 2017 North American Industry Classification System for Size Standards

The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has issued a proposed rule to amend its small business size regulations to incorporate the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s North American Industry Classification System (“NAICS”) revision for 2017, identified as NAICS 2017, into its table of small business size standards.  NAICS 2017 created 21 new industries by reclassifying, combining, or splitting 29 existing industries under changes made to NAICS in 2012 (“NAICS 2012”).  SBA’s proposed size standards for these 21 new industries have resulted in an increase to size standards for six NAICS 2012 industries and a portion of one industry, a decrease to size standards for two, and a change in the size standards measure from average annual receipts to number of employees for one.  There is no change in size standards for twenty industries and a portion of one industry.  SBA proposes to adopt the updated table of size standards, effective October 1, 2017.  Comments to the proposed rule are due on, or before, June 19, 2017.  See 82 Fed. Reg. 18253.

SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE

SEASON Act Introduced to Provide Relief for Seasonal and Small BusinessesSmall Business Committee Press Release (April 17, 2017), http://smallbusiness.house.gov.

Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot has led the introduction of legislation essential to providing relief for small and seasonal businesses that are suffering under a lapse in the H-2B visa program.  H.R. 2004, the Strengthen Employment and Seasonal Opportunities Now (“SEASON”) Act, makes fundamental changes to the H-2B visa program to provide certainty for seasonal employers that have been plagued by the program’s inefficiencies and constantly changing regulatory environment.

The SEASON Act clarifies the role of temporary legal workers in the American economy, who are in no way seeking or becoming qualified for permanent legal status or residency in the United States under an H-2B visa.  The bill stipulates that a returning temporary alien worker can receive an H-2B visa in subsequent, consecutive fiscal years without being counted towards the annual statutory cap, allowing businesses to meet labor demands during their peak seasons.  Read the full act here.