USCIS Announces Earlier Registration & Lottery Process for H-1B Visas
On Jan. 9, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the implementation of the H-1B visa registration process for H-1B cap subject individuals. The H-1B program allows companies in the U.S. to…
EPA Releases Working Approach Document to Review New Chemicals Under TSCA
On Jan. 2, 2020, EPA announced the availability of its revised document, “‘TSCA New Chemical Determinations: A Working Approach for Making Determinations under TSCA Section 5.’’ The initial version of this document was published in 2017,…
EPA Prepares for SBREFA Panel on Ethylene Oxide
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced
that it may convene a Small Business Advocacy Review panel under the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act (SBREFA) in anticipation of
new regulations on…
EPA Extends Comment Period for Its Draft Risk Evaluation for N-Methylpyrrolidone
On Jan. 3, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency published a notice extending the comment period for its draft risk evaluation for N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) to Jan. 21, 2020.
EPA published its draft risk evaluation for NMP on…
IRS Announces Small Business Forum to Discuss the Taxpayer First Act
On Jan. 14, 2020, from 10 to 11:30 am, the Internal Revenue Service, in partnership with the National Federation of Independent Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will host a small business forum to share information about the…
Small Business Facts: Growth in Number of Rural Establishments
Since 2000, the number of establishments in metropolitan counties has grown by 30.9 percent, while the number in rural counties has grown by only 7.2 percent. Read “Small Business Facts: Growth in Number of Rural Establishments” to learn…
December Small Business Advocate
The Small Business Advocate
Vol. 38, No. 10
The Office of Advocacy has released the latest edition of its newsletter, “The Small Business Advocate,” Vol. 38, No. 10. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, you may do so …
EPA Seeks Input on Adding Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances to the Toxic Release Inventory
On Dec. 4, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to seek information on a potential proposal to add certain per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to its list of toxic chemicals.…
USDA Extends Comment Period on Interim Final Rule to Establish a Domestic Hemp Production Program
On Dec.18, 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service issued an extension of the comment period for its previously published interim final rule to establish a domestic hemp production program in the…
OSHA Seeks Volunteers for Small Business Panel on Tree Care Safety
On December 10, 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) notified the Office of Advocacy that it plans to convene a small business panel on a possible OSHA Tree Care Operations safety standard in early 2020. …