NFIB Weekly News
Leading the News
Small Businesses Take Legal Action Against FTC Ban on Noncompete Agreements (05/15/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 15, 2024) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Ryan, LLC. v. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, supporting a challenge to the FTC’s final rule banning noncompete agreements. NFIB argues the FTC does not have authority to ban noncompetes. NFIB opposed the FTC’s final rule issued in April 2024.
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U.S. Supreme Court Fails to Strengthen Protection of Personal Property (05/09/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 9, 2024) – NFIB is disappointed in today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Culley v. Steven Marshall, Attorney General of Alabama. Small businesses were hopeful that the Court would establish that innocent small business owners are entitled to a prompt post-deprivation hearing. Instead, many small businesses will be forced to go through a lengthy and costly forfeiture process. NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case urging the Supreme Court to reverse the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling.
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Small Businesses Champion Legislation to Repeal Beneficial Ownership Requirements (04/29/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 29, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, supports legislation introduced today by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (AL) and Rep. Warren Davidson (OH-08) to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Repealing the CTA will relieve small businesses of beneficial ownership information requirements, one of the largest and most burdensome regulations.
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Utah No.1 in ALEC Ranking for 7th Consecutive Year (04/23/2024)
The American Legislative Exchange Council released its annual Rich States, Poor States report this month, and once again, it showed Utah the best in the nation in the Economic Outlook category, for the seventh consecutive year.
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Small Businesses Challenge FTC Authority in New Brief (04/22/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 22, 2024) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Intuit, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The case questions the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) adjudicative process and whether it violates the Constitution. NFIB filed the brief with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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NFIB Supports Legislation Halting Electric Vehicle Mandate on Small Businesses (04/18/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 18, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, strongly supports S. 4072, legislation prohibiting the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce certain rules of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Specifically, S. 4072 prevents the EPA from creating a de facto electric vehicle (EV) mandate that would limit consumer choices and increase costs for small businesses.
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Business Climate
Inflation Continues to Hinder Small Business Operations (05/14/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 14, 2024) – NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index rose by 1.2 points in April to 89.7, marking the first increase of this year but the 28th consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. Twenty-two percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in their business, down three points from March but still the number one problem for small business owners.
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NFIB Launches New Ad Campaign in Northern Virginia Urging Congress to Make Small Business Deduction Permanent (05/07/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 7, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, announced a new paid advertising campaign launching today in Northern Virginia, including radio and digital ads. The paid ads urge members of Congress to make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent by passing the Main Street Tax Certainty Act.
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FTC’s Vague Non-Compete Rule a Bad Deal for Main Street (04/25/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 25, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued the following statement on behalf of Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, regarding the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) final rule on non-compete clauses.
Read the statement here
Supreme Court Upholds Fifth Amendment Rights for Small Businesses (04/12/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 12, 2024) – NFIB applauds today’s decision in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, California at the United States Supreme Court. The Court held that the Takings Clause does not distinguish between legislative and administrative permit conditions. NFIB joined The Buckeye Institute in filing an amicus brief in the case.
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Small Business Optimism Reaches Lowest Level Since 2012 (04/09/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 9, 2024) – The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index decreased by 0.9 of a point in March to 88.5, the lowest level since December 2012. This is the 27th consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. The net percent of owners raising average selling prices rose seven points from February to a net 28% percent seasonally adjusted.
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Small Businesses Back Prove It Act to Reduce Burdensome Regulations (03/21/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 21, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, applauds the U.S. House Judiciary Committee for advancing the Prove It Act. The legislation would strengthen the requirements for government agencies to analyze the impact of regulations on small businesses and increase small business engagement in the regulatory process. NFIB member and small business owner Rep. Brad Finstad (MN-01) is the lead sponsor of the legislation.
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Small Business Marketing
Expert Criticizes Email For Customer Communication, Says Texting Is Superior (04/19/2022)
In a USA Today (4/14, Deerwester) column, lawyer, speaker, and author Steve Strauss wrote that “email is actually a fairly horrible way for business generally, and small business, in particular, to communicate with customers. Unopened and unwanted, ignored and abandoned, emails simply don’t get through anymore.” Strauss went on to argue that texting is superior to emailing.
Marketing Challenges Facing Small Business Owners Highlighted (04/19/2022)
Startup. Info (4/15) highlighted marketing challenges small business owners find themselves confronted with as well as how to deal with said challenges. One of these challenges is content distribution, with Startup. Info saying that content distribution “entails the practice of spreading your content far and wide. But we must state that it’s also a very challenging aspect of marketing.” With regard to how to deal with this challenge, Startup. Info says, in part, “Have a detailed content calendar that shows when, where, and how you spread your content.”
Tips Offered For Small Business To Craft Effective Brand Experience (04/19/2022)
Small Business Trends (4/9, Pilon) provided “10 tips for creating an effective small business brand experience.” Among the areas small business owners should consider are creating an appealing logo, crafting a brand voice, and improving website design.
Commentary: QR Codes Can Help Business Owners “Bridge The Gap” Between Traditional, Digital Marketing (04/12/2022)
Michael Plummer, Jr., president of “premier New Mover Marketing franchise” Our Town America, wrote in Forbes (3/30, Plummer) that businesses should “bridge the gap between traditional and digital marketing by learning how to use QR codes as part of your print marketing strategy.” Plummer wrote, “Using QR codes in your marketing materials can help your business connect with customers and drive traffic to your website,” as well as help build an email database to “stay in touch with your loyal customers” and boost customer feedback.
SBA’s National Small Business Week Set For May 1-7 (04/05/2022)
The Lower Bucks (NJ) Times (3/28) said the Small Business Administration’s “National Small Business Week: Building a Better America Through Entrepreneurship is set for May 1-7.” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said the virtual event “celebrates the resiliency and tenacity of America’s entrepreneurs who are doing their part to power our nation’s historic economic comeback.”
Small Businesses Advised To Shift Social Media Strategy To Cope With Instagram Priority Change (04/05/2022)
Insider (3/28, York) reported that in late 2021, Instagram “announced a shift to prioritizing video-focused content over photo-focused content,” and “small businesses and creators [said] that the frequent updates and changes make it difficult to grow their accounts, especially those rooted in photo content.” Social media coach Kar Brulhart “add[ed] that Instagram’s algorithm is prioritizing video and reels to compete with YouTube and TikTok,” and advised entrepreneurs to “create stop-motion reels to showcase their products in various frames or film clips to compile into a montage.” Amanda Teo, a director of marketing at the sustainable-packaging company Noissue, “add[ed] that video content produced in-house shouldn’t feel overly produced,” and was quoted saying, “We’ve tested more-produced videos versus more-authentic videos, and the authentic videos that look like you just filmed it off your phone with minimal editing performed really well.”
Wages and Benefits
NFIB Jobs Report: Small Business Job Openings Rise in April (05/02/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 2, 2024) – According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, 40% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported jobs openings they could not fill in the current period, up three points from March, which was the lowest reading since January 2021. The percent of small business owners reporting labor cost as their top small business operating problem increased one point from March to 11%, only two points below the highest reading of 13 percent reached in December 2021.
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DOL’s New Overtime Rule Hurts Small Businesses (04/23/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 23, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued the following statement on behalf of Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, regarding the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule increasing the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees.
Read the statement here
NFIB Jobs Report: Small Business Job Openings Fall to Pre-Pandemic Levels (04/04/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 4, 2024) – NFIB’s monthly jobs report shows a general slowdown in employment activity for small businesses in March, with a seasonally adjusted net 11% planning to create new jobs in the next three months, down one point from February and the lowest level since May 2020.
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Health Care Regulation Hinders Small Businesses Nationwide (03/28/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 28, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, is disappointed in today’s final health care rule on short-term health plans. The rule restricts small businesses’ ability to select health coverage by limiting access to flexible, low-cost, short-term health plans. NFIB previously submitted comments to the administration opposing the rule.
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NFIB Jobs Report: Small Business Employment Slows (03/07/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 7, 2024) – According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, 37% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported jobs openings they could not fill in the current period, down two points from January and the lowest reading since January 2021. The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top small business operating problem declined five points from January to 16%, the lowest reading since April 2020.
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Increasing access to affordable child care is a huge piece of the workforce puzzle. (02/08/2024)
Small Business Owners Urge Missouri Lawmakers to Bolster Workforce, Increase Access to Affordable Child Care
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