Federal Issues
Federal DOL Asks for Comments on FMLA
The U.S. Department of Labor will publish a proposal on Feb. 11 to update its regulations under the 15-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) — a measure that will help workers and their employers better understand their rights and responsibilities, and speed the implementation of a new law that expands FMLA coverage for certain military family members.
Proposed changes include increased notice obligations for employers so that employees will better understand their FMLA rights, while revising the employee notice rules to minimize workplace disruptions due to unscheduled FMLA absences. The proposal also contains technical changes to reflect decisions by the Supreme Court and lower courts. A new section addresses recently enacted legislation to expand the FMLA entitlement to 26 workweeks for certain military family members caring for a service member with a serious illness or injury.
The department invites comment on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will be published in the Federal Register on Feb. 11.
For further information about the FMLA and the proposed regulations, visit the Wage and Hour Division's Web site.
SEC Delays SOX Compliance for Small Businesses
The Securities and Exchange Commission on February 1 unanimously proposed that smaller public companies be given an additional year to comply with auditing and reporting requirements under Section 404 of Sarbanes Oxley. Public companies with $75 million or less in market capitalization will now have until 2009 to comply with certain Section 404 requirements.
The delay will allow the SEC to conduct a study on the “real world” costs and benefits of Section 404 in light of new rules put in place in May 2007. The study will compile data from a broad array of companies currently complying with the 2002 law.
The U.S. Chamber continues to fight for sensible reform the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley. The Chamber’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) released a report in December 2007 showing that, despite recent reforms, Section 404 disproportionately burdens small businesses.
President Bush Approves One-Year Energy Tax Credit Extension
President Bush approved a bill on December 20 that will extend federal tax credits for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The wide-ranging Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 extends the production tax credit through 2008 for electricity produced from wind power, geothermal power, biomass, landfill gas, small irrigation power, and trash combustion facilities. It provides a similar one-year tax credit extension for new properties that produce geothermal power or make use of solar energy; for homeowners that purchase solar water heating, solar photovoltaic, or fuel cell systems; for businesses that purchase fiber-optic lighting systems, solar energy systems, or fuel cell power plants; for new energy efficient homes; and for energy efficiency improvements to commercial buildings.
The act extends the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds program through 2008, and increases the total annual amount of tax-credit bonds to $1.2 billion. It extends special tax allowances for cellulosic ethanol facilities to include plants placed in service by 2012. It also extends the research and development tax credit, which encourages businesses to invest in new innovations. See the text of the bill, the White House press release and fact sheet, and the press releases from the Solar Energy Industries Association and the Alliance to Save Energy.
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