03/28/2024

New year, new burdens for small businesses: Guest commentary

Small business owners must be diligent to comply with slew of new laws and regulations

The California Legislature enacted a dizzying array of new bills last year — with Gov. Jerry Brown signing more than 900 into law. With job growth stagnant and small business optimism unclear here in California, hundreds of new laws and regulations on the books this year present new burdens and risk of non-compliance for businesses across the state. Although NFIB California led the way in blocking a bill that would have further mandated protected leave obligations for employers, for example, unfortunately many of the bills we opposed were approved and enacted into law.

Yet there is no sugar-coating the fact that many of the newly enacted laws will prove burdensome for small business — especially with California’s escalating minimum wage. Other regulatory changes will require attention to ensure full compliance to avoid costly penalties or costly lawsuits. Here is a quick overview of the most pertinent new laws in 2017 affecting small business:

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