small-business
Every record this desk has filed under small-business, newest first, each with the number of sources it can still show you.
FTC and Washington propose Riverside settlement over alleged payment-processing costs and cancellation barriers
The FTC and Washington state filed a complaint and proposed settlement November 2 accusing Riverside Payments and related defendants of misleading small businesses about savings, fees and cancellation. The proposed order provides for a $600,000 redress fund and a temporary opportunity to leave processing agreements without a termination penalty. It requires court approval; it does not establish that refunds have arrived or that the cancellation window has begun.
Also filed underpayment-processingconsumer-protectionftccontracts
SBA opens economic-injury loan applications for Boundary Waters wildfire declaration with July 2027 deadline
An SBA economic-injury disaster declaration issued October 22 covers the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness wildfires from July 11 through August 11. Published October 27, it lists Cook and St. Louis as primary counties and neighboring counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Applications are due July 22, 2027; the notice does not establish individual eligibility or completed loan payments.
Also filed underdisaster-loanswildfiresminnesotawisconsinsba
FDA proposes broader food-traceability relief for restaurants and retailers above its existing small-business exemption
FDA released draft guidance stating that it does not intend to enforce its food-traceability requirements for another band of small restaurants and retailers. The thresholds use three-year average food sales or provision, adjusted for inflation from 2020. Comments on the draft are due November 23 for consideration before final guidance. A separate November 6 meeting will examine tracking problems and possible flexibility.
Also filed underfood-safetyfood-traceabilityrestaurantspublic-commentfederal-register
Proposed Premier Martial Arts settlements would pay $1.85 million and offer some franchisees an exit
The FTC announced proposed settlements October 5 with Premier Franchising Group and Franchise Fastlane over allegedly misleading franchise sales claims. The agreements call for $1.85 million in payments and a cancellation option for eligible franchisees. The cancellation period would run from the notice specified by the proposed order, not from the press-release date, and the orders require court approval.
Also filed underftcconsumer-protectionfranchisescivil-settlements
FTC reaches proposed settlement with Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits over price discrimination against independent retailers, pending court approval
The FTC filed a proposed settlement October 2 resolving its December 2024 lawsuit, which accused wine and spirits distributor Southern Glazer's of charging independent retailers as much as 12% to 67% more than large chains for the same bottles, in violation of the Robinson-Patman Act. The proposed order covers 26 states for six years and lets the company cure an overcharge above $5,000 by paying the retailer 1.5 times it. A judge must still sign it; the company denies the allegations and the order is not an admission.
Also filed underantitrustprice-discriminationrobinson-patman-actwine-and-spirits
Prosecutors say LabelsBank.com sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit Postal Service shipping labels to over 5,200 users, typically at $2 each whatever the package's weight, size or destination, for more than $126 million in alleged losses; under Postal Service rules, a package found carrying counterfeit postage is treated as abandoned.
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida has indicted Faheem Akram, 33, of Khanewal, Pakistan, on charges that he ran LabelsBank.com, a website that prosecutors say sold counterfeit U.S. postage at a fixed rate, typically $2 per label, regardless of a package's weight, size or destination. The Justice Department's September 28 release says over 5,200 individuals used the site to buy more than 5.1 million counterfeit shipping labels, causing more than $126 million in alleged losses to the Postal Service. By Hugin's arithmetic, that is roughly $25 of alleged loss per label. The site has been shut down and its domain seized. The charges are allegations, and the release does not say whether any buyer faces action; the Postal Inspection Service says buying or using counterfeit postage is illegal. For anyone who ships, the plainest risk is to the package: since May 7, 2023, Postal Service rules have treated mail found bearing counterfeit postage as abandoned, to be disposed of at the Postal Service's discretion. Under a temporary price change, genuine Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select prices rise 6.0 percent on average from October 4 until January 17, 2027.
Also filed underuspscounterfeit-postageindictmentfraudshippingconsumer-protection
FleetCor, now Corpay, will pay $100 million over fuel-card fees its small-business customers never agreed to. The FTC first sued in 2019; a court found against the company in 2022, and an appeals court upheld that in January.
FleetCor Technologies, which now trades as Corpay, and its chief executive Ronald Clarke agreed to pay $100 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission's administrative case over unauthorized fees on its fuel cards, the FTC announced on September 17. The money is meant for refunds to the company's business customers. It is the money end of a case that is already largely decided: a federal court in Atlanta granted the FTC summary judgment on all five counts in August 2022 and imposed an injunction in June 2023, and the Eleventh Circuit upheld liability against the company in January 2026. The settlement is open for 30 days of public comment once it appears in the Federal Register. The company does not admit the allegations in the administrative complaint, and there is no refund process to apply to yet.
Also filed underftcfleetcorcorpayfeesconsumer-protectionenforcement
A record appears here because it carries small-business in its own tags. If a record you expected is missing, it was filed under a different subject — the full list is on the topics index.