§6617 Suspension of penalties for certain year 2000 failures by small business concerns

Summary

Federal agencies that can fine small businesses must set up a contact person and, under rules below, must not impose fines for a first-time rule violation caused by a Y2K computer failure. Definitions: an “agency” means an executive agency that can impose civil fines on small businesses; a “first-time violation” means a small business broke a federal rule it had not broken in the past 3 years (banking or securities safety rules are excluded); “small business concern” means the same type of small business used elsewhere in the law. Each agency must name a point of contact within 30 days after July 20, 1999, and publish that person’s name and phone number in the Federal Register. An agency must waive fines for a first-time Y2K-caused violation if the business shows it tried in good faith to prepare and fix problems, the violation was caused by a Y2K failure that seriously affected its ability to follow the rule, the violation was unavoidable or done to prevent harm, the business acted quickly to correct it, and it notified the agency within 5 business days of learning about the violation. An agency may still fine a business if the failure caused actual harm or an imminent threat to health, safety, or the environment, or if the business does not fix the problem within 1 month after being notified. These rules do not cover Y2K failures that happen after December 31, 2000.