Federal Business Laws for Small Businesses

Federal business laws are the rules Congress and federal agencies set for the whole country. This level covers pay and hours (the FLSA), job discrimination (Title VII, the ADA and the ADEA), workplace safety (OSHA), income and payroll tax (the Internal Revenue Code and FICA), ownership and cash reporting (the Corporate Transparency Act and the Bank Secrecy Act and FBAR), advertising and email (the FTC Act and CAN-SPAM), competition, the environment and privacy.

How federal law fits with the other levels

Federal law often sets a starting line, not the final rule. Many federal rules apply only above a size. Title VII and the employment part of the ADA begin at 15 employees, the ADEA at 20, and the FLSA's enterprise coverage at 2 employees with $500,000 a year in sales (workers can also be covered individually). Illinois law can reach smaller employers: the Illinois Human Rights Act covers employers with one or more employees, counted across 20 or more weeks for most claims.

Pay shows the same pattern. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in 2026, and an employee covered by both gets the higher of the federal and state rate. Safety is split by employer type: private employers in Illinois answer to federal OSHA, because Illinois's own plan covers only state and local government employers.

Federal law applies in every Illinois county, Cook County included. Cook County adds its own ordinances on top, covered in the Cook County hub. For state rules, see the Illinois hub, and for the agency behind each law, see who enforces what. To compare size thresholds side by side, see which laws apply by employee count, and for the payroll side, our payroll guides.