See the full breakdown for Massachusetts here.

So said Mr. Obama in his 2012 State of the Union address. So let’s talk specifics—what would the administration like to do to help small businesses survive and thrive? In summary:

“Tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow. Expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs. Both parties agree on these ideas, so put them in a bill and get it on my desk this year.”

Unfortunately, these proposals aren’t terribly specific. The President failed to specify which regulations, exactly, he feels are preventing entrepreneurs from accessing financing, and he further failed to identify what kinds of tax changes he would support to provide relief to small business.

[UPDATE: The White House identifies 17 specific tax breaks intended to help small businesses.]

Fortunately, the government recognizes that many employment laws are difficult for small businesses, so many of the more burdensome laws specifically exempt small businesses by stating the law only applies to businesses with more than a certain number of employees.  Unfortunately, Congress is involved, so every law specifies a different threshold for business size.

Some provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to employers with 15 or more employees, as do some provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The Age Discrimination in Employment Act generally applies to employers with 20 or more employees, as does the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“COBRA”); the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), 50 or more employees.

Throw in state law, and things get even more confusing.  Maternity leave would be covered under the FMLA, with its 50-employee threshold; but it’s also addressed by the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Law, which applies to companies with at least six employees.  And the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law employer mandate applies to companies with at least 11 employees.

Taking the Ostrich approach of ignoring the laws, and hoping they go away, isn’t a very good idea.  As your company grows, sit down with your lawyer and make sure you really understand which employment laws apply to your company–and which don’t.  Because, as expensive as it can be to follow these laws–it’s much more expensive to get caught violating them.

Of particular interest to small business owners will be the renewed focus on transparency in and enforcement of wage and hour and overtime rules and regulations.

“A total of $3.8 billion in 12,393 SBA-backed loans was distributed throughout the U.S. from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 of last year, up from $1.9 billion by way of 9,070 loans a year earlier…”

This could mean good things for startup companies seeking capitalization assistance in 2010; or it could mean nothing more than that the last quarter of 2008 was catastrophically bad across any number of metrics, including small business lending.  So, it could mean something, or nothing.  Not particularly helpful, I’m afraid.