Use E-mail or Pay $15,000 Penalty?

Small businesses that don't have email may find themselves in trouble with the Labor Department, according to The Pension Department, a New York-based consultancy.

As of Jan. 1, Labor is requiring businesses -- without exception -- to submit 401k and pension plan forms electronically. Brett Goldstein, president of The Pension Department, says this leaves 20 to 28 percent of small business owners with two options: get online or pay up.

"Small business owners who don't have e-mail, high-speed Internet connections, and older business owners are going to have a hard time trying to comply with the DOL's mandate that everyone use the Internet to electronically file their forms," Goldstein said in a press release. "Some small business owners may have an e-mail address, they just don't understand how to use it. The new e-filing requirement will be burdensome to small business owners who will have to spend time away from their business to e-file. As small business owners don't want to spend time administering their 401k, this may be disincentive for small businesses to establish new 401ks and, at worst, may lead to 401k plan terminations."

Labor also won't allow actuarial firms to file on behalf of business owners, leaving opponents demanding that the department create exceptions for people without e-mail access, the group contends. The question is, will this create more Internet users or force Labor to change its policy?

We'll ask the Labor Department for their view when they are back at work. The federal government in Washington is closed due to snow.