SBA’s regulations for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses create a rebuttable presumption that a service-disabled veteran doesn’t control the company if the veteran is unable to work normal business hours in the company’s industry.

The rule sounds reasonable at first blush, but as a recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals case demonstrates, the SBA may apply the presumption even to a one-person start-up with no contracts. Not many people can afford to quit their day jobs before their businesses truly get off the ground–creating a real conundrum for SDVOSB start-ups.

For the sake of fairness, the SBA’s Normal Business Hours rule needs fixing, pronto. Here’s how to do it.