Many in a hiring freeze to avoid new costs.
Some small business owners in Houston say they're either cutting employees or staying stagnant to avoid increased fees related to Obamacare.
Joe Schneider with Holmes Road Recycling Company would rather stay at 47 employees than pay higher costs.
"Once you cross that 50 threshold, you become different type of entity and your taxed a lot more, and your responsibility for health care becomes a lot heavier," Schneider tells KTRH News.
"Everybody's in a check-hold situation, they want to see what happens because the rules are still coming out, and we have no surety yet," he says.
Wes Metcalfe with Generator Supercenter says Obamacare has forced him to contract out, which he calls a nightmare.
"We're contracting everything that we possibly can to keep from hiring people and stay underneath the radar as long as we can," says Metcalfe. "But I also have to go back and redo work, and deal with multiple sub contractors before I find a good one."
Metcalfe says he's also turning away business to avoid higher taxes.
