Knowing What’s What When It Comes to Taking on Employees

October 20, 2017October 20, 2017 / nancyrubin

As your business expands and demand for your products and services increases, you may find that you struggle to keep up with the entire workload on your own. This is when you’re going to have to consider taking on full-time staff of your own. You’ve likely worked hand in hand with self-employed individuals for one-off jobs, such as web design or marketing, but having employees is a whole different matter. So, before scouting for staff or taking on workers, here are a few things you should make sure you’re well aware of and up-to-date with to ensure that you and your staff have the best working relationship possible.

Employment Discrimination

When it comes to the workplace, the same as any other situation in life, you need to ensure that you are as inclusive as possible. Nobody should be discriminated against during the application process or their time of employment with you. Bear in mind that all people are entitled to full and equal employment opportunities regardless of their: age, ancestry, colour, disability, domestic or sexual violence victim status, ethnicity, familial status, gender identity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, retaliation, sex, or sexual orientation. For more information on this (especially concerning disabling conditions or issues), contact a reliable, professional lawyer, such as David Chermol. Nobody should be denied a job or promotion outright on the basis of any of these aspects of their identity. All workers should be employed on equal terms with nobody receiving preferential treatment or favourable employment terms.

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Pay

All of your workers have the right to be paid for all of the work that they do. This goes without saying. However, there are a few more details that you need to bear in mind. They also require at least $7.25 for every hour that they work. While your staff will have contracted hours, you may find that you need some members to work overtime: this is any work that exceeds forty hours a week. Any overtime entitles staff members to one and a half times their standard pay (after all, they’re doing you a favour by taking on extra work). You cannot deduct anything from any worker’s pay for any reason other than legal deductions such as deductions for health insurance, union dues, and taxes.

Family and Medical Leave

If your business has more than fifty employees and an employee has worked for you for at least twelve months and has completed 1250 hours of work for your company, they can take up to twelve weeks off each year for the purposes of maternity or paternity leave, to care for a spouse or parent with a serious medical condition, or for personal health reasons. This doesn’t have to be paid. They should give you thirty days notice of their need to take leave if possible. However if the problem is sudden, they should just let you know as soon as possible.

Bearing this information in mind will ensure that your employees have a satisfying job role and that you uphold their worker’s rights.

Keeping Your Business On The Right Side Of The Law

January 31, 2017January 31, 2017 / nancyrubin / 2 Comments

Any business that wants to stay in business for as long as possible needs to think about how to legally protect itself. If you are a business owner, this is something that you might want to learn about as early on as possible after you set up the business. Legally protecting your business ensures that no disaster can befall the business, and you would be surprised at just how common they can be for businesses which do not go out of their way to seek protection. There are a number of things that need considering here, and in many ways it is quite a complex issue, so we have put together this post to help you understand what you need to think about. Let’s take a look at the ins and outs of protecting your business from legal issues.

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Protect The individual; Protect The Company

It is often all too easy to forget that a business is made up of individuals. In essence, much of what you need to do to protect your business is really more about protecting the individuals within that business. As long as you are doing that, there should be no problem. It is particularly important that you protect those individuals high up in the company, such as yourself and your fellow management staff. This helps to keep the image of the company positive, something which is important for all businesses. So if you or a colleague have trouble with the law, ensure they have a decent lawyer on their side. And don’t forget to look for a lawyer who will deal with their type of case. For example, Scheiner Law Group will defend against wrongful DWI, so they might be your option for that type of accusal.

Know The Regulations – And Stick To Them

There are all manner of legal regulations and red tape which a business needs to adhere to. Making sure that you do is bound to help in the long run, as a business which remains within the law at all times is always more safe in the eyes of the law. If you are unsure about whether or not your business is remaining legal, then it is always best to check. There are many ways to accidentally skirt the law, and it is definitely in your interest not to do that, so make sure you always check with the experts on all matters which might have legal restriction.

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Patenting & Other Methods

The other form of legal protection is in the protection of your business’ ideas and other assets. There are many ways that you can use the law to protect your intangible assets, and it is worth getting to know those methods as well as possible. The most popular and one of the most effective of these methods is patenting, for obvious reasons. Patenting an idea protects your business in that it stops other businesses and individuals from using that same idea for their own profit. Clearly, this is a vital thing for any business to engage in, so make sure that yours does.

Will the Law Be on Your Side?

April 14, 2016April 15, 2016 / nancyrubin

Whether you own a business or you just show up to work for someone else on a regular basis, life can come at you in waves.

It sometimes seems like there is never enough time in one’s day to accomplish all the goals one puts forth.

Making matters more challenging are the times when you get into a legal dispute with someone, be it friend or foe.

No matter the circumstances, having the right legal team on your side can make all the difference as to whether you end up winning or losing your case.

So, will the law ultimately be on your side?

Finding the Best Legal Representation

In order to locate the best legal team, be it business attorneys, a Houston divorce lawyer, an attorney over a family dispute involving heirs or any number of other legal issues, do you know where to start?

Instead of fumbling through the Yellow Pages or blindly surfing the Internet, you can turn to several other options to land the right legal representation at the right price.

These options would include:

Family and friends – Unless you are literally in a legal scrape with a number of family members and/or friends, turn to them in your time of need. There is a good chance one or more of them have had to locate legal assistance in the past. In doing so, they can recommend a thumbs up or thumbs down on various attorneys and lawyers. If you are involved in a family dispute (divorce, fighting with relatives over an inheritance etc.), knowing who the opposition has on their side will help you in determining which lawyer is best suited for your needs;
Legal websites – As more lawyers and attorneys come to realize that having a solid presence on the Internet helps their businesses, you can stand to benefit from this. Visit a number of legal websites to see which lawyers appear best suited to handle your particular case. Although there should not be any gender issues in 2016, some individuals may feel better hiring a male lawyer, believing that they will be tougher in court. As evidence has clearly shown over time, female lawyers can be just as if not more aggressive, so don’t let the gender persuade you one way or another. Some women in need of a lawyer might feel more comfortable having female representation, figuring women can talk more easily amongst each other. When checking lawyers and their websites, look to see which ones have well-developed sites and which barely put any time in their online efforts. Those that do put the time in can offer a wealth of information for the man or woman in need of legal assistance. Some lawyers will use their websites to post articles about current trends in the legal system, something that can be of great value for someone going through a divorce, business disagreement, family struggle regarding the loss of a relative and how the money and other assets get divided up;
Social media – If you’re seeing more lawyers and attorneys with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn pages, don’t be surprised. As legal professionals come to see the advantages to being active on social media, the client can once again benefit from this. Look to see how members of the legal profession use social networking sites. Do they just post information about their own offerings or also the latest in legal trends in a variety of areas? Do they quickly respond to current or potential clients when they are asked legal questions? These are but two of the areas you would like as much information as possible. Short of seeing a lawyer or attorney in the courtroom in action, seeing them on the Internet and/or hearing about them through word-of-mouth are your next two best options.

Going the legal route to resolve a dispute is typically the last option most individuals and business pros want to use.

Given it is the only route available at times, knowing the law will be on your side is a comforting feeling.

Having the right legal representation behind you can assure you that your case will likely turn out the way you desire.

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes about business topics on the web.