It’s not often that a small business owner like you thinks of hiring an employment lawyer. After all, 81 percent of small businesses have no employees.
However, your goal isn’t to stay without employees forever. You want to grow your business, which means at some point you’ll need to build a workforce. This is when it will occur to you that there are labor laws your business must comply with.
Still, that doesn’t automatically mean you should hire a lawyer, right? You don’t intend to break any laws.
Here’s the thing, though. Hiring an employment attorney is a smart move that will benefit your business in a couple of big ways. Read on to learn more!
1. Make the Right Decisions When Hiring New Staff
There are several laws that regulate the recruitment process.
To start, in most states it’s illegal to ask candidates about their criminal history on a job application. There is the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which prohibits businesses from hiring foreign workers who don’t have the necessary permits to work in the U.S. Other laws that affect the recruitment process including the Equal Pay Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
If you’re not aware of these laws and how they apply to your specific recruitment situation, you can unknowingly commit an offense that can result in fines, license revocations, and even imprisonment.
With an employment attorney on your team, you’ll have proper counsel on recruitment laws, which will help you make informed hiring decisions. They’ll help you understand the different types of employment, such as joint employment and co-employment. Discover more here about co-employment and the risks it carries.
2. Employment Contracts
As an employer, you need to enter into a contract with your workers, whether they’re full-time, part-time, temporary, or independent contractors. The contract fleshes out, among other details, the rights and responsibilities of both parties, the duration of the contract, and salary and benefits.
Although you can download free templates for employment contracts, they won’t be very helpful to your business. Since every business has unique needs, you need customized employment contracts. An employment lawyer will help you with this.
3. Avert Lawsuits
In the last two decades, employment lawsuits have increased by 400 percent.
As much as you try to do everything related to employment by the book, there’s no guarantee your business won’t face a lawsuit. It’s commonplace for employees to disagree with their employers, and some of those disagreements end up in court.
Don’t be like those business owners who hire an employment lawyer after they’ve been sued. Whether the lawsuit has merit or not, you’ll still incur legal fees and other expenses; all of which could have been avoided if you hired a lawyer earlier.
That’s because an employment attorney can help avert costly lawsuits. They can use their negotiation skills to pursue out-of-court settlements with parties that are threatening to sue. This will save your business a lot of money and help protect its brand reputation from the damaging nature of employment lawsuits.
You Need an Employment Lawyer on Your Team
You shouldn’t wait until your business is in legal trouble to hire an employment lawyer. A savvy business owner errs on the side of caution. When you have this attorney on your team, your business will stay compliant with labor laws and you’ll get counsel to help you make sound decisions.
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