Employment Laws Every Single Company Owner Should Become Aware Of

Hiring staff members because of growth of your business is often an enjoyable time. But, all employers should be aware of certain laws concerning employment before they think about hiring even their first employee. It's the job of the company owner to fully understand the laws linked to employment. Apart from state laws, are also federal employment laws which take precedence over any state laws. To ensure that you are well safeguarded, learn the state and federal laws.

First off, the kinds of questions you can ask a potential employee during an interview or on an application are managed by laws. For example, asking someone how old they are is banned, based on age discrimination laws. To get around that, if the job position requires them to use equipment, for which they should be at least 18 years of age to satisfy other federal laws, the necessary paperwork can merely ask if they're over 18. This will let you stay inside legal limits of the laws, but also gather the details you need to ensure you're hiring the top candidate.

Bear in mind, anything which might fall under discrimination by age, sex, race, creed, religion or sexual preference is completely out of the question. With many of these categories there isn't a legal way around seeking this information, and when found in violation, the employer could face extreme fines from state and federal regulators. So, always be sure you don't ask about any of these points when interviewing potential employees.

If you happen to be interested in hiring teens, under 18, there'll be additional restrictions on the sort of work they can perform and the hours they could be on the clock. In numerous states, the number of hours includes which hours they can work, with a distinction defined for school nights and non-school night. One example is, a 17-year-old student may be allowed to work until 10 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday, but Sunday through Thursday they will have to be off by 9 p.m.

In combination with employer liability laws on hiring, there are various laws regarding the workplace conditions you provide your employees. Harassment of any sort is a violation of many state and federal laws. If a company is made aware of any type of harassment that can cause what it considered a hostile workplace, they can be held accountable for the actions of their employees, assuming they fail to take steps to end the actions.

Being aware of the laws on minimum wage and other basic laws is not the only thing you will need to be sure you know before hiring a worker. It's a huge responsibility to be a boss, so even before you start the process, make sure to know exactly what you are doing.