You have an idea for a new business, and you want to be your own boss! Starting a business, especially if it will require you to hire people, can be extremely difficult without the assistance of an employment attorney.
5 Reasons Why You Need an Employment Attorney For Your Startup
There are many rules and regulations involving employees in the workplace, especially surrounding hiring practices.
You may not be aware of California and federal laws that affect your business if you operate within a specific area. Orange County employment attorneys can help ensure that your business will flourish and is properly protected by law.
Here are the reasons why you need to hire a reliable employment attorney for your startup:
They Are Your Business Advisors
Let’s say you are a graduate of a business course or someone knowledgeable about running a startup. However, there are still many legal aspects you may not be aware of. Here’s when an employment lawyer becomes handy.
An employment lawyer will act as your business advisor to help you with legal advice, such as presenting you with business laws for your startup. They will guide you with law-related decisions to keep your business on the right track.
One benefit of contacting an employment attorney for your startup business is that they can also assist you in other areas like business entity decisions.
This can include decisions like forming an LLC or hiring an accountant to handle your company’s finances. A business attorney can also help you with contracts, intellectual property, and tax questions.
Also, a startup needs to continuously provide legal requirements to maintain its status. An employment lawyer will keep you informed about what you need to do and papers to fill and submit for your business status to stay active.
They Build Partnerships and Strategies for Exit
Since a startup is a company that’s still in the initial stages of business, one of the challenges it faces is to prove its stability for potential lenders or investors.
Due to their work experience, an employment lawyer can direct you to the best side of business partnerships and help you carry out agreements for appropriate investors.
However, there are times when a partnership does not work out the way you wanted it to be.
When thinking about ending a business partnership, the employment attorney shall create an exit agreement and strategy, as well as provide backups and plans to protect your business from cascading.
They Can Draft Employment Agreements/Contracts and Construct Workplace Policy
One of the most important decisions a startup business owner will make is deciding who to hire for their company.
However, before you can classify someone as an employee or independent contractor, you need to negotiate an employment agreement with them.
Employment agreements are not only beneficial for the employer but are also essential because they give employers a lot of protection from costly liabilities, such as discrimination issues or wrongful termination claims.
Creating an employment contract requires a deep understanding of federal and state employment laws which include minimum wage requirements and overtime pay guidelines, as well as starting and ending employment relationships, such as how and when you can fire someone.
Startups should be aware of each state’s laws surrounding background checks and drug testing for employees. In this matter, an employment attorney can help.
Your employment attorney can also help establish workplace rules and regulations by drafting a workplace policy. This will outline expectations, policies, and procedures that the employer and employee can understand and shall comply with.
They Help Prevent Lawsuits or Litigations
As much as you want your startup to operate effectively, there would be disputes along the way. One of which is receiving legal charges from disgruntled employees, collaborators, suppliers, or customers.
Hiring an employment lawyer at the onset of your business will minimize the chances of receiving lawsuits or litigations. They make sure to review contracts in advance and settle dubious agreements before the dispute reaches its peak.
They Make Sure You Comply with Employment Law
As your company grows from just a few employees to more than 50 people, it is time to hire someone to help take care of human resources tasks like training and employee performance reviews. However, no matter what size your startup is, you need to keep up with all the latest employment law changes to ensure your company stays in compliance.
They Can Help You Save Time
Even if it’s a small business, running a startup requires a lot of work. Lawyers such as employment attorneys carry more than half of the knowledge and materials relevant to legal business processes.
They are in charge of almost the entire process, from doing the complex paperwork to communicating on your behalf. Employment attorneys know how not to waste time establishing startups.
What Should You Look For in an Employment Attorney?
When hiring for an employment attorney, remember to pay particular attention to their proficiency in employment law, experience, and fee structure since budgets are extremely limited when you start a new business. These are the other qualities you should look for in an employment lawyer to ensure you choose a competent one:
1. Skilled in Handling Employment Law Cases.
An effective employment lawyer will be able to handle labor law cases, from discrimination and overtime pay disputes to wrongful termination suits. An excellent employment lawyer will also be familiar with federal and state labor laws. Having competent legal counsel can help you avoid legal complications that may put your business in jeopardy.
2. Outstanding Communication Skills.
Since lawyers are tasked to interact extensively with a wide range of people, including clients, employers, and employees, great communication skills are the key to effective legal counsel.
Having the ability to convey accurate and helpful information is important in helping you achieve your business goals.
An employment lawyer with excellent communication skills can help resolve disputes more efficiently, allowing you to have a better working relationship with employees.
3. Good Reputation in the Occupation and Community.
Get referrals for employment lawyers from your peers and other business owners. Before hiring one, check if the lawyer has a good reputation among clients and community members.
A lawyer that is highly respected by people in their local area is most likely to have a strong understanding of the employment law of the state.
4. Creative in Problem-Solving and Dispute Resolutions.
An effective employment lawyer should possess a creative and practical approach on how to deal with future legal issues facing your business. They should be able to provide feasible solutions and help you improve the working environment of your company without any legal violations.
Take away:
Your startup business may face various legal issues that may arise any minute but if you have competent legal counsel, you can focus on other important matters such as marketing your products and increasing your sales.
Let your employment lawyers deal with matters that are outside of your expertise, so you can accelerate the growth of your business.
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