Problems Entrepreneurs Run Into When Starting Businesses

It is, they say, the American dream to be an entrepreneur. But with that freedom and potential for earnings, comes legal responsibility, and the requirement of knowing the ins and outs of the laws that often get entrepreneurs in legal trouble.

Workers’ Compensation Requirements

Your business must provide workers’ compensation for your employees. Do not just call your employees, “contractors,” in order to avoid these laws–doing so will get you in deep legal trouble.

If you have six or more employees, you must provide workers’ compensation, but if you have even just one employee and your business is in the construction industry, you need to provide workers’ compensation. Some more specialized industries may have their own minimum thresholds on how many employees you must have before you’re required to provide workers’ compensation insurance.

Wages and the FLSA

Speaking of employees, you want to make sure that you are paying them at least minimum wage, and overtime, which is their wage plus half their hourly wage.

This is pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is a very complex law. The law deals with commissioned employees, tipped employees, odd or varying hour work weeks, what is on and off the clock, and what kinds of employees do not have to be paid under the FLSA (called exempt employees).

Not only can your business be held liable for violating the FLSA, but you can also–the individual owners, in their individual capacity, can be sued along with the business, for violations of the FLSA.

Intellectual Property

It’s always easy to come up with a mascot, a logo, a saying or a song, and brand it as your own. But are you sure it’s your own?

Many businesses that get sued for infringement, aren’t infringing purposely and maliciously. They just came up with a logo or song or saying, and never checked whether it was already registered or protected or owned by someone else.

Regulations and Rules

Many industries are heavily regulated by the state or the federal government. The government often has executive agencies, which have hundreds or thousands of pages of regulations. Everything from transportation to the food industry, to lending, every construction industry, to consumer services, to car dealerships–you name it–there are probably pages of government regulations telling you what your business can and cannot do.

Make sure that you (or your business attorney, preferably), know what these regulations say–they have the same force and effect of law, and you can end up with serious fines (or worse) for violating these rules.

Contracts and Agreements

Make sure you have your business contracts, manuals and handbooks in order. They aren’t just internal documents. They can be the difference between winning or losing corporate lawsuits which may be brought by investors, other employees, shareholders, or the general public. Get your business contracts reviewed, and make sure you have the contracts that you need to protect yourself.

Starting a new business as an entrepreneur? Call our Fort Lauderdale business attorneys at Sweeney Law P.A. at 954-440-3993 for help.

Source:

myfloridacfo.com/division/wc/employer/coverage-requirements