POST CATEGORY : Legal

Fire Smartly: Avoiding Wrongful Termination Lawsuits

Firing an employee is never an easy task, but when performance doesn’t meet expectations, drastic measures must be taken. Some employers delay firing to avoid the fallout of termination and the threat of a lawsuit. But delaying the inevitable can cause problems to escalate and make termination even more difficult.

Employee termination notice

Taking steps to proactively avoid the threat of a wrongful termination lawsuit can help you make smarter hiring and firing decisions.

Hold Performance Evaluations Regularly

Document the performance of all employees across the entire organization. Employees of all levels should receive complete performance evaluations on a regular basis.

Evaluations provide supervisors with an opportunity to communicate performance issues, so employees understand the expectations that must be met.…

Continue reading →

4 Ways to Protect Your Business From a Divorce

‘Happily ever after’ is what married couple want to achieve. Unfortunately, it’s often inevitable due to one reason or another. Depending on your personal circumstances, there are things needed to settle when divorce is inevitable. One of such things is your business.

Divorced

Your business is an asset, and no matter how hard you work on your business, putting in long hours doesn’t protect your business from a divorce. You can take steps to protect your business, and it’s not too late to start taking those steps now if your marriage is, alas, faltering.

If you’re about to begin divorce, you can implement the following strategies to help safeguard your business:

1.

…Continue reading →

3 Alternatives to Bankruptcy for Small Businesses

Small businesses go bankrupt. The Small Business Administration states that 50% of businesses survive past the five-year mark. This means half of the entrepreneurs that follow their dreams and start their own businesses will see their dreams go up in flames.

Bankruptcy

Business is a risk, and one late shipment or one lost contract can mean the difference between a business thriving or boarding up their windows.

There are options outside of bankruptcy that can stop a business from dissolving.

1. Direct Negotiating Outside of Court

Lenders will negotiate with a business outside of court. When negotiations take place away from the stringent requirements of the court, there are a plethora of benefits, such as:

  • Avoiding court proceedings, which allows a business to save money
  • Direct negotiations take far less time to complete
  • A plan to get back on a financial track will be drafted, and will work for all involved parties.
…Continue reading →

3 Steps to Take This Year to Avoid Another Tax Season Scramble

Tax season is the enemy of small business owners. Small business owners wear a lot of hats: accounting, marketing, sales – you name it. The small business owner often fills the void in his business.

Doing small business taxes

TurboTax and other online services even allow owners with no accounting experience to file their taxes and take advantage of tax breaks along the way.

But there’s also the anxiety of:

  • Gathering receipts
  • Outlining all expenses
  • Cycling through billings and invoices

Businesses that opt to pay taxes annually and incur the small penalty also worry about having enough money come tax season.

If you’re a freelancer or contractor, chances are you were more focused on staying afloat this past year than worrying about tax season.…

Continue reading →

The Importance of Supervisor Training and Development

In order for a company to thrive, it needs to properly manage risk. Highly effective training is one way to support this goal.

Employee training

Options such as leadership training seminars or supervisor development programs will make the organization much more effective since it will help it comply with legal requirements, among many other things. When you invest in executive coaching, leadership training, or any other type of managerial training, you avoid audits, fines, lawsuits, and you make the teams work so much better.

Training benefits

Development programs are going to be useful for the supervisors to properly deal with work responsibilities.…

Continue reading →

A Starter Guide to I-9 Compliance & New Hires

Getting a new hire onboard is more than introducing him to coworkers. You need to comply with all the regulations involved with the I-9 form. It is only one page, but the rules that go with it fill 69 pages.

Here is an overview showing how important is it to comply with the regulations, the difference between the W-9 and the I-9 forms, and what identification is acceptable to meet the I-9 rules.

Reviewing employment documents

Penalties for Non-Compliance

To you it looks like a lot of pencil pushing. To the government it is serious business. The minimum fine for errors filling out your I-9 paperwork is $110.…

Continue reading →

How to Rescue Your Business from the Brink of Insolvency

There’s no denying that approaching insolvency is a problem that requires immediate attention. While it can feel a little scary, the best way to fix it quickly and simply is with a targeted, focused response. In other words, don’t push it to the back of your mind and hope that it handles itself. With just a few small changes to the way that you do business, you can put your affairs in order and start to better protect your investments.

Business owner dealing with business insolvency

Whether you’re struggling to meet monthly bills, being buried by an unsuitable administrative process, or desperately lacking in credit, there are steps that you can take to turn the situation around.…

Continue reading →

How A Liquor Licensing Attorney Can Save Your Business

Owning a business built around alcohol must have seemed a good idea at the time. There is certainly money to be made, and some people are just great building a business based on customer camaraderie and good cheer. Maybe alcohol is the perfect pairing for your restaurant menu, or maybe you see profit potential in a retail store. How a liquor licensing attorney can save your startup business?

Busy bar

Here’s to you!

Whether you’re planning a bar, pop-up bar, restaurant, private club, or retails sales, here are 5 good reasons you need a liquor licensing attorney from the beginning:

  1. First-aid: It ain’t easy to open and run an alcohol-based business.
…Continue reading →

Sole Trader, Limited Company, Partnership or LLP – Which Business Structure is Best?

You’ve got your business idea all sorted. You’ve got a great name ready to register. Now what? You need to decide which legal structure will suit you and your business best.

Limited company

The four most popular ones are sole trader, limited company, general partnership and limited liability partnership (LLP). The decision is actually pretty straightforward when you understand the basic features and benefits of each structure, so we’ll take a look at each one in turn to help you make the right choice for your exciting new venture.

Sole trader

A sole trader is a self-employed person who owns and manages a business as an individual, but they have the option to employ people to work for them.…

Continue reading →

Pros and Cons of Setting Up a UK Limited Company

Incorporating your new or existing business as a UK private limited company (LTD) is an incredibly effective way to boost your professional profile and establish a presence in the United Kingdom. Not to be confused with the LLC structure, a UK limited company resembles the legal framework of a US corporation (Inc.) that you would register through application to the secretary of state. As such, you will need to appoint at least one director and one shareholder, you will enjoy reduced financial liability for company debts, you can sell shares to outside investors as a way to raise capital, and the company can exist beyond the ownership of its original founders.…

Continue reading →