Owning your own company is a rewarding experience. With any growth will come new challenges, and some of those challenges may have a legal element to them. As you start hiring more and more employees, you will want to make sure that your company is operating in a way that is beneficial for the business, your customers, and all employees. There are a few situations that should prompt any business owner to consult with an employment attorney.

Compliance to Law

Even if you only have one or two employees, there may be laws your company is subject to that you need to comply with. Workers' compensation is a program of insurance that is required by law for employers to have. Making sure you have coverage for all of your qualifying employees is important to avoid fines and legal issues. Additionally, there may be local, state, and federal laws that impact employees in your particular industry that you need to ensure you are in compliance with. Consulting with an employment lawyer will keep you informed on current laws governing your employees and ensure you stay in compliance.

Human Resources Issues

There are human resources issues that can also have a legal element to them. Company policy as it pertains to hiring and firing, as well as sexual harassment issues, should be drafted or reviewed by an employment attorney. Different states have different laws when it comes to firing employees, and your human resources team should have clear policy on how to deal with an employee that needs to be terminated. Wrongful firings or not properly handling a sexual harassment case appropriately could lead to legal action against your company that destroys it. An employment attorney can help you establish a safe work environment with sound policies in the human resources part of your business.

Ironclad Contracts

In addition to being in compliance with the law and protected from a human resources standpoint, it's important to protect your business relationships and intellectual property with solid contracts. Any business contract you make with another business or with employees should be drafted by an employment lawyer. Some business owners will find a generic contract and try and use it in a situation with a potential business partnership, and that contract may not cover enough of the specifics of the partnership relationship to provide adequate protection against financial loss or legal problems. A good employment lawyer knows how to draft ironclad contracts that are specific to specific business needs.

When you consider how much investment, time, and energy you put into your own business, it's essential to protect it legally with good legal counsel. Employment lawyers know how to protect your company in your specific industry from the various legal problems that could arise.