Hiring and Employment Law

Hiring and Employment in Colorado

If you’re like most women in small business, you’ve thought a lot about hiring the “right person” for your business. With good reason! Good relationships are essential to growing a successful team. However, like all things in business, hiring someone, whether as an employee or an independent contractor, entails risk.

You may be asking yourself: “What if this person doesn’t work out? How do I keep my customers and reputation safe if something goes wrong?”

A tailored employee or independent contractor agreement will protect you from risk and liabilities. Most verbal agreements do not provide optimum legal protection or facilitate quick resolutions when something goes wrong. Without a written agreement, decision making power is taken away from you, and put into the hands of someone you don’t want making decisions for your business. Like a judge or uncooperative employee.

Ideally, you want legal safeguards that address what happens when something goes wrong, but more importantly, prevent things from going wrong in the first place. Like most small business owners, your time and resources are precious. By reinforcing your business with the correct legal infrastructure as it grows, you’ll save on time, costs, and avoid stress in the future. While a true, but difficult lesson to learn, the worst and most expensive time to call an attorney is after you have a legal problem. If you want to avoid costly and unpredictable legal fees, the best way to do so is to implement legal protections for your business proactively

Legal Tip:

Avoid any questions related to an interviewee’s age, race, family status, or religion. That means, don’t ask someone: their age, if they are married, if they have children, or if they are religious. Anti-discrimination laws usually do not allow such questions.

Need help with another employment law issue?

---

Lenz Law also advises business owners faced with terminating a worker, resolving workplace disputes, compliance with labor laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family Medical Leave Act, and other employment law related issues.

We are dedicated to empowering women in small business to make the best decisions for their business and for themselves. We’ll learn your priorities, identify your risks, and create a customized legal plan that protects your business and allows you to move on to what’s more important.

Questions we can answer for you.

---

• What’s the difference between an employee and an independent contractor?
• Can I hire anyone as an independent contractor?
• Can I include a non-compete in my employment or independent contractor agreement?
• Am I required to pay overtime?
• Am I required to verify the citizenship or right to work of employees?
• What is an at will employee?
• Are employers required to provide medical, life, and similar benefits to all employees?
• Should I have written agreements with all my staff and independent contractors?
• I have signed agreements with workers explicitly stating they are independent contractors, not employees. Does that mean they are definitely contractors?
• What happens if an employee is injured on the job?
• What happens if an employee injures someone while on the job?
• Are employers required to give breaks and lunches to employees?
• What questions cannot be asked during an interview?
• What state employment laws apply to my business?
• And more.

  Schedule an Appointment