What Startups Should Know About Labor Law Compliance

Starting your own company has many challenges. In the fast-paced world of tech startups, there can be a lot of focus on the product, but it’s important to build your company culture from the beginning, too. You’ll need to pay careful attention to make sure your hiring process doesn’t violate any laws and ensure you’re staying compliant with all regulations.

There Are Both State and Federal Regulations You Must Adhere To

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that sets employment regulations–things like minimum wage and overtime pay. It sets employment standards for the entire country, however, state and local governments can also have their own employment laws you must adhere to. Familiarize yourself with federal and local laws and talk to an attorney if needed.

Hire Right

Know who you’re hiring–full-time employees and independent contractors will have different requirements. Be sure you don’t ask any inappropriate hiring questions. Asking about age, marital status, and where people live, are big no-nos and could lead to discrimination claims if an employee feels they weren’t hired based on gender, race, age, color, religion, disability, and others. Some states have specific policies you must inform new hires about so be sure to read up on state requirements.

Get Your Labor Law Posters

Companies with both remote employees and onsite workers must display state and federal labor law posters at your location to remain compliant. All remote employees that don’t come into the office regularly should receive electronic labor law posters. Businesses can post them to the company intranet or email them to remote employees.

We continually monitor local, state and federal posting requirements and have been helping thousands of businesses maintain compliance since 1999. We have the most up-to-date All In One Federal and State posters, guaranteeing your compliance for startups. If you want to avoid the leg work of staying up-to-date, sign up for our labor law poster subscription service and we’ll automatically send new posters when laws suddenly change, keeping you compliant 365 days a year.