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Whether you are in the process of opening your own business or you have been running your business for some time you will need to be aware of the legal issues you may face if you don’t do things the right way. There are laws in place for a reason and it’s up to you and your employees to make sure they are doing everything by the book. Take a look below to find out more.
Personal Injuries
Personal injury claims have become a massive concern for business owners. Indeed, reports suggest that businesses are being inundated with PI claims from employees. It has reached the point where the government has questioned whether or not to tighten the law surrounding these claims. Employees know when it’s a good time to call a workers’ comp attorney. They tend to take this step immediately after an incident occurs. This is also when you should be contacting your own legal advisor to ensure that you are taking the appropriate steps at this point.
While you should take every step to deal with any personal injury claim by firstly preventing them from happening and also getting an attorney, you should also make an effort to look after your employees too. Things like a dental plan or a vision care plan from Ok.Vision will make the world of difference to your employees. Happy employee = happy boss.
Copyright Concerns
Arguably the most common legal issue that you can face when running your business in the first year is always going to be a copyright claim. The reason for this is that a lot of new business owners will not take the appropriate steps to protect themselves from claims like this. This includes completing the right amount of research when selecting elements such as business logos. That’s why you need to make sure that you are not cutting corners here. It’s important that you do ensure that anything you are using is unique enough that you don’t run the risk of being sued before you even get your business off the ground.
Harassment
If any of your employees experience sexual harassment in the workplace then you could be looking at a lengthy lawsuit. This will involve all of your employees as well as yourself as the law enforcement agents will want to know every tiny detail about what happened. You can also be sued by the person making the claim as it happened in your company. If you don’t want this to happen and let’s face it, who does then you will need certain legislation in place protecting your company and workers. If you are unsure of the type of policies and procedures you need to have in place then speak to an expert and they will be able to help you.
Data Compliance
Finally, customers and clients are paranoid these days about data protection. As a business owner, you should be too. After all, hacks have become far more common in recent years. Indeed, research suggests that there’s a major hack on a business every twenty seconds. While all of these hacks are not successful, it still leaves your business vulnerable. That’s why you need to make sure that your company is compliant with the latest data laws. It’s one of the reasons why it’s worth employing a legal advisor who can guide you in this area of your company. Slip up here and you could be looking at penalties that will cost you thousands.
