Provided by: Judge Ruth B. Kraft
If you are a solo medical practitioner, small security alarm company, or retailer, I’ll bet that you fall into this category. And, if so, and we’ve already spoken, you know that you are among my favorite clients! When management and ownership are combined, the degree of vested interest in the company’s operation and future simply cannot be matched.
However, the bad news is that Mom and Pop operations are on the radar of regulatory agencies as well as plaintiffs’ counsel. Why? Isn’t it much more lucrative to go after a Fortune 500 company? Honestly, litigators flying solo don’t typically do well against the kind of legal manpower that such a company can bring to the courtroom; they are simply outclassed. Furthermore, government agencies, which measure their successes by the number of cases closed favorably, find it much easier to go after the low hanging fruit.
Large companies have sophisticated legal departments tasked with responsibility to conduct periodic audits and training. The cost of these compliance activities pales when compared to litigation fees but many small businesses are in avoidance mode. Don’t be one of them!
If you have misclassified a worker as exempt, creating an entitlement to overtime pay plus liquidated damages plus attorneys’ fees or taken an uneducated stance that a worker is an independent contractor rather than an employee or required workers to take lunch at their desks or failed to consistently enforce your own workplace rules, then you are a “sitting duck”. To protect your interests, you must stay abreast of employment regulations. Do not assume that your payroll company has expertise in compliance law or that reliance on its statements will exculpate you from liability. Ignorance of the law is, regrettably, not a defense or the basis for mitigation! A few hours of annual review by an employment lawyer can save you thousands of dollars of exposure. Make this a part of your annual calendar, much as you see your accountant on a quarterly basis.
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Contact Jennifer at Jennifer@Kirschenbaumesq.com or at (516) 747-6700 x. 302.