Whether that decision arises from failure on the employee’s part or economic turbulence, one thing is clear: How a business handles this delicate situation can either increase or decrease the risk of negative consequences like lawsuits and unfavorable public attention. Here are the best practices to keep in mind if you are considering terminating an employee.

1. Involve your Human Resources department from the beginning. The Human Resources (HR) department of your company can be especially helpful during the termination of an employee for a number of reasons. First, HR is likely familiar with (or has access to records regarding) the employee’s hiring process. Second, HR staff are likely trained to understand the implementation of applicable laws and to handle delicate situations with personnel. Third, HR can ensure that the final payments and health benefits issued to the terminated employee comply with legal requirements. Finally, your HR team can provide at least one witness to any termination meetings or communications that occur. With this training and experience, they are uniquely equipped to advise you regarding the proper steps to take.

Most elements of business branding—name, logo, design—are readily available online, making it easier for people to knowingly or unknowingly use the intellectual property of others. As a business owner, you must prioritize both protecting your own trademarks and avoiding infringement of others’ marks. The following are important concepts to understand as you develop your business’s trademark strategy.

1. What is a trademark? A trademark identifies a business or individual as the source of a good or service. It can take the form of words, phrases, symbols, designs, colors, or a combination of elements. Marks that identify the source of a service are called service marks; however, in practice, the term trademark is broadly used to identify both service marks and trademarks. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is the federal agency responsible for reviewing and registering trademarks in the United States.

Yet a single catastrophic event, accident, or lawsuit can wipe out your company before it even has the chance to get off the ground.

What’s more, as we’ve seen with the events of 2020, there are a number of threats and worst-case scenarios that even the most successful companies can fail to consider in advance.  Although you can’t protect your business 100% from every single threat, you can greatly improve your chances of surviving any potential liability by having the proper insurance coverage in place.

That said, there are many types of business insurance available, some of which are a must-have for nearly every entrepreneur, and others you might not need. Given this, before you sit down with an insurance agent, it’s vital to know the specific risks your company faces and what types of coverage will best cover those risks.

The COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn have seriously disrupted some businesses and completely shuttered others. And at this point, it doesn’t appear like things are going to go back to normal anytime soon.

In light of this ongoing uncertainty and turmoil, you may need to rethink your revenue strategy in order to maintain your company’s long-term financial health. Here are 4 tips to help you with this process, which have been adapted from a Forbes.com article featuring my mentor, Ali Katz.

1. Don’t focus on passive revenue

Focusing on generating passive revenue in your business so you don’t have to work can disrupt your long-term goals. Instead, focus on creating a sustainable revenue model that supports the work you are most passionate about—and allows you to work in the way that you want—for the long term. When done right, creating an income model based on doing what you truly enjoy, you may find that you don’t want to stop working in your business for a long time, if ever.

The EEOC issued its new guidance on antibody tests on June 17, 2020 as part of an update to the agency’s technical assistance document that answers employer questions about workplace issues related to COVID-19. Although a previous EEOC update in April expressly authorized employers to conduct viral tests and temperature checks for the COVID-19 virus as a precondition for employees returning to work, that update did not address antibody tests.

It’s important to note that an antibody test is different from a viral test. A viral test determines whether a person has an active COVID-19 infection, while an antibody test assesses whether a person previously been infected and developed antibodies to the virus.

Antibody testing lacking

In its updated guidance, the EEOC cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, which state that COVID-19 antibody tests “should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace.” The CDC’s decision is based on a current lack of scientific data on COVID-19 antibody testing and the level of immunity antibodies may provide.

You may already know about the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but what you may not have heard is that on April 1st of this year, the federal government enacted another temporary rule just for COVID-19: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

While there are many similarities, there are differences that adapt it to the situation we currently find ourselves in. Both the FMLA and FFCRA could be applicable to your workplace at the same time. While it’s nothing to tear your hair out over, it’s also important that you, as a business owner, know what your responsibilities are under both laws.

For the FMLA, the first thing to find out is whether you are a covered employer. Covered business owners have 50 or more employees that work 20 or more weeks within the current or previous year. That goes for joint employers as well as the successor to a previous employer, so if you recently acquired another company and haven’t changed anything substantial about the business, you would be covered.

You can read the summary of AB5 on Wikipedia, including legal challenges to the law. And, you can read the FAQ from the California Labor Department website here.

But, in practical terms, what should you do? Contact us so we can discuss the specific impact on your business, the risks to you of continuing to operate as an independent contractor in California or work with independent contractors in California, and let’s see how we can get creative about your options.

The simplest, most straightforward path is to convert all independent contractors you work with in California to employees. This can be a costly solution because it means you will take on the cost of payroll taxes, worker’s compensation insurance, and more to the tune of a 30-40% increase in costs over what you pay independent contractors right now.

If it is not currently financially possible for you to switch your independent contractors in California to employees, it may be time to look at some workarounds. Unfortunately, no workaround is going to be cost-free. But, together we can look at possibilities short of firing all of your California independent contractors, to minimize the risk that you are violating any of the California Wage and Labor laws.

This is especially true given the litigious nature of our society. As a result, many entrepreneurs employ asset protection strategies. Asset protection is a form of strategic planning aimed at minimizing risk and protecting assets from creditors’ claims and litigation.

Careful asset protection can help you retain and sustain the value of the property and accounts you own. As an entrepreneur, here are a few strategies you can use to protect your assets:

1. Separate your personal assets from your business assets by establishing a limited liability business entity. The default structure for an individual starting a business is the sole proprietorship; the default structure for multiple people starting a business together is a partnership. These entities, though simple to create, do not legally protect the business owners’ personal assets. However, business structures like the limited partnership, limited liability company, and the corporation provide limited liability. This means that the owners of the business are not personally liable for the company’s debts or other liabilities—for example, if a judgment is obtained in a lawsuit against the business. A properly established and maintained limited liability business structure restricts liability to assets belonging only to the business. Creating a separate legal entity is one of the first steps every entrepreneur should take to protect personal assets. Subsequent practices like opening a separate business account, complying with legal requirements such as paying state filing fees, and not commingling personal funds with business funds further establish the legal separation between personal assets and business assets.

As state leaders attempt to develop guidelines for reopening safely, you may have questions about the requirements for maintaining a safe environment for your business. Specifically, you may be wondering how to document the steps you have taken if someone in your workforce is exposed to COVID-19 and tests positive for the virus.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for establishing and enforcing safe working environments for employees through the use of training, outreach, education, and assistance. On May 19, 2020, OSHA released a revised memorandum on recordkeeping in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

OSHA generally requires business owners with more than ten employees to keep records of and report all serious work-related illnesses. OSHA recognizes COVID-19 as a recordable illness. As a result, even smaller businesses may need to report certain work-related COVID-19 illnesses if a work-related COVID-19 illness causes an injury requiring in-patient hospitalization, amputation, loss of sight, or a fatality. This means that businesses should create and maintain records at the worksite for at least five years in compliance with OSHA standards.

Savvy business owners recognize the value of contracts but often explore ways to reduce the cost of obtaining them. In some instances, business owners attempt to create their own contracts by using templates available online.

However, creating your own contract is fraught with risks. What you do not know can, in fact, hurt you. The following are examples of the potential risks you face when you choose the do-it-yourself (DIY) route.

1. The Contract May Leave Out Key Provisions. Creating your own contract in an attempt to save money can run the risk of unintentionally leaving out key legal terms and clauses that protect your interests as a business owner. Contracts created with online templates are often overly broad or vague, resulting in agreements that, when analyzed, fail to provide the specific protections that make the contract valuable. Attorneys have the experience and resources to craft contracts that include the most important provisions to protect your business.