There’s more to being a small business owner than stocking shelves and keeping customers coming through the door. There’s a lot of paperwork involved. If you fail to keep with all the right protocol, you might find yourself in a courtroom.
If you don’t deliver what you promise to your employees or if someone slips and falls on your watch, you can get sued. If worse comes to worst, you might have to close up shop. We can teach you how to stay in good standing with the law.
Check out this guide to learn what you can get in trouble for so you can avoid it.
- Breach of Contract
Breach of contract can qualify as many things. If you fail to deliver the goods that you promised, you can get sued. If goods are delivered to you and you don’t pay for them, the manufacturer can sue you for the money.
You have to make sure you deliver the right goods and that they arrive to the client without being damaged. You can also get in big trouble for giving out confidential trade secrets.
- Fall Accidents
So, one of your employees is hurrying to stock items on a shelf. In their haste, they fail to notice a wet spot on the floor. They slip and take a tumble to the ground.
Since no wet floor sign was present, they can make a claim for workers compensation. All business owners have to have insurance so, you’ll have to make good on the claim.
Worker’s compensation isn’t the only insurance that you’ve got to have. This service can help you get all your paperwork in order if you own a janitorial company.
- Security Failure
You ask one of your employees to open the store early in the morning. They unlock the door and get so busy handling the opening tasks that they don’t realize that someone has broken in through the back door.
Your employee is horribly injured because you didn’t have the right security measures in place to make sure this didn’t happen. You are required to protect your business. That includes your employees.
- Discrimination
The Americans with Disabilities Act states that someone can’t be discriminated against for a disability. That means you can’t pass over someone in a wheelchair for a job on the basis that they’re in a wheelchair.
You’re also not allowed to discriminate based on race, gender identity, age, sex, religion, or sexual orientation. You can’t tell a pregnant employee that they can’t get a promotion because they’re pregnant. If someone finds out you’re doing any of these things, they can file a lawsuit.
How to Not Get Sued as a Business Owner
As a small business owner, there is a long list of things that you have to do. Something as simple as failing to put up a wet floor sign can cause you to get sued.
We hope that you’re able to use this guide to navigate through the legal world of business and keep yourself out of the courtroom.
Are you looking for more ways to keep your company afloat? Check out the business section of our blog for additional tips and tricks that can help you out.