10 Tips To Protect Your Business From an HR Nightmare

Business Owners are too often either over or under sold on the basics of what they need to run their business. From registering an LLC to financials, insurance, employees, a place to actually run the business, there's a lot that goes into getting things off the ground and rarely is the business owner an expert at all of those areas. 

The Chamber hosted a Pro-Tips: What’s the Risk? event that was able to provide legal liability and important insurance options that all businesses should be aware of. The main goal was to inform business owners how to protect what they’ve worked so hard to build and to make sure they are appropriately covered for their type of business. 
 
Susie Cirilli, an attorney with Litchfield Cavo, brought her legal expertise on labor employment law to the table to inform the audience about worker’s compensation, sexual harassment, and different kinds of discrimination laws. Bill Sprague, the owner of Risk Averse Insurance, brought his knowledge of insurance to better explain the different types of insurance policies to protect your business. He went over various policies that aren’t covered by a general liability policy such as: auto policies, business interruption, EPLI, and professional liability. Bill explained how the worker’s compensation time line works and how to handle worker’s compensation. 
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Here's 10 things to take away from this event:

1. Worker’s Compensation is the law and it’s there to help you.
2. Document everything. It will help you if an employee sues for discrimination before, during, or after they are hired/terminated.
3. Always submit a Worker’s Compensation claim immediately. You have 21 days to submit the claim if someone is injured.
4. Create a company handbook and have a mission statement to outline the company’s values and policies. It will help you make difficult business decisions
5. 40% of businesses can expect at least one claim in a 10-year period.
6. When hiring, ignore things such as name, race, gender, and interests to prevent any personal biases. Hire employees based on their qualifications.
7. Know your rates and language of your policies. Don’t be surprised by audits.
8. Sexual harassment claims have risen by 12% in this past year.
9. Review and Renew your contracts and handbooks at the end of each cycle.
10. Be careful during holiday parties or any event where alcohol is included. You can still be liable if anything happens.