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The Rule of Law Education: Compliance with Minimum Wage for Startups

Kans Husarevich
VP of Product

Any startup business needs to know a few things before employing people.

One of these things is compliance with minimum wage and other  laws. The more you know about these laws, the fewer problems you will have with legal aid.

Understanding minimum wage laws: legal obligations for startups

When it comes to the minimum wage laws, you need to know many of them before hiring any employees. Even if different states might have other employee requirements, these are the basic obligations and wage requirements you must implement.

The FLSA is an organization that stands for Fair Labor Standards Act, and since 2009 it has implemented regulations, widely explored in several essays, that set the minimum wage examples as $7,25 per hour for non-exempt workers.

According to the official sources, it is considered to be changing soon. Those living in Michigan require at least $8,9 per hour. It is also known that it will change in the upcoming months.

The subject is often under the focus of students as part of the minimum wage research paper. 

Rules for all workers according to the FLSA:

  • You aren’t allowed to decrease the salaries during the first year of startup, it is illegal. 
  • Non-exempt workers should work at most 40 hours a week, and they need to be paid overtime when working more hours. Workers making $455 and more should also receive overtime for the added work. 
  • Employees can’t voluntarily waive their status from non-exempt. 
  • These wage regulations don’t include sick pay, fringe benefits, and vacation days. These are according to the FLSA. 

Consequences of non-compliance: risks for startups

Are there any consequences for startup companies that aren’t taking these minimum wage regulations seriously?

There are some serious things that you need to know about before you decide not to follow these rules and regulations.

Consultants or Freelancers as Workers

Many companies and businesses classify their workers as consultants or freelancers. This is to avoid following the strict guidelines of the FLSA.

The consequences for any mischaracterizing of a worker can be anything from a monetary penalty to $ 1 000 per worker and one year in prison. 

You may face such a problem if your company provides homework help, and you have a large staff of professional writers.

Not Following Any Other Rules and Regulations of the Labor Act

There are enormous consequences when a startup company needs to learn and follow the rules and regulations of the FLSA completely.

It doesn't matter if they employ one or many workers. The consequences can be anything from hefty fines, backdated pay to the workers, and even facing criminal penalties. 

Some startup owners end up in prison because of breaking these regulations.

The simplest way to get to know them is finding an essay on minimum wage. Such pieces of work usually contain lots of practical examples along with penalties descriptions. These can be avoided by knowing the wage rules set by the FLSA and not trying to work around the rules to save money.

The role of rule of law education in promoting compliance

Startups need to realize the importance of the rule of law education in promoting compliance.

Researching this topic may start with reading the minimum wage essay thesis. Such research offers basic understanding of the topic. In general, it says that you cannot pay everyone equally, because some have a higher education than others. Employers have to adjust the wage limit to their qualifications. 

This is why many startups use uneducated people, college students, and workers who need experience at startup companies. They can then pay the minimum wage to each of them. There are also serious consequences for employers who break this rule and not consider the worker's experience. 

Wage laws that startup companies break due to a lack of knowledge

Some companies are breaking wage laws according to the minimum wage thesis statement because of not considering the workers.

And then some startup companies break these rules because they need to learn more about the rules and regulations of the FLSA.

These are some regulations companies are breaking because they need more knowledge.

  • The company's founders are corporate officers and are also registered as employees. This is a mistake that many startups make. They don't consider the owners and founders as employees. They must also get the minimum wage except when they fall under an exemption. 
  • Some employees fall under the exemption from receiving minimum wage and overtime. Even with this, you can still classify all your workers from the exemption. Some rules and regulations must be followed before a worker can be exempted.
  • Having a contract between employer and employee is essential. Even in a startup business, where there are yet to be any guarantees. This is a mistake that many startup owners are making. It falls under the FLSA rules and regulations for employing a worker.

Practical tips for startups to ensure compliance with minimum wage laws

According to the essays on minimum wage, every startup company needs to know a couple of tips to ensure compliance with minimum wage laws.

To ensure that your business is safe and that you don't have any lawsuits and problems about not being compliant with the wage law. 

  • Get expert assistance when hiring employees for the first time. Make sure that you know the FLSA rules and regulations and what laws might differ in the state you live in. 
  • Don't lie about your employees in any way. Know what exempt, and non-exempt workers are before hiring and registering workers. 
  • Classify your workers correctly. Get to know the different classifications and follow them correctly.
  • Ensure you know the consequences of not following the FLSA and not paying the correct wage amount to your workers.

Conclusion

Even startups need compliance with the minimum wage for employees.

Not only are there a lot of rules and regulations about wages for businesses, but there is also workers classification information that business owners need to know.

These are everything to pay attention to about wages and the FLSA rules and regulations. It’s impossible to hire any employee without facing legal actions and fines for not following the guidelines. 

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