Hiring Employees for Your New Business?
A Checklist for New Employers
Congratulations on starting your new business! You have taken a great first step in choosing a business entity, but what’s next? If the answer is hiring employees, there are some things you need to know. Below is a checklist of next steps to assist you with building your workforce.
- Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN). You can apply online.
- Find out whether you need state or local tax identification numbers.
- Determine whether you will be hiring an employee or an independent contractor (there are wage and tax consequences for each).
- Determine whether your employee will be exempt or non-exempt from coverage of the Fair Labor Standard Act.
- Determine a pay rate consistent with state and federal wage laws.
- Create a compensation plan for holiday, vacation and leave consistent with any local paid leave laws.
- Review federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws in the hiring, interviewing, and selection process.
- Draft a legally-compliant and clear job description.
- Draft a job posting consistent with your job description. Include in general terms what compensation and benefits you are willing to provide.
- Provide employee benefit plans and determine how to administer them.
- Complete IRS form W-4 for each employee.
- Provide an I-9 form and verify the information provided.
- Report your newly hired employee to the Kentucky New Hire Reporting Center within 30 days.
- Register with the Kentucky Career Center to establish a state unemployment insurance account.
- Establish workers’ compensation insurance coverage for employees.
- Obtain and display all state and federally mandated posters.
- Familiarize yourself with all occupational safety and health regulations related to your business.
- Identify all state and federal employment laws for which you are a covered employer.
- Draft policies related to said state and federal employment laws.
- Create and maintain an employee handbook.
- Create a non-disclosure agreement consistent with state and federal requirements to protect your confidential information such as client lists, product designs or other intellectual property.
- Document every job-related aspect of the employment relationship (i.e., offer letters, employment agreements, confidentiality agreements, etc.) in an employee’s personnel file.
- Create a separate confidential file for each employee for items that cannot be included in an employee file such as medical information, I-9s and other sensitive documents.
These items are just a starting point and we know they can be daunting. We’ve helped countless small businesses overcome the same set of hurdles to great result.
We know you’ve got this, and we can help.
Consider us your in-house counsel.
