Labor Law Attorney Philip Siegel
Your business is growing and you need to hire more people! That’s great! But before you rush off and start doing interviews, you need to make sure you understand the legal requirements for having employees and independent contractors working for you.
Did you know that a single mistake with employee classification or payroll practices could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in back wages, penalties, and legal fees? Most business owners started as skilled technicians who were great at their craft, but nobody taught them the complex rules around hiring and managing workers.
Labor law attorney Philip Siegel is about to pull back the curtain on the most common—and costly—mistakes home service business owners make when it comes to their workforce. This episode is your insider’s guide to avoiding the legal traps that have caught countless small businesses before they even saw them coming. Make sure you are not one of them!
You’ll learn:
- Why misclassifying workers could bankrupt your entire business overnight.
- How a labor law attorney would counsel you to approach employee classification.
- The truth about travel time that most business owners never understand.
- Warnings that any labor law attorney would give about your contractor practices
- I-9 form mistakes that could trigger massive government investigations.
- To understand employee documentation and how to avoid major financial penalties.
- How to avoid business threatening risks when filling out the legal paperwork for hiring
The key moments in this episode are:
[01:00] Introduction to Legal Insights for Home Service Businesses
[03:00] Employee Versus Independent Contractor Classification Rules
[24:00] Overnight Travel Compensation and Working Time Regulations
[32:00] Immigration Form I-9 Audit Preparation Strategies
[37:00] Common Errors in Date Formatting on Employment Documents
[42:00] Substantive Violations in Employment Eligibility Verification
[44:00] Potential Financial Risks for Noncompliant Labor Practices
Introduction to Legal Insights for Home Service Businesses
Running a home service business comes with more legal challenges than most owners realize. As a labor law attorney, Phillip Siegel knows that understanding the legal landscape is crucial to protecting your business from potentially devastating financial risks. Most business owners start their companies with technical skills, not legal expertise. That can leave you vulnerable to costly mistakes that can quickly drain your profits and even threaten your entire business’s existence.
Employee Versus Independent Contractor Classification Rules
Misclassifying workers is one of the most dangerous mistakes a home service business can make from a labor law attorney’s perspective. Simply calling someone an independent contractor doesn’t make it legally true. The government looks closely at how you actually work with these individuals. If you’re controlling their work, providing all their jobs, and they’re not running their own independent business, you’re likely breaking the law. The penalties can be massive – we’re talking about potential back wages, taxes, and legal fees that could easily bankrupt your business.
Overnight Travel Compensation and Working Time Regulations
When you send your team on out-of-town jobs, you need to be extremely careful about how you track and pay their time. A labor law attorney would explain that travel time can quickly become compensable working time, especially when employees are staying overnight. The rules are complex – you might be required to pay workers for travel time that crosses your normal working hours, even if the travel happens on a weekend. This can unexpectedly push your employees into overtime, creating significant unexpected labor costs.
Immigration Form I-9 Audit Preparation Strategies
Preparing for potential immigration audits is critical for your business’s survival. As a labor law attorney who has seen the pitfalls many home service businesses fall into, Phillip would recommend proactively reviewing your I-9 forms before an audit happens. The government can show up and demand to see these documents, potentially shutting down your operations for days while they investigate. Taking time now to carefully review and correct any errors can save you from massive penalties and potential legal troubles.
Common Errors in Date Formatting on Employment Documents
Small details can create big problems with your employment documentation. It is important to pay attention to all of the details, even something as simple as date formatting. Using the wrong date format on forms like the I-9 can be considered a technical violation. You need to use a two-digit month, two-digit day, and four-digit year consistently across all your documents.
Substantive Violations in Employment Eligibility Verification
Some documentation errors are more serious than others, such as not reviewing employment documents until more than three days after hiring an employee. That can be considered a substantive violation. These documents cannot be corrected and can result in significant fines to your business. You might need to prepare detailed explanation memos with original signatures to demonstrate good faith. Take it from a labor law attorney who has been through that process and believe that it’s something you want to avoid.
Potential Financial Risks for Noncompliant Labor Practices
The financial risks of ignoring labor laws can be much more significant than you probably think. Any labor law attorney would caution you against relying on the belief that your business is so small and insignificant that it’s unlikely to be paid any attention from the government. Philip explained that penalties can include back wages, liquidated damages, and potentially massive legal fees. In some cases, a single investigation could result in fees that far exceed the original wage discrepancies. These risks can literally destroy a business that isn’t carefully managing its employment practices.
Understand these critical legal requirements around your workforce and you can protect your home service business from unnecessary financial risks. Take the time to review your practices, consult with professionals, and stay proactive about compliance. Your business’s future depends on having these details right.
About Philip
Philip J. Siegel, Esq., is a partner and shareholder with the firm of Hendrick, Phillips, Salzman & Siegel. Philip attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan graduating with distinction from the School of Business Administration where he earned his B.B.A. Mr. Siegel received his law degree from Emory University School of Law. He worked in the public accounting industry as a state and local tax consultant for two years prior to commencing his career as a construction litigation and labor/employment attorney.
Mr. Siegel’s practice focuses primarily in the areas of labor/employment law, including defense of OSHA citations, immigration compliance assistance, Davis-Bacon Act consulting, contract consulting, and construction litigation, including representation of general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, all on a national basis.
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