Are you a small business owner? Does your small business pay people to carry out its work? If so, then you may technically have employees and be subject to numerous compliance obligations under federal, state, and local employment laws. Employment law issues are the biggest source of legal risk for most employers. Come join us for a webinar on employment law fundamentals for small businesses based in Washington State! This training is a tour through the various compliance requirements that small businesses must follow when hiring and managing paid workers.

Topics that will be discussed include:

• Basic labor laws (minimum wage, overtime pay)
• Nonexempt vs exempt employees
• Recruiting and hiring (job postings, onboarding paperwork)
• Employees vs independent contractors (W-2 vs. 1099-MISC)
• Unlawful employment actions (retaliation, wage theft, discrimination)
• Mandatory benefits (paid sick time, family leave, worker’s comp, etc)
• Tax obligations (payroll taxes, income tax withholding, quarterly and annual tax forms)
• Insurance considerations

This presentation will be relevant to almost any small business, whether you're thinking of hiring your first employee or you simply want to check that you are following best practices. This training was made possible thanks to funding provided by the Seattle Office of Economic Development.

About the Speaker

Livio De La Cruz is a staff attorney and an Interim Co-Executive Director at Communities Rise. Livio has a long history of working with small businesses and nonprofit organizations. He was a small business owner before becoming an attorney, and he uses that experience to better advise his clients on a breadth of legal issues. Communities Rise is a nonprofit corporation which provides free legal help and free capacity building services to small businesses and small nonprofits in Washington state.