Employment Contracts​
Employee Handbooks
Employment Policies
Independent
​  Contractors Agreements 

Employment Law

Growing your business or non-profit is an exciting time! But growth can also mean growing pains. And chances are you didn't become a serious entrepreneur because your passion was in human resources (unless your business is to provide HR services). Building the right team to grow your vision brings its own legal issues. For example, employment law determines:
  • Whether your workers are employees or independent contractors
  • How long noncompete and nonsolicitation provisions can last
  • What rights you, as the employer, might have in your workers’ ideas, inventions, improvements, etc.
  • Whether the employment policies in your handbook are actually enforceable
  • What rights your employees have, regardless of what your policies or contracts might say

Our employment law attorneys can help your growing business or nonprofit organization navigate the challenges presented by the complex maze of federal and state employment laws, such as:
​
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA): Prohibits discrimination on the basis of age hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment. Covers both applicants and current employees who are age 40+. Applies to employers with 20+ employees. 
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability (which is determined on a case by case basis). Applies to employers with 15+ employees who work at least 20+ calendar weeks in a year. 
  • Equal Pay Act: At the federal level, this prohibits gender-based discrimination in pay such that employees who do the same work are compensated at the same rate, regardless of sex. Ohio has an analogous statute that prohibits wage discrimination on the basis of sex, but Ohio law goes a step further and prohibits wage discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, or ancestry as well.
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act: Among other things, regulates how employers obtain background checks and what information they must provide to applicants who are adversely affected by information that comes up in their background check. 
  • Fair Labor Standards Act: Regulates a wide variety of employment matters, including minimum wage, overtime requirements, record-keeping, employing minors, and determining who is an independent requirement. 
  • Family and Medical Leave Act: Requires certain employers to provide up to 12 weeks of leave for qualified medical purposes while preserving the employee’s job so that they can return once the leave ends. Applies to employers with 50+ employees. Applies to employees who have worked for the employer for at least 12 months or 52 weeks (though not necessarily consecutively) and for at least 1,250 hours during the preceding 12 months. ​
  • Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA): Prohibits knowingly hiring or recruiting individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States. As a result, employers must verify their employees’ identity and employment eligibility using Form I-9. 
  • National Labor Relations Act: Protects employees’ right to form or join unions; engage in protected, concerted activities to address or improve working conditions; or refrain from engaging in these activities.
  • Occupational Safety and Health Act: Requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to employees. Applies regardless of business size. 
  • Ohio Fair Employment Practices Act: Prohibits discrimination “because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or ancestry of any person.” Applies to employers with 4+ employees. (For purposes of this Act, owners who work in the business are often counted as “employees” to reach the threshold of 4 or more.)
  • Ohio’s Minimum Wage Laws: Sets the state minimum wage ($9.30 as of 2022), which is more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
  • Ohio’s Minor Labor Law: Governs hiring minors, including work permits, hours worked, and which jobs are considered too hazardous for minors to perform. 
  • Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA): Prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of genetic information, including family health history. Applies to employers with 15+ employees. 
  • Title VII Of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Applies to employers with 15+ employees. 
  • Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act: Protects military service members and veterans from employment discrimination and governs leaves of absence for military service and whether you must retain an impacted service member’s job. 
Employment/Independent Contractor Agreements: $1,500

Offer Letter + Company Protection Agreement: $775

Employee Handbooks: $2,300

Employment Policies: $525 per policy
Internship Agreements: $475

Employee Termination Advice / Severance Agreements: $550
Picture
Growing your business or non-profit is an exciting time! But growth can also mean growing pains:
  • Is my new hire an employee or an independent contractor?
  • Can I hire an unpaid intern?
  • I don't have to pay overtime, do I? What about "comp" time?
  • What records should I be keeping? For how long?
  • How do I handle poor performance and other disciplinary issues?
  • Can I monitor what my employees do online or outside of work?
  • Can I drug test my employees? What about medical marijuana?
  • Can I fire_____?

Recent Employment Law Articles