614.9445171
4200 Regent Street, Suite 200, Columbus, Ohio 43219
Schedule a Consultation
Business Attorney | Law Office of Maritza S. Nelson, LLC
  • Home
  • Who We Serve
  • Practice Areas and Fees
    • General Counsel Service
    • Business Law >
      • LLC Formation
      • LLC Operating Agreements
      • Close Corporation Formation
      • Corporate Bylaws
      • Close Corporation Agreements
      • Other Business Law Services
    • Business Contracts >
      • B2B Service Agreements
      • Contract Review and Advice
      • Customer Agreements
      • Financial Agreements
      • Joint Venture Agreements
      • Lease Agreements
      • Noncompete Agreements
      • Nondisclosure Agreements
      • Waiver and Release Agreements
      • Website Privacy Policies
      • Website Terms of Service
    • Business Sales >
      • Business Purchases and Sales
      • Letter of Intent
      • Purchase Agreements
      • Buy-Sell Agreements
      • Membership Interest Transfer Agreements
      • Business Succession & Disaster Planning
      • Business Dissolutions
    • Raising Money From Investors >
      • Private Placement Memorandums
      • Investment Agreements
    • Franchising and Business Opportunities >
      • Franchise Disclosure Documents
      • Franchise Agreements
      • Ohio Business Opportunity Plans
    • Nonprofit Law >
      • Nonprofit Formation
      • Co-op Formation
      • Tax Exempt Status
      • Nonprofit Governance
      • Nonprofit MOUs and Agreements
      • Nonprofit General Counsel Service
    • Intellectual Property >
      • Trademark Search
      • Trademark Registration
      • Trademark Maintenance
      • Copyright Registration
      • Work For Hire Agreement
      • Licensing Intellectual Property
      • Assigning Intellectual Property
      • Proprietary Information and Invention Assignment Agreements
      • Confidentiality Agreements
      • Intellectual Property Audit
    • Employment Law >
      • Employment Contracts
      • Employee Handbooks
      • Employment Policies
      • Independent Contractors
  • Adding Value
    • Legal Audit Checklist
    • Legal Dictionary
    • 7 Common Legal Mistakes
    • Succession and Emergency Planning Worksheet
    • Business Contracts: Review Checklist
    • Webinars >
      • HR 101: Managing the Growing Pains That Come With Growing Your Business
      • Hiring Independent Contractors
      • Legal Audit and Risk Assessment
      • Structuring a Social Enterprise
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Scheduling
    • Prospective Client Scheduling
    • Existing and Former Client Scheduling
    • Networking Scheduling
  • Home
  • Who We Serve
  • Practice Areas and Fees
    • General Counsel Service
    • Business Law >
      • LLC Formation
      • LLC Operating Agreements
      • Close Corporation Formation
      • Corporate Bylaws
      • Close Corporation Agreements
      • Other Business Law Services
    • Business Contracts >
      • B2B Service Agreements
      • Contract Review and Advice
      • Customer Agreements
      • Financial Agreements
      • Joint Venture Agreements
      • Lease Agreements
      • Noncompete Agreements
      • Nondisclosure Agreements
      • Waiver and Release Agreements
      • Website Privacy Policies
      • Website Terms of Service
    • Business Sales >
      • Business Purchases and Sales
      • Letter of Intent
      • Purchase Agreements
      • Buy-Sell Agreements
      • Membership Interest Transfer Agreements
      • Business Succession & Disaster Planning
      • Business Dissolutions
    • Raising Money From Investors >
      • Private Placement Memorandums
      • Investment Agreements
    • Franchising and Business Opportunities >
      • Franchise Disclosure Documents
      • Franchise Agreements
      • Ohio Business Opportunity Plans
    • Nonprofit Law >
      • Nonprofit Formation
      • Co-op Formation
      • Tax Exempt Status
      • Nonprofit Governance
      • Nonprofit MOUs and Agreements
      • Nonprofit General Counsel Service
    • Intellectual Property >
      • Trademark Search
      • Trademark Registration
      • Trademark Maintenance
      • Copyright Registration
      • Work For Hire Agreement
      • Licensing Intellectual Property
      • Assigning Intellectual Property
      • Proprietary Information and Invention Assignment Agreements
      • Confidentiality Agreements
      • Intellectual Property Audit
    • Employment Law >
      • Employment Contracts
      • Employee Handbooks
      • Employment Policies
      • Independent Contractors
  • Adding Value
    • Legal Audit Checklist
    • Legal Dictionary
    • 7 Common Legal Mistakes
    • Succession and Emergency Planning Worksheet
    • Business Contracts: Review Checklist
    • Webinars >
      • HR 101: Managing the Growing Pains That Come With Growing Your Business
      • Hiring Independent Contractors
      • Legal Audit and Risk Assessment
      • Structuring a Social Enterprise
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Scheduling
    • Prospective Client Scheduling
    • Existing and Former Client Scheduling
    • Networking Scheduling

Employment Law Columbus Ohio​

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. 

Schedule a Consultation
Maritza is a wonderful attorney to work with. She's to the point, offers her honest opinion and help in handling any business needs. I will definitely be using her for any other services, moving forward and highly recommend her!
Valerie Schrader
Maritza and their team have provided my small business with expert and personalized legal advice at an affordable rate. They are incredibly generous with their time and expertise and I feel much more confident that I am running my business in a legitimate, professional manner and that my assets are protected.
Jennifer Fultz
Maritza was great to work with and very helpful in assisting us in setting up our HR Contracts
Bake Me Happy, LLC

Employment/Independent Contractor Agreements: $1,625
Review and Advice: $800

Offer Letter + Company Protection Agreement: $975

Employee Handbooks: $3,050

Employment Policies: $700 per policy
Internship Agreements: $650

Employee Termination Advice and Severance Agreements: $950

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

Services

General Counsel Service
Business Law
​
Business Contracts
Business Sales
Raising Money From Investors
Franchising and Business Opportunities
Non-Profit Law
Intellectual Property
Employment Law

About

Who We Serve
Bio​
Adding Value
Webinars
Blog
Contact
​Careers
​Scheduling

Legal

The information contained on this website is not legal advice or legal opinion and should not be relied upon. Furthermore, nothing contained in this website is intended to create or establish, and does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. 

Fee Information
Document Retention Policy 
Privacy Policy
​Client Communications Policy

Subscribe to the mailing list to receive useful tips for entrepreneurs and business owners.
Join Mailing List
Copyright © 2014-2023. | 4200 Regent Street, Suite 200, Columbus, OH 43219 | 614.944.5171 | info@msnlawoffice.com