Month: February 2018

An Employment Lawyer Can Help You Maneuver Through Red Tape

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As an employer, you face plenty of red tape that an employment lawyer can help you manage. This legal professional can help you handle your work force, adhere to government rules and regulations, and prepare contracts and documents. Without legal counsel, it’s challenging to make it through what sometimes feels like a maze.

Your Workers

Your workers are the lifeblood of your operation. In order to remain within the letter of the law and keep a happy staff, you need the guidance of an employment lawyer. You may need advice on everything from coping with sexual harassment to immigration issues. Not only can an attorney guide you through these challenges, he or she can hold workshops to educate your staff members regarding these issues. When you provide educational workshops for your employees on issues such as sexual harassment or safety, you can clear up all sorts of misconceptions. Some individuals may not even realize that what they’re doing is inappropriate. Not only can teaching them about appropriate workplace behavior help to lessen problems, it can protect your business, as well.

Government Rules and Regulations

Governmental regulations continually change, and they can be rather confusing. As the owner of your company, you must follow all federal, state, and city ordinances and other rules. You need to stay current with EEO and ADA compliance rules. You also need to know all about OSHA safety practices, minimum wage changes, unemployment benefits, and more. Additionally, you need to keep your physical premises handicap accessible, safe, pay your taxes on time, and respond appropriately to complaints from your workers, as well as your customers. When you operate a company in the United States, compliance is mandatory. An employment lawyer can help you remain compliant in all areas.

Contracts and Documents

The paperwork you use in your company must be exact or you could be held liable for inaccuracies. Contracts are legally binding between your business and your workers, customers, and vendors. Your employee handbooks, sales contracts, lease agreements, and every other document that represents your organization should be reviewed by your law firm’s experts.

Running a company in the United States involves understanding governmental regulations, handling your staff members legally and with finesse, and using carefully written contracts and documents. This is a lot of red tape to wade through without the guidance of an employment lawyer. Not only can this legal professional help you to manage your organization on a day-to-day basis, he or she can also be there when problems arise.

A Legitimate Method Of Getting Paid To Play Games – The Career Gamers Aren’t Aware Of

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For the many individuals who are serious video game players, maybe one of the best employment that they might ever dream of will be to get paid to experiment with video games. Imagine sitting down within the comfort of your home and playing a great new video game which nobody else has seen yet and the best part getting a good salary for doing it. While video game design organizations do hire game players to test their new creations there may be also work involved in the game testing field and game enthusiasts need to have some skills in order to get paid to play video games.

Let’s start by contemplating what a video game tester is and what they typically do. An individual who gets paid to play video games is usually referred to as a beta game tester and is in charge of testing a new computer game meticulously before it is made available to the public. The beta game tester gets the almost completed version of the new video game and then plays it with a purpose to detect any problems or glitches in the content or configuration of the game. This ultimate check is necessary to avoid mistakes that could ruin a new games credibility.

If you wish to get paid to play video games the companies that design the games would like to employ an enthusiastic and knowledgeable video game player. You need to possess some other sorts of abilities too. You will need to have an methodical and analytical mind so that you can efficiently asses any problems or mistakes in the video game that you are testing. You require to have decent writing skills as you will need to write comprehensive reports to give your employer about the testing of the latest games. They need to be able to read and understand your reports.

One can enter the gaming industry in a legitimate way by becoming a beta game tester and as well get paid to play video games. It is a great entry level position to get into the video game industry and to obtain it you do not require a degree from college or a technical school diploma. It shouldn’t be easy for many people to seek that first job but it could be worth the effort to gain employment that you actually enjoy. You will need to show some initiative so that you could find that first video game testing job.

Your local employment bureau is not likely to have listings for video game testers and your regional newspaper almost certainly doesn’t have any advertisements for them either. To locate a legitimate job as being a beta game tester it is necessary for you to get in contact with the businesses that design the video games. It can be hard to figure out how to get hold of them and know what companies need testers. Professional game testing services are one effective solution for you to try. They provide you with updated information on positions that are available and companies which are hiring.

What A Well Drafted Employment Contract Should Contain

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If you are starting up a new business or are just drawing up a new employment contract then there are many things that you should consider. Employment law is ever-changing and so you should ask an employment solicitor to check your contract template before you give it to an employee.

This article looks at the basic points, which should be included and considered when designing your employment contract.

1. Define the basic employment terms – create a section at the forefront of the contract, which defines an employee’s working arrangements. For example, include their pay, annual leave entitlement and working hours. This information can then be amended as per the employee.

2. Specify any probationary and notice period requirements – if the job is only to be granted on a permanent basis after satisfactory performance for 3 months then state this. Also be clear as to how much notice the employee must provide, both within and out of the probationary period. For example it may be reasonable to request the employee to give 1 weeks notice during the probationary period and 4 weeks notice when permanently employed.

3. Consider the availability of flexible working – is the employee going to have the option of flexible working? If so, is this restricted to certain hours? For example an employee may be able to work flexibly as long as he/she is in the office between 10am – 4pm. This type of arrangement is extremely popular with employees that have children or other such commitments. Flexible working also helps prevent employee absence.

4. Highlight any specific requirements – it is important to make an employee aware if a requirement of their job role is contractual or not. A good example of this is having access to a car for travel. If this is a contractual requirement then you should state this on the contract itself.

5. Locations and departments – is your employee going to remain in one department and location throughout the duration of his/her contract? If the role is permanent do you foresee that the employee may have to relocate in line with business development? In order to cover such a requirement a provision can be put within the contract to inform the employee that they may be required to relocate or take on different duties in the future as part of their job role.

6. Non-contractual agreements – state if there are any non-contractual agreements particular to the employee. These agreements are those such as performance related bonuses and commission. These are circumstances that neither party can expect or claim for as part of the contract.

7. Generic terms – it is important that you draw up a set of employment terms and conditions that are comprehensive and will cover every contract. This is the area, which you should seek legal advice when drafting. These terms must be designed in line with your business’s specific needs. For, example, consider how important it is for you to include a confidentiality clause in the contract and how detailed this needs to be? You should ensure that none of the terms are discriminatory or unfair; an employment law solicitor will help confirm this. Use online resources such as ACAS to keep yourself informed of recent employment law changes; these can then be reflected in your template contract.

Non-bank Lenders Offer $10k Special To Bad Credit Borrowers

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Folks with less than sterling credit, and many with good credit, are finding it hard to get an unsecured loan, especially from traditional lenders such as brick and mortar banks and credit unions. Those with poor credit will find that getting approval for a personal loan from a non-bank lender is far greater than getting one from a traditional lender

Also, traditional lenders are operating under a self-imposed credit crunch and have tightened their underwriting criteria, reduced loan amounts, and limited new lending. Most will not even consider a loan application that does not show a sterling credit history. But, that is why non-bank lenders exist and they can offer a wide array of lending programs with no credit check and for amounts up to $10,000. These loans require no collateral and qualifications are relatively easy to meet.

Employment Tenure and Salary

Most any lender, whether traditional or non-bank, needs to establish some minimal guidelines to increase the possibility of repayment. Usually that begins with having a steady job with an income that shows a good debt-to-income ratio. Lenders like to see at least 90 days on the job with the same company. Some may require six months. Anyway, the longer you have been employed at one place, the better. Lenders consider steady employment to be a sign of stability.

Direct Deposit Bank Account

To be seriously considered for a personal loan from a non-bank lender you should have a valid direct-deposit bank account. A checking account would furnish you with the minimum requirement. However, if you also had a savings or money market account, your credibility would be greatly increased in the eyes of the lender. Usually a lender likes to see three months worth of bank statements to approve your loan. Hopefully it will be pretty clear of serious red marks such as NSF checks, excessive overdrafts, and similar bad marks.

Who Are You and Where Do You Live?

Many non-bank lenders operate online. You may never even see each other in the process of application. Many of them can check your credentials using online resources. But if they cannot, they will ask you to fax or send a scan of a bona fide picture ID. They may also require a utility bill as proof of residence. Some lenders may require other documents. Usually, the greater the amount you have requested, the more documentation you may be asked to supply.

Shopping for the Best Lender

Your credit score, your income, your residency all play a role in the approval process and will influence your approval. Understand that some lenders will approve your application while another may reject it. Do not be discouraged. Sometimes a lender just might be in a bad mood. They all have different policies and different approval thresholds.

Anyhow, make multiple applications and you will get multiple approvals, thus allowing you to choose the best rates and terms. The internet has made it extremely facile to apply and get approved for a loan without spending too much time or energy. Approval is quick and you can usually have money in your account within 24 hours.

The Importance Of Internal Investigation Documentation

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Many believe that keeping records regarding workplace investigations leads to greater risk, because it becomes challenging to hide the fact that you were aware of an important issue that should have been given attention. The Labour and Employment Law Blog has worked to debunk many common workplace myths- one of them tackles the issue of documenting workplace issues.

In the post “Employment Laws Mistake #7 – Documenting Workplace Issues”, they state that “jurors, EEOC investigators, unemployment insurance judges and everyone in between, expect employers to keep good records and be able to produce them when there is an issue about the actions that were taken and the reasons for doing so.” Therefore, it won’t cut it if you try to avoid responsibility for your actions by simply not recording them.

The Importance of Record Keeping
There are a growing number of rules and regulations that businesses have to adhere to in order to demonstrate that sufficient action was taken regarding all workplace complaints. One of the easiest ways to create evidence to prove your case is to document all of the steps taken from the time an incident was reported to the conclusion and decision made after the completion of an investigation. The article “Documenting Employee Behavior and Performance” on HRHero.com states that:

“Documentation can be used as a key tool for legal defense. Good documentation by supervisors and managers can mean the difference between a company winning and losing an employment-related lawsuit. For example, good documentation of an employee’s pattern of poor performance and discipline can establish that the employee’s firing wasn’t related to discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, disability, or national origin. An employer may have a much more difficult time proving that without such documentation.”

The above quote brings up a valuable question- can you afford not to take the time to document internal incidents and the rest of the investigation process? If taking the time to record incidents and information means the difference between winning or losing a case in court, wouldn’t it be easier to start documenting these matters now?

It’s important for business leaders to understand that problems will only escalate if you neglect to record incidents- the idea that you cannot be held liable simply because there’s no written record of an incident isn’t going to help you out. Documentation can also benefit your business should an employee lodge a complaint after they have been removed from your company. The longer it takes for an incident to be reported, chances are, your recall of events- when left up to memory, will likely lead to a poor account of the events and reasoning behind decisions made, which could make your statements invalid.

The post “Employment Laws Mistake #7 – Documenting Workplace Issues” states that “there are also a number of practical reasons to maintain proper documentation. While business organizations are dynamic and individuals may come and go- as well as their feelings toward an employer, the documents will always remain. Also, creating a written record helps to focus one’s attention and thinking and leads to better decision making.”

What to Record
In the article “Resolving Workplace Problems”, they reinforce the importance of documenting complaints, as well as providing a list of information that you will want to keep. “Set up a file and keep records of all relevant documents and correspondence. Records should include:

– Factual written summaries of incidents noting date, time, location, and persons involved.
– Memos and letters
– Relevant work documents
– Meeting notes
– Performance evaluations
– Any other relevant paperwork to document your workplace problem- investigation interviews, witness statements, etc.
– Keeping a paper trail is essential for providing needed evidence should legal action be needed down the road.” It’s impossible to have too much information regarding an incident- you would much rather be safe than sorry when it comes to legal matters.