Many small business owners are under the impression that settling a lawsuit out of court is always the best option. While this may work for some circumstances, it is not always the best answer. It does not matter whether the business broke any laws or not, because paying a plaintiff off can still damage your reputation. Every business owner needs to accept the fact that potential lawsuits are just a part of doing business, as repugnant as that sounds. Below, you will discover more information about the best ways to approach a lawsuit.
Frivolous Allegations
There will come a time when you are forced to let an employee go. You may need to lay off several employees just to keep the business afloat. Of course, this is something that no business owner wants to be forced to do, but sometimes it is inevitable. When this occurs, you may end up with a few disgruntled employees on your hands. The employees may decide that it is in their best interest to file a lawsuit against your company. The former employees’ complaints could include allegations that they were unfairly terminated. Even though you know the truth behind the layoff, the employees are not willing to accept your decision.
You will have the option of settling the case out of court or letting the judge and jury make the final decision. Instead of settling the lawsuit, in this case you will be better off to go through the litigation process. You will have plenty of opportunity to defend your decision in court and hopefully have the judge to rule in your favor.
Hire An Attorney
When a lawsuit is filed against your company, all different types of emotions will wail up inside you. However, it is crucial to maintain control of the situation and seek the advice of an experienced Colorado attorney, such as Schwaner Law. Whatever the complaints allegations revolve around, the attorney will be able to provide you with information about laws and tips on how to approach the lawsuit. Of course, you should expect to spend time and money on trying to solve the issue, because litigation processes can be extremely expensive.
According to previous studies, in 2010 civil penalties and judgments totaled up to $264 billion, which makes the country’s legal system one of the costliest in the world.
Keep Employee Policies Updated
When you started your business, you should have adopted an employee prior to hiring any new employee. Every new employee should be introduced to the policies the first few days of the initial hire date. A new-hire training course should include an overview of the policies, with a copy being provided to each new employee. Each employee should also sign a form that they fully read and understand the policies, before they graduate from the training course. The signed document should be placed in the employee’s file for later reverence, in the event that the employee fails to obey the policies.
Respond To Complaints In A Timely Manner
When you receive an employee complaint, you should address it as soon as possible. The longer the complaint is allowed to go without being solved, the more frustrated the employee will become. By responding to the complaint in a timely manner, you will be potentially avoiding the issue from escalating into a civil lawsuit.
Disagreements between employees and managers or business owners can be resolved very easily through information efforts. Follow the appropriate steps of the complaint process, while keeping the complainant updated intermediately.
Record Keeping
Many lawsuits originate due to a dispute among employee and employer. With this in mind, you need evidence to back up your side of the story. Strict record keeping protocols can prove to be very helpful. By keeping appropriate records, you will know precisely when your employees were disciplined and why they were terminated. You can also keep records for your company’s payroll. This evidence could prove to be useful during your impending lawsuit.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
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