Hiring your first employee

Hiring the first employee is a big decision. Suddenly, you become responsible for another individual. However, you need not be emotional when hiring your first employee. Instead you should proceed methodically, making sure that you meet all the requirements laid down under different Laws.

Among other things, you need to check the background of the applicant regarding his previous employment claim(s), criminal record, drug test, credit history and driving record. In some cases an identity or a social security check may be essential.

While much of this information comes under public domain, certain personal records including education, military and
medical, are confidential and therefore requires applicant's consent before scrutinizing them. You should ask for original certificates since in this electronic age any fake document can be produced.

Regarding the applicant's criminal past, a criminal conviction report is permanent whereas arrest records, debts, civil suits and court judgments cannot be included in employment background check after seven years. In case you want to use a third party to verify the credentials of the potential employee, then as per federal law you have to alert the person under investigation in writing.

It is easier to verify use of illegal substances like cocaine since drug-abusing employees are six times more likely to file workers' compensation claims than other staff members. You can even consider random drug testing and pre-employment interviews. However, you must note that it is illegal to inquire about a candidate's prescribed drug for medication.

A job applicant should be screened for unwarranted behavior. Psychological tests, hand writing analysis, skill and aptitude tests and even lie detector tests are additional assessment tools available to business owners to help them select the best candidate for the job.

Some questions are unlawful like applicant's sexual orientation, religion or race. While interviewing the candidate, you should be aware of other federal laws as well. The best place to get such information is from government sites like the US Department of Labor or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.



Before making a final job offer, you must check references. Two references should be professional and one should be personal to help endorse the character of the applicant.

Federal laws provide clear guidelines regarding salary and classification of employees. You must check minimum wage and make sure that the salary offered is more than this. The part-time workers can work for 20 hours or less per week while full -time workers can log in 30 hours per week. According to the US Department of Labor there are 12 records an employer must maintain on each staff member during their employment.

You should handle the immigration issues carefully while sponsoring or employing a foreign national. Right insurance coverage like disability coverage is also necessary. There are two types of disability coverage viz. short and long term. There is a waiting period before benefits are paid. For short-term, the waiting period is generally 14 days and in case of long-term disability coverage it is 30 days to one year.

So, make sure you know all laws of the land before you hire your first employee.