What laws does a business owner have to follow?
If you’re a business owner in Austin, Texas, you’ve got other things on your mind than the red tape in the way of your success. Where would you even begin?
Here’s a summary of some laws that might apply to you if you own a business. We’ve included some links (just click the text!) to help you reduce the time you spend researching. If you don’t want to take the time to sort through all of these laws to figure out what applies to you, then give our free tool a try .
FLSA, applied to all employees This federal law sets requirements for how you treat and pay your employees, most notably with respect to overtime. The law will apply to all of your employees if you meet certain thresholds as a business. Even so, some employees may be exempt if they fall into certain categories and meet salary requirements, e.g. learned and creative professionals (like accountants or graphic designers), executives, administrative personnel who exercise a certain level of discretion in decision-making, non-IT computer related jobs, and outside sales representatives. FLSA, applied to certain employees This federal law sets requirements for how you treat and pay your employees, most notably with respect to overtime. Even if your business is not big enough to trigger FLSA for all your employees, certain employees fall under FLSA if they are engaged in “interstate commerce.” Courts have defined this term so broadly that any engagement in business probably counts as interstate commerce. The only exception would be if you are an entirely local business whose customers are almost solely local residents, and you purchase your materials and supplies only from local stores. Note that even if the FLSA applies to your business, some employees may be exempt from the law if they fall into certain categories and meet salary requirements, e.g. learned and creative professionals (like accountants or graphic designers), executives, administrative personnel who exercise a certain level of discretion in decision-making, non-IT computer related jobs, and outside sales representatives). Texas Minimum Wage Law This Texas law sets minimum wage requirements for any employees not covered by FLSA. If you’re an entirely local business with almost solely local residents as customers, and you purchase all your supplies from local stores and engage in no interstate transactions, the overtime requirements under FLSA might not apply to you — however the Texas Minimum Wage Law still will. Family Medical Leave Act This federal law requires employers, under certain conditions, to give employees unpaid medical leave with continued access to their health insurance benefits. Texas Payday Law This Texas law governs how many times per month you must pay your employees. Discrimination Against Military Members (Texas Government Code 437.204) This Texas law protects military members from being disadvantaged in the workplace due to their military service. For example, if you employ a reserve member of the armed forces, you may not penalize or prevent your employee from fulfilling his reservist requirements. Texas Commission on Human Rights Act This Texas law prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and age. What constitutes discirmination is highly case-specific, but there are best practices to lessen the risk of these types of law suits. Title VII of Civil Rights Act This federal law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. What constitutes discirmination is highly case-specific, but there are best practices to lessen the risk of these types of law suits. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) This federal law prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on age, against employees who are 40 years old or older. What constitutes discirmination is highly case-specific, but there are best practices to lessen the risk of these types of law suits. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) This federal law prohibits discrimination based on a disability. What constitutes discirmination is highly case-specific, but there are best practices to lessen the risk of these types of law suits. Texas Labor Code 22.001-004 This Texas law prohibits penalizing an employee who leaves their workplace in response to a general public evacuation. For example, if the governor recommends evacuation for areas threatened by a hurricane, and some of your employees don’t show up to work because they responded to that recommendation, the employer cannot dock their pay or benefits, or otherwise penalize them for their absence.
