5 Steps for Hiring Your First Employee
5 Steps for Hiring Your First Employee
You’ve done it: You’ve opened your dream business and now it’s time to start staffing. Maybe you were running things on your own for a while and determined you needed more resources. Perhaps you need staff before you can even unlock your doors to the public. In any case, hiring your first employee is a big (and exciting!) step. What are the 5 steps you for hiring your first employee? We’ll lay it out for you here!
Understand the Laws
Regardless of your type of business you’re running, there are employment laws you’ll need to keep in mind through the hiring process. State and federal anti-discrimination laws apply immediately, even as soon as you begin advertising the position. For a list of laws you need to abide by, we turned to FindLaw:
- Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits employers from discriminating based on sex in the payment of wages.
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) prohibits discrimination based on age.
- Titles I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) applies to both private sector and state and local governments and prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1991 provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.
- Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) prohibits genetic information discrimination in employment.
Get Your Employer Identification Number
If you don’t already have one, you’ll definitely need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) before you can even begin the hiring process. Obtaining this number is free and immediate through the IRS website.
Understand Your Taxes
There are a number of taxes you’ll have to withhold from your employee’s paychecks, including:
- Federal Income Tax
- Social Security and Medicare Taxes
- Additional Medicare Tax
- Federal Unemployment Tax
According to IRS.gov, it is also critical that you “keep all your employment tax records for at least 4 years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.”
Insure Yourself
You’ve likely already obtained small business insurance, but before you hire anyone you’ll want to make sure workman’s compensation insurance is part of your package. Even if you are operating a business where you wouldn’t expect an injury to occur, anything is possible—and worker’s comp insurance is a legal requirement anyway.
Verify
Once you’re gone through the hiring process and are ready to bring your first staffer on board, remember you are responsible for verifying your candidate is eligible to work in the United States by filling out an I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification within 3 days of your new employee’s first day.
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