After working with businesses of various sizes (for-profit and non-profit), I have noticed that some owners and leaders still question whether their companies are responsible for compliance with laws related to things like discrimination, minimum wage, insurance, and taxes.

So, let’s take a moment to identify some laws that may apply to a company based on employment numbers.

Why You Might Care

Whether a for-profit or non-profit, failing to comply with law always comes with the risk of penalty. The penalty can be a hard penalty (e.g., civil financial penalty) or a soft penalty (e.g., hit to the company brand or culture). Understanding that employment numbers can pull a company into the world of compliance can be important to the long-term existence of a company.

Key Employment Laws by Number of Employees

Trying to make this an efficient read, I’ve grouped laws by the employment numbers from the least to the greatest. Think of this as a checklist. To keep it simple, only 3 things are identified – the law, source of law, and 1 statement regarding the law. These laws can be considered when developing workforce, budget, policies, and compliance protocols. 

1+ Employees

1. Ohio Fair Minimum Wage Standards R.C. 4111 | Ohio law | establishes wage requirements for anyone employing an employee
2. Worker’s Compensation | Ohio law | establishes the requirement for the purchase and notification of workers’ compensation coverage for employers with 1+ employees
3. Unemployment Insurance Law | Ohio law | maintains requirements for employer unemployment insurance, taxes, and liability for companies with 1+ employees
4. Ohio Whistleblower Protection Act R.C. 4113.52 | Ohio law | protects employees when reporting violations of employer with 1+ employees
5. OSHA | Federal law | establishes and enforces workplace health and safety for businesses that employ individuals
6. Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) | Federal law | establishes prohibitions and employer responsibilities for employees returning from military service or training for “virtually all employers”
7. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) | Federal law | establishes requirements for things such as minimum wage and overtime for employers/enterprises with 2+ employees
8. Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) | Federal law | establishes prohibition and requirements regarding nursing employees’ ability to express breast milk for employers with 2+ employees 

4+ Employees

1. Anti-Discrimination C.C. 2331 | Columbus law | establishes prohibition against discrimination based on protected classes or characteristics for employers with 4+ employees
2. Ohio Civil Rights Act R.C. 4112 | Ohio law | establishes prohibition against discrimination based on protected classes for employers with 4+ employees

15+ Employees

1. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) | Federal law | establishes prohibitions against discrimination based on disabilities for employers with 15+ employees after July 26, 1994
2. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Federal law | establishes prohibitions against discrimination based on protected classes for employers with 15+ employees
3. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act | Federal law | establishes prohibitions against discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions for employers with 15+ employees
4. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act | Federal law | establishes prohibitions against discrimination based on genetic information for employers with 15+ employees

20+ Employees

1. Age Discrimination in Employment Act | Federal law | establishes prohibitions against discrimination based on being 40+ years of age for employers with 20+ employees
2. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) | Federal law | establishes prohibitions against discriminating discrimination based on disabilities for employers with 25+ employees after July 25, 1992

50+ Employees

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) | Federal law | establishes rules for employee unpaid leave for medical or family purposes for employers with 50+ employees

What Do I Think?

If you have a high tolerance for “risks,” maybe you do nothing, just let the chips fall where they may. But for those owners and leaders who have a low to moderate tolerance for risks, below are a few considerations.

1. Spot the Potential Law. Determine what laws may be applicable to your company based on the number of employees maintained by the company (hint: If you are an owner, don’t forget to initially include yourself because some laws include the owner).  
2. Review the Potential Law. Once the laws have been identified, review them to determine whether the company must comply. Some laws won’t apply based on revenue, industry, or other characteristic. You can review alone, with an HR professional, and/or with your legal counsel.
3. Plan and Implement Based on the Applicable Law. After confirming the laws that apply to your company, develop a plan for maintaining compliance. These laws tend to keep going pretty much for the life of the company. So, the plan should consider acute and long-term measures (hint: review the applicable law because it may tell you about ongoing compliance requirements). Think of things like handbooks, policies, trainings, benchmarks, tracking systems.