You need employees to get things done. But when you hire employees, you also hire risk. Here are 10 gen­eral rules to min­i­mize employee risks:

  • Set clear expec­ta­tions between you and your employ­ees in a con­cise and well-written employee handbook.
  • Base all employ­ment deci­sions on rel­e­vant and legal factors.
  • Encour­age cowork­ers to live the golden rule.
  • Keep the job-site safe.
  • Doc­u­ment and date things as they hap­pen and get sig­na­tures. But don’t go crazy with documentation.
  • Don’t be a jerk. Hos­tile, intim­i­dat­ing, and offen­sive behav­ior has no place in the workplace.
  • Look into employ­ment prac­tices lia­bil­ity insurance.
  • Be con­sis­tent in train­ing, reviews, and enforcement.
  • Read lots of busi­ness books.
  • Respect your employ­ees’ rea­son­able expec­ta­tions of pri­vacy. If you fol­low these rules, you will go a long way toward avoid­ing costly and time-consuming legal disputes.