Harrisburg Small Business Law Blog

Protecting your business against workers' comp fraud

On behalf of The Law Firm of Peters & Wasilefski on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.

It is not always easy to find good workers who will be loyal, hardworking and trustworthy. When you do find employees like this, you are happy to offer them every opportunity for success. Unfortunately, there are those few workers who not only fail to meet the obligations of the job, but may also show little respect for you and the efforts you have put into building your Pennsylvania business.

When one of your employees reports an injury on the job, you respond as you should by directing the employee toward medical treatment and assisting the worker in any way you can in filing a claim with workers' compensation. However, there may be times when you suspect your employee may be faking an injury and filing a fraudulent claim.

Your choice of entity helps determine the future of your business

On behalf of The Law Firm of Peters & Wasilefski on Friday, June 1, 2018.

You decided to take the plunge and start a business here in Harrisburg. With all of the choices you need to make before you open your doors, the type of entity you choose helps determine the amount of personal liability you have when it comes to the activities of your business.

In addition, the entity you choose determines how you handle taxes for yourself and your business. It also affects its longevity since some entities can outlive you and your participation in the business while others cannot. Understanding the differences may help you make your choice and may greatly affect the future success of your business.

Errors and missteps could derail your entire estate plan

On behalf of The Law Firm of Peters & Wasilefski posted in blog on Thursday, March 1, 2018.

Pennsylvania readers know that it is impossible to predict the future, but there are certain steps one can take to have a certain measure of control over what happens down the road. One way to do this is by having a thoughtful estate plan in place, addressing everything from health care wishes to the distribution of assets for loved ones and beneficiaries.

You know that estate planning is important, but errors and missteps can complicate things for your loved ones and make it harder to settle your estate and fulfill your wishes. Estate planning is crucial, but it is also important to avoid mistakes and take steps to keep things updated.

A contract breach could considerably impact your business

On behalf of The Law Firm of Peters & Wasilefski posted in blog on Friday, December 8, 2017.

When you first considered starting your own business, you likely thought of all the success you could gain and how proud you would feel when you became your own boss. While your company may have brought you success and pride, it may have also come with certain headaches. In particular, you may have had to deal with troublesome employees, difficult partners or other issues that created stress.

In order to lessen the likelihood of problems coming about from your employees or partners, you may have taken the time to create business and employment contracts. These agreements likely dictated the terms under which certain tasks would carry out and other related aspects. However, you may still find yourself facing conflict if someone breaches one of those contracts.

Shut down the doubts and open up shop

On behalf of The Law Firm of Peters & Wasilefski posted in blog on Wednesday, September 6, 2017.

You are not alone if you feel like the only thing you get from your job is a paycheck. While money in the bank is nothing to sneeze at, it may not satisfy if you are looking for something more fulfilling from your job. Clocking in and out, taking orders from a boss and watching others reap the rewards is not what you want to do for the rest of your life.

You may find your mind wandering through the day, planning how you would do things differently if you had your own company. Maybe it's time to ask yourself why you don't and what is holding you back from taking the plunge and starting your own business.

Fail-proof partnerships

On behalf of The Law Firm of Peters & Wasilefski posted in blog on Monday, June 5, 2017.

Perhaps it happened at a neighborhood cookout, a college reunion or on your lunch break at work. You and a friend started talking about where you really want to be in life, and the idea of starting your own business began to grow. Now, the two of you are ready to take your ideas from dreams to reality by forming a partnership.

Even in the middle of the excitement of preparing the real work of starting your own company, you may have concerns. How will you and your partner work together? Who will be responsible for each aspect of the business? What will happen if the partnership sours?