One of the most enjoyable (and sometimes complicated) part of working with startups is protecting founders and watching their backs. Not only are there key contractual issues that must be buttoned-down (like vesting and IP assignments), but there are also a minefield of laws and regulations that must be complied with.
In a world of easy access to online documents, this legal compliance is often overlooked or marginalized by founders, as they attempt to stay “lean” and “scrappy” (and sometimes even handle the legal work themselves or through a web service). Certain violations of law, however, could lead to founders’ criminal liability. Here are four sets of laws to watch-out for:
Employment laws. The most common employment law violations are misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor and/or failing to pay an employee the minimum wage. Both violations could lead to the same result: criminal liability for the failure to properly pay wages.
To read the full, original article click on this link: How to launch a startup and avoid ending up in jail | VentureBeat
