NFIB

Finding Help for Small Business Owners on Labor Department Web Site, Part 1
05/ 03/ 2004

If you've been dreading the untold hours you'll spend reading through the seemingly endless Department of Labor (DOL) material to find out what health, hazard, wage and retirement regulations pertain to your specific business, this site (www.dol.gov/elaws) will allow you to breathe a sigh of relief. In today's and next week's Workshops, contributor Jeffrey Moses provides an overview of this invaluable site.

Designed under the leadership of Roland Droitsch, deputy assistant secretary for policy of the Department of Labor, and compiled by panels of experts from a wide variety of industries, the site offers topic-by-topic guides that list not only specific regulations that small businesses frequently need to meet, but general and highly practical advice on each subject.

Perhaps even more valuable for many small businesses, the site contains interactive quizzes that ask highly targeted questions about your operations. Based on your answers, the site informs you about regulatory guidelines and offers specific advice that pertains directly to your company.

The panels of experts consulted by the DOL have designed the quizzes to be comprehensive and intuitive, taking into consideration a surprisingly detailed list of potential problems, hazards and situations that might affect a small business owner. The quizzes ask a series of questions designed to identify your potential problems and needs. The quizzes take 10 to 20 minutes to complete, based on your answers and the number of items that relate to your operations. The final report is compiled almost instantaneously and can be viewed on screen or printed. The report will identify potential problems that may be present in your workplace, provide best practices or strategies to control them and list applicable standards that you can later review. This certainly beats reading through wordy government reports about regulations that could apply to your business.

The site helps small-business owners understand their rights and responsibilities under the employment laws and regulations administered by the Department of Labor (DOL). Each quiz imitates the interaction you might have with a DOL employment law expert, while asking questions and providing answers based on your particular needs.

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