Compliance with employment laws: even if not applicable to a small business.

• Position: Indiana SMALL BUSINESS REFERENCE GUIDE

For the most part, small-business employers are exempt from the major federal employment discrimination statutes. For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based upon race, color, religion, gender, disability and national origin, only applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

These threshold limits are designed to protect small employers from the considerable financial and time costs associated with compliance with the statutes. However, just because a law doesn't apply isn't a reason for a small employer not to take every step to prevent the prohibited act from occurring.

This is true for at least two reasons. First, the prohibited acts--such as discrimination based on race or gender--damage every workplace. It may deny an employer of qualified employees and an attitude of unfairness can poison a workplace...