How Do I Check My Businesses Compliance Requirements?

Keeping your business legal and up to code is crucial for the owner of any company. If your business is not compliant with different rules and regulations, you won’t be able to legally operate on the market. You can also run into issues with lawsuits that can cost your business thousands in damages. But how do you make sure that your business is legally compliant? Well, the first step is to make sure you know and understand the legal requirements of your company. There are quite a few to take into consideration here. There are both internal and external regulations that businesses must abide by.

Internal Company Regulations

Internal regulations cover requirements within the company such as forming a board to manage and update bylaws. To ensure that internal regulations are abided by, it is important that businesses keep accurate and up to date records of any proceedings in the company. This is the easiest way to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Business owners can use compliance kits containing internal agreements and examples of bylaws to ensure that everyone follows the set rules.

Internal regulations are designed to ensure that everything within the business is kept up to a certain code of ethics. With internal regulations in place, businesses are able to avoid issues with corruption and embezzlement. However, it is important to realize that businesses are held by government regulations as well.

External Regulations

External requirements can vary depending on the state your business is operating in. For this reason, business owners who aim to remain compliant must look up local laws and regulations. Or, hire a legal advisor. They will be able to help guarantee that your business is always compliant, even if regulations change as they often do.

Typically, external regulations can include franchise tax. A franchise tax is charged as a fee for operating, and the amount can vary based on a number of factors including the number of shares a company holds.

Beyond regulations like this, you need to understand the responsibilities you have as a business owner. Particularly, how you can be held accountable when running your workplace. For instance, you do need to protect the health and safety of your workers, as dictated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

OSHA

OSHA ensures that the rights of workers to operate in a safe environment are protected. It covers a broad range of responsibilities for the employer. For instance, employers must provide a work environment free of serious health hazards as recognized under the OSH Act. One example of a serious hazard would be poor air quality. If the air in the environment where employees operate is filled with dangerous pollutants, businesses are legally accountable for any injuries sustained.

OSH law is also in place to ensure that employees are using the right tools to complete certain jobs in the workplace safely. For instance, workers in the industrial industry should be provided with safety gear such as harnesses.

According to OSH law, business owners should also make sure that they are training business employees about potential hazards. They should have a plan in place to prevent potential injuries and ensure that workers are provided with all the information they need to stay safe.

These are just some of the responsibilities an employer has under OSH law. There are many more, and they are all designed to protect the rights of American workers with regards to health and safety.

If you are concerned about an issue with OSH law, it is possible to arrange a consultation. OSHA provides free on-site consultation services to all business owners. As such, you will be able to check that your business is legally compliant and go beyond what is expected of you.

Of course, in some cases ensuring you are legally compliant is about taking the right steps to protect yourself. This is the case with PCI DSS compliance.

PCI DSS

PCI DSS is another example of a legal area where your business must remain compliant with specific regulations. It stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Essentially, this is about keeping sensitive data safe by merchants, no matter how big the business might be. To do this, there are a number of set rules that you must follow.

Many business owners find checking business compliance in this area is incredibly difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. Some of the requirements include managing security, software usage, and network development. There are 12 requirements in total, but the main aim is to show that you are abiding by PCI DSS standards.

To prove that you are compliant and check that your business is up to code in this area, you can fill in a self-assessment. The questions on this assessment will vary depending on the type of business you are operating. For instance, an online company accepting credit card purchases will be held by different regulations compared with another business that only offers direct forms of payment. There are tools available online that can help you become and remain compliant in this area for your business.

Read more about PCI DSS compliance here.

Industry Specific Compliances

You may find that compliancy laws can differ depending on the industry your business is operating in. An example of this would be businesses operating in regulatory environments. Most businesses these days are using some form of cloud-based software. The benefits of a cloud server are too expansive to explain here, however security levels can differ. Businesses operating in regulatory environments may find that the server they are using does not provide the level of security to ensure their company is legally compliant. This is why businesses must always check specific industry legal requirements and ensure they are keeping their company up to code.

To close, there are a number of business compliance requirements that companies must abide by. Some are tied to certain circumstances such as hiring your first members of staff. Others will be industry specific, and many more are universal for any business. While there are tools online and plenty of resources for information on legal requirements, the best way to stay up to code is to consult a lawyer. You should also be checking for changes regularly. Regulations and legal requirements are constantly altered so you must stay up to date.