SmallBusinessNewz

BusinessWeek's Smart Answers found that there were 4 areas that had potential to give small businesses legal problems this year. Since we already discussed employee lawsuits and immigration audits and what could be done to avoid them, we're going to look at improper insurance and Internet security concerns.

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Everyone knows that there are risks and dangers associated with having too little insurance, but there are also issues associated with having too much insurance. Just as was pointed out in the above video, a lot of businesses have had to make cuts as a result of the economy but have forgotten to reduce their insurance coverage on physical spaces, operations, and even employees. Businesses could save a considerable amount of money if they would remember to do this.

You can make sure neither of these issues arise if you consult with your insurance broker on a regular basis to discuss your business insurance policies. It also wouldn't hurt to consider Employment Practices Liability Insurance. EPLI can protect a business from workplace-liability claims such as:

- Discrimination
- Sexual harrassment
- Wrongful termination
- Breach of employee contract
- Negligent evaluation
- Failure to employ or promote
- Wrongful discipline
- Deprivation of career opportunity
- Wrongful infliction of emotional distress
- Mismanagement of employee-benefits plans

Although EPLI would be an additional cost, it could prevent your business from going bankrupt if any of the above claims were filed.

Another legal concern that is expected be on the rise this year is Internet security. Since many employees browse the Web, shop online, and are active on social networks, it makes it harder to discern company time from private time. In some cases, this could result in important company information leaking out to the public.

To protect your business from facing these types of issues, establish and enforce policies for Internet usage. Make sure these policies are reasonable and clear in order to make the implementation of them easier.

Hopefully, these aren't issues that any of you will have to deal with in 2010, and since it's still early, maybe the preventative measures will help you avoid them altogether.