Understanding Ethical and Legal Considerations for Small Businesses

Every small business faces challenges regarding ethical and legal considerations, but there are ways to create company policies that help you mitigate risk, while still operating ethically and in accordance with the law.

In chapter 2 ethical and legal issues of The New Entrepreneur’s Edge, Robert W. Jones Jr. of The Jones Firm talks about some of the issues small business owners face. Whether or not you own a hot tub removable cover service or a place that sells hot tubs, spas and pools, you need to understand the legal issues that your business could face and how to avoid them, like discrimination in employment, construction issues, unfair competition, consumer class action, accessibility requirements, insurance, unfair or deceptive practices, regulatory compliance, and privacy issues.

Sunflower Pool and Patio understands what it means to be responsible for the safety and enjoyment of your customers and their families. Part of that is understanding and addressing ethical and legal considerations *while* still providing the best value in retail services, as outlined in chapter 2.

When installing/remodeling a pool/spa, it’s important to partner with a qualified professional who knows the many regulatory issues surrounding these products. The issues surrounding these products include the following:

• The impact of new regulations on installing recreational facilities.
• Requirements for making public areas safe for customers of public facilities.
• The safety concerns for hot tubs, spas, saunas, and swimming pools.
• The role of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and how they make sure your features do not pose undue hazards to your customer.
• Compliance with the American National Standard for the Safe Use of Spas and Hot Tubs.
• The various laws relating to recreational facilities in Georgia.

When faced with customer safety issues with regards to your products, how can owners and management of swim and pool and patio facilities be assured that they are handling customer complaints or safety issues correctly? You must understand the potential liability of the issues that can arise and handle those issues by consulting the right professionals prior to or when such issues arise so that your company may be protected from liability.

Another issue we are starting to encounter in the spa and pool industry are employee complaints regarding sexual harassment. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a controversial subject that has been in the news a lot lately. It seems that today no matter where we turn, we are faced with the issue of sexual harassment and how we should be protecting our employees from it.

Retailers of hot tub, spa, sauna and swimming pool facilities should cover the following issues in their written sexual harassment policies:

• To whom must complaints be made?
• Are all employees protected by the policy?
• What are the standards for determining whether sexual harassment has occurred?
• What must retailers do when they receive a report of inappropriate conduct?

These are just some of the topics that will be covered in chapter 2 of The New Entrepreneurs’ Edge. Read more at The New Entrepreneurs’ Edge.