Three Situations When Your Restaurant May Need a Business Attorney
Being the owner of any business in today's world is a bit more of a challenge than what it may have once been, especially if your business is related to feeding people. At every corner, there are laws and regulations to mind and people ready and willing to attack you with a lawsuit. Business attorneys are highly valuable for restaurant owners because of this fact. Here are a few times when you may need a business lawyer.
An investigation of your business is launched by a government entity.
Being investigated on a state, federal, or local level by any branch of the government is a serious situation that can compromise your business all the way around. A few examples of government investigations include:
- Being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service
- Getting investigated for illegal activity by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Having your restaurant checked out because of supposed Department of Health violations
These agencies will use all kinds of scare tactics to delve into your business practices and find out what they need to know. Make sure you have a legal representative on your side to thwart any activity that is not allowed by law.
You find out you are being sued for making several people sick.
Class-action lawsuits are a huge ordeal, especially if the class-action suit is relative to the health of consumers. While finding out that your food made one person ill can usually be handled quietly, lawsuits involving more people can bring about things like scrutiny from the Department of Health and a lot of negative press. Bringing in a good business attorney at the onset of any allegations will help keep you within the lines of the law and make the best decisions in the case.
An employee launches a complaint of discrimination against you.
Maybe you had to let someone go or possibly there has been some misconduct among the supervisors in your workforce. In any situation when an employee launches a complaint against your restaurant for discrimination, it is highly important that you bring in a skilled business attorney so you know what to do. Your entire reputation as a business can be on the line if you make the wrong moves. Think about the Paula Deen scandal in which she was accused of allowing racist behavior in her restaurants. This was a high-profile business, so of course, it was a really bad situation, but similar things can come about with your own restaurant if you're not careful.
