Considering hiring someone to help you? Things you need to know.

In this economy, more and more people are fixing or renovating what they have rather than buying new. So picture this: your appliance repair business is suddenly hopping. In fact, you’re getting so many requests to fix appliances that you can’t meet the demand. So you are considering hiring someone to help. Before you make that decision, here’s some important information that you need to know about hiring an employee and links to related resources.

First you need to determine whether you intend to hire an employee or an independent contractor. An independent contractor generally has considerable control over his or her own work and how it is done. An employee has limited ability to determine his or her own work and the employer has considerable control over how work is accomplished. Basically, if you want to tell the worker when and where to show up for work, what to do, and how to do it, then you probably want to hire an employee. Most workers are employees unless they meet the qualifications of being an independent contractor under the law. For more information about independent contractors versus employees, visit www.OregonIndependentContractors.com.

Once you know you want to hire an employee, check out the Employer’s Guide for Doing Business in Oregon. This guide tells you how to get started. Step one includes obtaining a federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) from the IRS. Visit the IRS’s website for information on obtaining an FEIN and how to apply for one online.

Next, you will want to register as an employer with the State of Oregon through the Central Business Registry. You may have already registered yourself as a business through this site, so it may be familiar to you. If not, simply sign up and follow the step-by-step instructions to register for Oregon Combined Employer Reporting. Registering for Combined Reporting will set you up with an Oregon business identification number (BIN) for unemployment insurance, withholding tax, workers’ benefit fund, and transit tax purposes.

There are other things that you will need to check into such as obtaining workers’ compensation insurance, reviewing BOLI and OSHA laws, reporting new hires for child support purposes, complying with the ADA, and certifying immigration/naturalization status. But checking out the Employer’s Guide for Doing Business in Oregon is an excellent first step in your decision to hire someone.