You have a great idea for a new company that will disrupt the way industry X does business. You've secured funding and are ready to expand the company by hiring some new employees. Full startup steam ahead, right?

Not so fast. In their zeal to get a startup on track, entrepreneurs sometimes forget to treat and compensate employees in a manner compliant with employment laws. Hiring the right people is a big step, but far from the last.

“We think they should be focused on it from day one,” says Ian Carleton Schaefer, a member of Epstein Becker & Green's labor and employment practice. “Often it takes a triggering event, whether it's a lawsuit or a government audit, to get them focused—and we think that's a little late.”