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Employment

Employees are necessary to maintain best practices at commercial scale. As the heart of your business, they maintain essential daily tasks such as thinning, sorting, and flipping; and support high-level business needs such as sales, management, and compliance. Employees need to be managed effectively for productivity, safety and to reduce legal risk. You should actively foster a company culture that brings out the best in your employees.

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Questions

Employment

Our job board is a good place to start! Browse the available positions and even submit your own post. Maine sea farmers also use social media, Craigslist, Uncle Henry’s, and aquaculture list serves such as the East Coast Shellfish Grower’s Association to get the word out.

Developing a company culture means defining the values and standards of behavior at your business. Your goal should be to build a team who believes in the core mission of your business, feels invested in the work, and develops key skill sets. Treating employees as replaceable grunt labor will result in high-turnover, low demeanor, and low productivity.

A disgruntled employee could sue you for a number of reasons related to employment laws such as fair wages, discrimination, sexual harassment, and disabilities. You are wise to consult an attorney who specializes in employment law to understand how to mitigate the various risks.

An employee handbook helps define company culture and protect you against lawsuits by making clear that certain behaviors are unacceptable at your company. They help employees understand that behaviors such as sexual harassment and discrimination are not tolerated.

Yes, and the type depends on the number of employees at your business and where they do their work (e.g., on the water and where, shoreside processing, delivery). At a minimum, you probably need both Workers Compensation and Jones Act insurance, which cover costs if an employee is hurt on the job. Consult an attorney familiar with maritime/employment law to understand the necessary coverage.