Educator: Rachel Armstrong JD, Farm Commons

Whether your business hires employees, has an intern program, offers apprenticeships, or uses volunteers, employment laws matter. This webinar will teach you to understand your basic employment law obligations no matter how you get work done. Participants will learn the basics of how to classify their workers as employees, independent contractors, or interns/apprentices, and volunteers. We will also outline the basic obligations for each category, as well as go into detail on minimum wage, overtime, and payroll tax issues. Additional resources and sources for information will help business owners navigate ongoing obligations.

Rachel Armstrong

www.farmcommons.org

As the founder and Executive Director of Farm Commons, Ms. Armstrong took the organization from an idea to a nationwide leader in farm law education. At the organization’s helm, she has led dozens of webinars and workshops for thousands of farmers and created the organization’s innovative approach to farm law risk reduction. She has authored dozens of publications on farm law matters for farmers, alongside several academic and trade publications. Ms. Armstrong instructs continuing legal education classes for the American Bar Association and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Wisconsin Madison, she lives in Northern Minnesota with her husband, mother, 3-year-old son, and twin toddlers.

Farm Commons is a charitable nonprofit organization, founded in 2012 with the mission of providing farmers with the proactive legal resources they need to become the stable, resilient foundation of a community based food system. Farm Commons has written and distributes over 150 print, audio, and video resources that explain farm law in plain, actionable language. Farm Commons also hosts workshops on farm law nationwide, using the organization’s proven method of training farmers themselves to co-present the workshop to peers. The organization’s approach is incredibly successful:70% of farmers make a risk-reducing change to their business within 3 months. After using Farm Commons’ resources, farmers feel more empowered and recognize their own abilities to manage legal risk. Whether leasing land, forming a partnership, arranging a sales contract, or hiring an employee for the first time, Farm Commons is there to help farmers make the law work for them.