United States: Operating a Business

Enterprises Federation

Administration of Small and Medium Enterprises
National Association of Manufacturers

Search a Company or a Financial Report

USPTO, United States Patent and Trademark Office

Business Setup Procedures

For Further Information

Consult Doing Business Website, to know about procedures to start a Business in United States.
U.S. State Corporations Databases

The Competent Organization

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The certificate of incorporation, also called Doing Business AS (DBA) must be registered with the Trade Register of the State where the company is located. Only General Partnerships do not need to be registered.

Recovery Procedures

Principle

See U.S Code Chapter 11 - Bankruptcy

Minimum Debt-to-Capital Ratio Triggering Liquidation

See U.S Code Chapter 11 - Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Laws

See U.S Code Chapter 11 - Bankruptcy

Reorganization and Rehabilitation Laws

See U.S Code Chapter 11 - Bankruptcy

Source: US Census Bureau

For Further Statistics

U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics

For Further Information About the Labor Market

U.S Bureau of Census

Opening Hours

 

• Legal Weekly Duration

40 hours.

• Maximum Duration

None. The standard workweek is 40 hours, although many salaried positions (held by workers who are paid weekly or monthly, not by the hour) entail standard workweeks in excess of 40 hours. For hourly employees who work more than 40 hours, overtime pay equal to one and one-half times regular salary is standard.

Working Rest Day

2 days a week.

Paid Annual Vacation

2 weeks vacation per year and 2 weeks sick leave.

Retirement Age

65 years.

Child Labor and Minimum Age For Employment

16 years.

Informal Labor Market

Informal labor market is developed due to the high level of illegal immigration.

Pay

Minimum Wage

The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is USD5.85 per hour effective. Many states also have minimum wage laws. In cases where an employee is subject to both the state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages.

Average Wage

Weekly average wage in USA is USD 818.

Other Forms of Pay

• Pay For Overtime

Overtime pay one-half their regular rates of pay. Almost all employees who make less than USD455 a week (USD23,660 a year) are eligible for overtime

• Pay For Rest Days Worked

One-half their regular rates of pay.

• Pay For Night Hours

Extra pay for working weekends or nights is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee

• Pay For Overtime at Night

Extra pay for working weekends or nights is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee

Social Security Costs

The Areas Covered

Social security and Medicare taxes, also known as FICA taxes must be withheld from your employees' wages. As an employer, you must also pay a matching amount of FICA taxes for your employees.

For Social Security, the employer must withhold 6.2% of an employee's wages and pay a matching amount in social security taxes until the employee reaches the wage base for the year. The total is 12.4% for the employee and the employer.

For Medicare, the employer must withhold 1.45% of an employee's wages and pay a matching amount for Medicare tax. The total is 2.9% for the employee and the employer.

Each employer also must pay State and Federal Unemployment Taxes (SUTA and FUTA). The FUTA rate is 6.2%.

Contributions

Contributions Paid By the Employer: 7,65% (medicare + social security), 6.2% Unemployment
Contributions Paid By the Employee: 7,65% (medicare + social security)

Competent Organization

Social Security

Recruitment

Method of Recruitment

The recruitment process takes place more and more via Internet. Selection is made on the basis of a job interview.

Recruitment Agencies

There are three types: employment agency, executive recruitment, temporary staffing firm.

Recruitment Websites

American Staffing Association
Monster
Career Builder
The Ladders

The Contract

Dispute Settlement

Social Partners

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners

Today most labor unions in the United States are members of one of two larger umbrella organizations: the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) or the Change to Win Federation, which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005.

Unionization Rate

Union Membership had been steadily declining in the US since 1983. In 2007, the labor department reported the first increase in Union memberships in 25 years and the largest increase since 1979. Most of the recent gains in union membership have been in the service sector while the number of unionized employees in the manufacturing sector has declined. Most of the gains in the service sector have come in West Coast states like California where union membership is now at 16.7% compared with a national average of about 12.1%

Unions

Unions

Regulation Bodies

Department of Labor
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics