ABSOLUTELY YES! You HAVE to pay them. Don't even think or consider not paying employees for COMPANY TRAINING ("on the clock"), and even MORESO if you REQUIRE it. And even if it's not required: How do you expect employees to WANT to go to seminars or labs if they have to GIVE UP THEIR PAYCHECK? I've never heard of a company that doesn't at the very least reimburse the cost of the training, but I'm not an expert on small businesses.

Mall Jewelry Boy got to my word "absolutely!" before I did. He's absolutely right. If it's part of the job, it's the employer's responsibility to pay for it. Apart from the responsibility factor, it's also a good way to attract and retain talent, not to mention building better-caliber employees.

Like MJB, I can't imagine sending an employee out for training and not paying for it. There are few quicker ways of killing morale and creating an "us vs. them" environment. If the employee comes to you with an idea, and you're not sure it will contribute to your bottom line, that's a different story (you might work out some percentage reimbursement).