Real Life Employment Law
Nearly every day, executives and managers, and the in-house counsel and Human Resources professionals who work with them, are confronted with unanticipated questions regarding the workforce. Just when they think they have "seen it all," along comes a new and often stranger scenario involving an odd twist to an area they thought they fully understood. These individuals often find themselves back at square one when trying to construct an appropriate response and devise a creative solution to the problem presented. Sometimes these "Quirky Questions" can be resolved easily; other times, they implicate practical and legal issues that are not immediately apparent.
This Quirky Employment Questions Blog addresses unanticipated questions regarding the workforce.
We encourage you to submit your thoughts and reactions to the questions presented. We also encourage you to submit questions that you would like to see addressed, subject to these guidelines.
Stephen D. Bell
Michael Droke
Joseph W. Hammell
Sarah Andrews Herman
Ryan E. Mick
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Gregory M. Saylin
Gabrielle Wirth
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Question: We operate a financial services firm that employs account executives who execute investment trades on behalf of clients. One of our brokers recently resigned to move to a competitor firm. With his resignation letter, he included a list of clients he plans to solicit at his new firm. This list includes clients with whom the broker may have had...
Question: My company recently terminated an employee, and we are very worried she accessed her email inappropriately in the days before she was fired. The timing of it all is … well, quirky. Here’s what happened: The employee’s manager met with her on a Friday and informed her that her performance was not acceptable, even after several earlier warnings to...
Question: One of our company’s employees recently left to start a competing business. We think he started this process while he was still employed by us, and that he is probably using information he learned from us. We’re in California, so I know we don’t have a non-compete agreement with him. Do we have any other recourse?
Question: Our California company intends to provide iPads to all of our sales employees, but to make sure we can locate the iPads if they are lost or stolen, we plan to use the iPads’ GPS capabilities to track their locations. As an added bonus, we’ll also be able to track the sales employees themselves. Any concerns with this plan?
Question: We are in the midst of preparing for our 2013 holiday party. We plan to schedule an evening event and intend to provide our employees and their guests with free food, entertainment, and alcohol; after all, we’ve worked hard all year and want to celebrate! How do we avoid risk while we host a fun party?
Question: I’m the HR Director for a company with a significant sales division. One of our very successful sales managers sometimes uses “motivational” techniques that strike me as harsh and potentially problematic. Nevertheless, while I’m not sure his subordinates appreciate him, he gets results. And, while his subordinates may have reservations about his techniques, the company’s top executives clearly are...
Question: I saw your last question about discharging an executive for cause. We recently terminated a C-level executive for that reason. His contract delineated four different “cause” grounds and we felt that two were implicated, although one of these ground arguably was iffy. We’re wondering whom we can tell about this decision. Are there any risks associated with publicizing this...
Question: We are a nationwide company with offices and employees in nearly every state. One of our primary growth areas is California. We understand that California courts are generally inhospitable to post-employment restrictive covenants, including non-competes. But, we are trying to have uniform policies throughout our organization. Consequently, we still have confidentiality and non-compete language in our employees’ contracts, even...
Set forth below is an article by Vice President of the United States, Walter Mondale. More than any person I’ve ever met, Mr. Mondale is perfectly positioned to opine on leadership. His lengthy public service includes roles as Minnesota Attorney General, U.S. Senator, Vice President of the United States and U.S. Ambassador to Japan. In these positions, he has been...
The article was written by Brian McDermott, who is the self-described, Chief Storyteller, at his consulting firm,GrowthWorks Inc., where he specializes in helping leaders facilitate change, innovation and improvement. Brian is the co-author of Leading Innovation: Creating Workplaces Where People Excel So Organizations Thrive, and Time Out for Leaders: Daily Inspiration for Maximum Impact. Brian currently is working on a new book...
Erica ChenErica is an associate in the Costa Mesa office of Dorsey & Whitney and a member of the firm’s Labor and Employ...
Jack SullivanJack is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor & Employment group, where he focuses his practice on employment adv...
Ieva AubinAs an employment and business immigration attorney, ...
Michael DrokeMike started his career as a client, not a lawyer...
Matt DurhamMatt defends employers in Utah and throughout the ...
Aaron GoldsteinAaron is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor & Employ...
Josh HughesJosh’s experience spans trial and appellate advoc...
Jillian KornblattJillian is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor & Employ...
Laura LestradeLaura began practicing at Dorsey in 1992 and has s...
Ryan MickFor more than a decade, Ryan has counseled corpo...
Nick PappasNick litigates and counsels with respect to com...
Melissa RaphanMelissa is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor and Employ...
Gabrielle WirthEmployers turn to Gabrielle for guidance on how they...
