I’m about to promote a staff member to manager. What’s the best way of preparing her?
Be sure to give her “The Talk” — the one about how it will be hard to maintain close friendships with her former peers and that while you don’t prohibit fraternizing, you recommend she maintain some professional distance from other staff. Let her know your door is always open to discuss issues because there will be times she’ll need it. INVISION’s Real Deal columns (full archive at invisionmag.com/realdeal) are a great resource to show her the kinds of situations she is likely to face. Another is George Fuller’s The First-Time Supervisor’s Survival Guide.
What are the penalties if an employee who has resigned leaves with company information, such as the internal database? And what if it is their own database?
Any customer information, even if acquired by that employee during the course of his or her job, is the property of your company. So “their” database is actually your database. You don’t have to grin and bear this dagger in the back says Joe Miguez, a labor and employment attorney at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) — in which employees contractually agree not to disclose a company’s secret information — are the best way to prevent this sort of theft. “Most NDAs contain damage clauses in which the employee agrees that any breach will cause sufficient harm to justify both injunctive relief and monetary damages,” says Miguez. In other words, it’s like a pre-nuptial … only you get all the goods if your employee wants a divorce. NDA or not, employees who disclose or misuse your confidential information may be forced to stop using the information (through a court-issued injunction). “You may also be entitled to punitive or exemplary damages that can equal two or three times any award for actual damages,” explains Miguez. Bottom line? This unscrupulous employee may wind up paying you some serious coin. Says Miguez: “Requiring employees to sign non-disclosure agreements is wise, but all employers have legal recourse against employees who just can’t keep a secret.”
Is it true that as a business owner I can’t ask a job applicant whether they’ve ever used illegal drugs?
It’s true. Addictions and alcoholism are considered illnesses under the Americans with Disabilities Act. You can ask, “Do you currently use illegal drugs?” or “What illegal drugs have you used in the last six months?” (Note emphasis on “illegal,” you can’t ask people what prescription drugs they may be taking.) Depending on your state, you can ask candidates to submit to a drug test but it’s usually on the proviso that if they pass, you must offer them the position. Here is a list of drug testing rules by state: invisionmag.com/012501.
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