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Carl Crosby Lehmann

What are our obligations to provide notice that a location is closing?

11/09/2011
Q. Due to a downturn in business, we are planning to close one of our stores. Ten employees will be affected. Do we have to give any advance notice to the employees of their layoff?

Can we refuse to consider rehiring a job applicant who we previously terminated?

11/09/2011
Q. We are a larger company. I noticed that an applicant for a position within one of our branches was previously employed and let go by another division. Would it be discriminatory to decline interviewing a candidate for this reason?

What are the risks of using pre-employment tests?

11/09/2011
Q. We’re considering using an online pre-employment screening test designed to determine if an applicant is the right fit for our business. Are there any risks associated with using such tests?

What are the pitfalls of conducting background investigations on job applicants?

10/12/2011
Q. We use an outside company to conduct criminal background checks on applicants. The company asked us if we were interested in having it conduct searches on applicants’ past civil claims. Is that something we should do?

Parenting leave: To whom must notice be given, and can we require use of vacation leave?

10/12/2011
Q. I have a couple of questions about the parenting leave. We have 33 employees, so we are not subject to the FMLA. Can we require an employee to give ad­­vance notice of the need for leave to HR instead of the employee’s supervisor? Also, can we require em­­ployees to substitute paid vacation days while on leave?

Do all noncompetes have to be the same?

10/12/2011
Q. We have an employee who is returning to work for us after having worked for a competitor. Nor­mally, we require new employees to agree to a noncompete, with a 15-mile-radius restriction. In this case, we’d like to extend the area to a 30-mile zone around our facility. Can we have a different arrangement with her than the one we have with our other employees?

Catching up to the 21st century: Courts and social media

10/12/2011
There aren’t many published court opinions analyzing the propriety of company policies aimed at guiding employees on appropriate use of social media. However, a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision is one of the first in the state to provide such guidance.

How can we recoup stolen money?

09/16/2011
Q. We just fired an employee after discovering that he stole $5,000 from the company. Do we have to pay the employee his final paycheck or can we apply that paycheck toward the $5,000 he owes us?

When executive wants to ease into retirement, can we insist on a ‘retirement contract’?

09/16/2011
Q. An executive wants to retire in one year and gradually reduce her schedule until then. Our business needs don’t allow us to have this executive role be part-time on a long-term basis. Can we approve this request on the condition that the executive sign an agreement binding her to retire within one year?

Is it legal for employees to secretly record their performance evaluation meetings?

08/26/2011
Q. One of our employees secretly used his iPhone to make an audio recording of his review meeting. Is that legal?