Confronting Employees with Bad Attitudes
July 14, 2010 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.By Bradley A. Kletscher In Brief Newsletter Winter 2006 Every employer has had an employee with a poor attitude. It may be the employee who gives fellow employees the cold shoulder. Or it may be an employee who tells you he will follow instructions and then turns around and does what he wants. It might even be an employee who is rude to customers who are asking for help. While each situation is different, the common theme is that the employee has a bad attitude. [maxbutton id=”1″ ] As hard as it is from a personal level to confront employees with a bad attitude, and employer must do it. Allowing a bad attitude to continue will only make the work situation intolerable. An employee with a bad attitude can cause you to lose customers, to lose good employees, to decrease productivity or in general to deplete the attitude of other workers in the workplace. Following are some suggestions which may help you deal with this issue. First, look for a candidate with a good attitude during the hiring process. During the interview, ask questions designed to reveal the potential employee’s attitude in varying work situations. When you talk to references, try to ascertain the potential employee’s attitude while employed. Prevention is the best…
Read MoreBeware of the Franchise
July 8, 2010 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.by Kip R. Peterson and Dainel D. Ganter, Jr. Spring 2010 In Brief Newsletter Believe it or not, your business could be a FRANCHISE. If so, failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could result in serious consequences. Ignorance of these laws and regulations is no defense. When most people think of a franchise they think of fast-food restaurants, fitness chains and hotels. However, Minnesota law broadly defines the term “franchise,” potentially expanding the reach of the franchise laws and regulations to include legal arrangements such as license agreements, consulting agreements, and distribution agreements. It is important to note that it doesn’t matter what the parties call their relationship. If the elements of a franchise are met, the parties must comply with the franchise laws and regulations. Minnesota law defines a “franchise” as a contract or agreement between two or more persons which satisfies the following elements: (1) a franchisee is granted the right to engage in the business of offering or distributing goods or services using the franchisor’s trade name, trademark, service mark, logo or other commercial symbol or characteristics; (2) the franchisor and franchisee have a “community of interest” in the marketing of goods or services; and (3) the franchisee pays a franchise fee. Two of the three elements of…
Read MoreRisky Business: Writing Your Own Legal Documents Can Be Costly
May 6, 2010 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.by Thomas P. Malone Spring 2006 A client recently presented me with a document in which he had written that his employment with his corporation, which he had founded, was “at will”. He was shocked to learn this meant his corporation could fire him at will. He thought it meant he could leave whenever he wanted but he could also stay with the company for as long as he wished. Another client filed and served a Mechanic’s Lien (giving those who work on real estate a lien on that property for the value of their labor and materials) which included required language about subcontractors, but also added additional language which in essence gave the homeowner an argument that the company providing the work was not the company filing the lien. Both of these examples represent the kind of problems that can arise when people attempt to draft their own legal documents. Many people, in order to avoid legal fees, use so-called “forms” sold by commercial firms. The irony is that in so doing, they may end up costing themselves far more than they were trying to save. Lawyers can be expensive. No one knows that more than we who practice law and bill clients for our services. The modern American business environment, however,…
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