Hiring and Firing

Navigate Treacherous Employment Issues

Employees can make or break your business. Great employees will dramatically improve your profitability. Hire the wrong people, and you'll take a huge hit in productivity and overall morale. And if an employee harbors a grudge upon termination, you can face a crippling lawsuit. Employment attorney Tyler M. Paetkau navigates the complex system of employment laws and offers proactive steps and procedures you can take to prevent lawsuits or defend your actions in case of a lawsuit.

Paetkau covers:

• Using interviews, applications and background checks to hire the best and brightest
• The critical importance of at-will employment disclaimers
• Avoiding discrimination claims in hiring
• Establishing termination procedures for violations of company policy
• Legal and practical considerations for individual and group layoffs

The most treacherous parts of an employment relationship are the beginning and the end. Avoid unexpected explosions and make your business even more successful by protecting your company's most valuable resource-great employees.

Sample forms on CD-ROM:

• Employment Application
• Employee Counseling/Discipline Form
• Employee Handbook
• Performance Evaluation
• Exit Interview
• Independent Contract Agreement
• Mutual Agreement to Arbitrate Claims
• Nondisclosure, Nonsolicitation and Noncompetition Agreement
• Trade Secret Protection
• Safety, Health and Substance Abuse Policies
• Telecommuting Agreement
• Offer Letter
• Policy on Complaints of Accounting, Internal Accounting Controls and Auditing Matters
• Authorization for Release of Health Information
• HIPAA Privacy Rules

For 30 years, Entrepreneur has provided the most trusted business advice available to business owners. Our legal guides continue that tradition by offering current and cost-effective legal advice so you can resolve the business and legal issues you face on a daily basis. We also strive to help you identify when it's in your best interest to seek the personalized advice and services of a practicing lawyer.

Tyler M. Paetkau is a partner at Winston andStrawn, LLP, is past chair of and adviser to the State Bar of California’sLabor and Employment Law Section.