Jon Garner RESOURCES

Restrictive Covenants – The Basics

By : Jon Garner In today’s employment environment, employees are increasingly being asked to sign “non-compete” agreements.  These types of agreements can take many forms and include a range of different restrictive covenants. For example, they can prohibit and/or restrict:  (a) the use of confidential and/or proprietary information; (b) the solicitation of customers; (c) the

Maternity Leave in Iowa – The Basics

By : Jon Garner Employers are often confused about what is required of them when an employee has a child. Under Iowa law, an employer with four (4) or more employees must allow eight weeks of unpaid leave if the employee is disabled due to pregnancy or childbirth. However, the analysis does not end here.

Who Can Legally Bind My Company?

By : Jon Garner Who can legally bind your company? Who can sign contracts on behalf of your company? These are questions that business owners all too often fail to consider, and in so doing, create unexpected or unwanted liabilities. Generally speaking, the owners, officers, directors and/or managers of a company have authority to bind

Two Wins for Employers on Bio-metric Data Collection

Employer-mandated biometric screening is an emerging area of the law that is increasingly controversial. Two recent opinions are shaping how employers collect this data and what they do with it. Employers’ use of biometric data has been increasing in recent years as employers seek creative new ways to counteract ballooning health care costs by motivating

Employee Handbooks: Best Practices

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW Creating an employee handbook can seem like a daunting task for an employer. Some employers have few, if any, written policies in place when they begin the process. Others may have adopted individual written policies in the past with little, if any, consideration given to how the policies can or should fit together

Recruiting and Interviewing: Minimizing Legal Risk

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The risk of violating federal, state, and local employment laws is present even before an employment relationship exists. The pre-employment process, including recruiting and interviewing, exposes employers to potentially significant legal liability. This post provides an overview of the legal risks associated with recruiting and interviewing under federal law and Iowa law, and

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