I discovered my employee is soliciting the sale of my company...

[mnewport]

...behind my back, and without my consent. I suspect that my contract sales rep is also involved.

Isn't this against the law? Soliciting the sale of a corporate entity that you don't own? Also soliciting to a potential investor operating in a state that you aren't registered in?

Time to call the attorney and draft the termination papers? I have proof. I was accidentally CC'ed on an email between the investor and my employee that states "our meeting with (employee name) regarding the buyout proposal was not mentioned, as requested."

[1979 930]

But you are from Chicago it's ok to do what you want!!!

[HardDrive]

Clearly a question for an attorney.

[mnewport]

Originally Posted by 1979 930

But you are from Chicago it's ok to do what you want!!!

So very true.

I guess I'll call my attorney on Monday.

[chocolatelab]

might depend on the price

[porsche4life]

Nothing a ball peen to the knees can't handle...

[Dottore]

If its really your company, you don't have to sell. So what's the problem?

If there are several owners, and the employee thinks he might personally benefit from bringing in an investor - well that just capitalism. He still needs to find someone who will sell.

Nothing illegal about exercising some entrepeneurial initiative...unless there is a covenant against this sort of thing in his employment contract - which is unlikely.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by Dottore

Nothing illegal about exercising some entrepeneurial initiative...unless there is a covenant against this sort of thing in his employment contract - which is unlikely.

a) doing it on your own volition on company time?

b) I can see lots of scenarios where this would reflect badly on the business

On the other hand the snippet of the email provided by the OP is not very informative, the 'buyout proposal' could be something else? Are you 100% sure they are referring to your business? Go see an employment lawyer.

[ODDJOB UNO]

then UP THE OFFER and BUY THEM OUT! LOL!

[Rot 911]

Illinois is an "employment at-will" state, meaning that an employer or employee may terminate the relationship at any time, without any reason or cause. The employer, however, cannot discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, military service or unfavorable military discharge.

Bottom line, if you want to fire the employee, just do so.

[jyl]

That is very odd behaviour. If the facts are as you say, then suggests the employee is deluded, or intends to delude the investor, or has some scheme to acquire control of the company.

Can you quietly investigate further? Was the email on the employee's work account?

Does or could the employee have access to sensitive information, company assets or financial accounts? Does he have actual or implied authority to contract on behalf of the company? If so, you should assess.

I presume you or your attorney can contact the investor.

My inclination would be to investigate and assess quickly, then if the situation still looks as you currently think, I'd do something. Unless there is something irreplaceable about this employee, I would lean toward getting rid of him.

[dennis in se pa]

You know there may be some misunderstanding also. I would verify what actually is going on. My wife often imagines things then starts to believe they are the truth. Could be a mistake.

[mnewport]

If its really your company, you don't have to sell. So what's the problem?

It's not an issue of whether or not to sell, it's an issue of distrust in the employee and sales rep. Both have done things that have made me suspicious in the past. This only serves to escalate that mistrust. My company owns some technological innovations that I believe will soon put us at the forefront of our industry, and both my sales rep and this employee recognize this and have repeatedly pushed me to give them company stock. I won't do it because I feel could potentially muck up the picture if its done too soon (although it's never going to happen now). It's not uncommon to have investors offer us money. I am holding off for the right investor and the right amount.

This employee is my staff manager. Because I have refused to give him a stake in the company, he has engaged in very audacious, inappropriate behavior.

He dug through the company records to find out how much profit I take and then called a meeting to "discuss" that I make too much money.

At one point I decided to move forward with a project he disliked. He called a staff meeting to insist that I was out of bounds, had no right to utilize company resources for the project, and should step down and sign over the company to him. Several staff members openly agreed. The ones that didn't say anything came to me later to divulge their support, but asked that I not let the manager know this for fear that he would make their lives difficult at work. I should make it clear that I have no issue with disagreement, but I don't like being shouted at by staff members for two hours regarding decisions I've made.

It sounds stupefying, but he's been quite good at convincing many of the staff and sowing discord. He voices his support for excessive pay increases and benefits that the company simply can't afford, and loves to use the "we built this company up, not you." argument to bolster his position. It's as if I've hired Barack Obama, no offense intended to anyone, and he's worked to create a culture of entitlement. It's definitely a poison.

Because we are a small company and our lives are somewhat connected (we all live in the same neighborhood and are part of the same social circle) I didn't wish to fire him in a way that would cause a scene, or possibly cause the creation of a competitor firm. Instead I chose to create disincentives for him to continue working there.

Last week I implemented a new policy regarding work structure that created strong incentives for the staff and further disincentives for him in the hopes that he would begin seeking employment elsewhere. His reaction was negative, but I told him that this is what the job offered, and if it didn't work for him he should try to find employment elsewhere. I said this in the most polite terms possible.

I suspect this situation is a direct result of these new policies. Obviously he's crossed a line and needs to go immediately. If he broke a law while doing this it would give me a pretty huge bargaining chip to make him leave as well as prevent him from using our existing contacts to build a competing company.

On the other hand the snippet of the email provided by the OP is not very informative, the 'buyout proposal' could be something else? Are you 100% sure they are referring to your business? Go see an employment lawyer.

Buyout proposal came via a telephone call. After initial discussion, I requested email correspondence. Afterwards I received two emails, one thanking me for the initial discussion. The second email contained a conversation to which I was not party, but I was CC'ed on that email by accident. This is the email that stated "our meeting with (employee name) regarding the buyout proposal was not mentioned, as requested."

Immediately after receiving the email I got another phone call from one of the investor partners apologizing for accidentally sending me the email. He admitted the employee had approached them about buying my company, but had requested they not mention this in conversation.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Fire his ass.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by mnewport

Instead I chose to create disincentives for him to continue working there.

Last week I implemented a new policy regarding work structure that created strong incentives for the staff and further disincentives for him in the hopes that he would begin seeking employment elsewhere. His reaction was negative, but I told him that this is what the job offered, and if it didn't work for him he should try to find employment elsewhere. I said this in the most polite terms possible.

Grow a pair and fire him. I don't blame him for trying to dick you over - time for the passive-aggressive behavior (yours) to end.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

Fire his ass.

Yup.... Can't have somebody rocking the boat and trying to start a revolution all the time. Its not good for morale....


In slightly related news... You in the market for a sales person then?

[Don Plumley]

Clearly his behavior as described it out of bounds. If you are the majority owner and operating manager, you have created an environment that allowed a subordinate to grandstand/cajole/et al. So frankly you are a victim of a situation you allowed to develop.

However, one option to consider - let him line up investors to buy the company; enough up front to take the risk out and enough of an earn out so if he is as good as he thinks you make more.

[carambola]

i'm just a blue collar fool, but ....

how could you,of all people, get cc'd on That e-mail?

Freud at work, some sort of wrongful termination lawsuit, maybe to piss off that customer?

[id10t]

As owner, you are running a local mail server, forcing mail to go thru it, and keeping copies of everything right?

[stomachmonkey]

There is no scenario that does not result in bad feelings.

The guy already dislikes you and has no respect for you so I don't know what you are trying to preserve.

You need to get rid if him NOW.