Commercializing Biotechnology in Early-Stage Ventures: Discussions.
Discussion 1: What should you document and why? And why are signatures needed?
In order for the company owner to protect himself and the company, he needs to have employees, potential employees, and consultants sign non-disclosure agreements. This helps prevent intellectual properties such as trade secrets, and unpatented ideas from being exposed, and also prevents future competition in case someone decides to steal ideas and flee. Employee agreements are another important documentation since they outline the required duties and responsibilities of the position as well as dispute resolution procedures. Employees also need to sign employment policy documents that outline the daily expectations and company rules. In partnerships, all partners are required to sign partnership agreement documents which outline the responsibilities and rights of each partner, partnership dispute resolution and dissolution procedures in case conflicts arise. Finally, before beginning employment, all employees must complete and sign the Employment Eligibility Verification document (Form I-9) which should then be filed in order to protect the employer from fines and penalties outlined in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Discussion 2:
Scenario 2.
Whenever employee theft occurs, the best recourse is to call the police, my attorney and insurance company. The attorney can file a lawsuit against the employee and in most cases, their assets will be frozen till the case is proven. As an employer, this course of action would help me recover all the losses, incurred interest, and even the attorney fees. The second course of action would be to call the police with advice from my attorney where the police can conduct investigations and even interview the patients who made cash payments to the part-time employee. This will help establish a case, prosecute the thieving employee and possibly recover the losses although the primary goal of law enforcement is to prosecute. Finally, the last person I would call is my insurance agent/company who would identify whether employee theft and embezzlement are covered in my policy. In this case, I would take the precaution to review my policy with help from my attorney and agent, and if such losses are covered and the amount is little, say 2 to 3 thousand dollars, then the insurance company may provide full coverage. If the amount lost was significant and not covered by the policy, the insurance company could still grant partial coverage for the amount covered, or the case could follow the court process and the employee’s assets would be frozen and used to recover my losses if found guilty.
Scenario 3.
If inspectors from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Office of Licensing and
Certification paid an impromptu visit to my laboratory, and I am not present, and my supervising technician called me, I would be glad she called since it is in my best interests to be updated on the happenings at my business premises as the owner. While there is no need to go to the lab in person to witness the inspection, I would still go to the lab. The goal here is to hear the views from the inspectors first hand and in case and violations are noted, then I will be glad I was present to answer questions, be accountable, and explain misunderstandings if any. The most important thing for impromptu inspection visits is always to stay prepared. This generally implies good lab management and compliance practices at for employees, equipment, reagents and the premises themselves. In this case, inspection readiness should be a daily task, and in such cases, there is no need to worry whether I am present for such inspections or not, and if I avail myself, it will be to witness the inspection knowing that there is nothing to worry about.
