Generally, yes. There is no law against asking the basic question. Just be sure there is no hostility behind the question. You don’t want it to turn into an “issue”. If the employee is covered under a union agreement, be sure you have considered what termination looks like and whether you have an at-will relationship or a contractual relationship. There should be no big company-wide gossip chain among supervisors or co-workers that could trigger retaliation for job-hunting. Don’t ask the question if you believe it will spark any sort of confrontation at all or if you must share the answer with anyone else. Just be very careful.
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