Although California do not prohibit their employer’s from to work elsewhere. California employers can protect their tradesecrets and confidential information. One successful plan to do so is having an employee departure protocol. For those who want to switch have to go through that certain protocol.
The foundation of the employee departure protocol is the exit interview. Employer’s should know who will conduct it, when it will held and what will be covered under that. Their would be written checklist under the exit interview, and it should cover threshold topics such as reminding the employer of his or her continuing confidentiality obligation , the return of the company property and information stored in the site, and arrangement for return and destruction of company property stored off-site.
How it works
The discussion of possible company property stored off-site should cover specific locations that a departing employee might not think of unless specifically asked, including thumb drives, personally owned computers, and personal email or cloud storage accounts. Many a lawsuit has been filed over forgotten thumb drives in employee backpacks.
The departing employee should also be asked to sign a certification that he or she has or will return all of the employer’s property by a date certain, and someone needs to follow up to make sure this is done. The signing of such a certification reiterates the importance of the employee’s confidentiality obligation. Additionally, should that certification later prove false (i.e., if it is later determined that the employee, in fact, misappropriated trade secrets), the false certification will be a critical piece of evidence in showing the reasonableness of the employer’s efforts to protect itself and maliciousness by the former employee.
Exceptional Exists
If an employee is departing in suspicious circumstances, or if there is another reason to suspect possible misappropriation of trade-secrets, record’s off the employee’s computer activity in the days and weeks leading up to his or her termination should be preserved (e.g., by saving the employee’s e-mails and making a forensic image of the employee’s hard drive, rather than simply wiping it and reissuing it). Litigation over trade secret misappropriation frequently turns on evidence of unusual computer activity shortly before a departure. The employer should have a plan for accomplishing this, whether it be an internal resource, such as its information technology department, or an outside forensic computer firm.
Finally, depending on the facts of a particular situation, a formal “cease and desist” letter to a departed employee and/or a less threatening “reminder” letter can be a valuable tool. Such letters can come from the human resources or legal department, and not only serve as useful written reminders to the departed employee but may also resolve a dispute without proceeding to litigation. Depending on the situation, an employer may also decide to send a copy of the “cease and desist” or reminder letter to the employee’s new employer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, different employers have different needs with respect to the protection of their trade secrets and confidential information, and reasonable precautions for one employer might be completely unreasonable for another. However, regardless of the size or nature of the business, every employer should develop and maintain an employee departure protocol.
