As you absolutely know by now, non-compete and non-solicit agreements, and associated provisions in settlement or different varieties of agreements, can be much more closely scrutinized in California in 2024. So sufficient about what you may’t do. This weblog will tackle three issues a California employer can nonetheless do to guard itself.
Revisit Your Confidentiality Settlement
First, you may have an efficient Confidentiality (or Non-Disclosure) Settlement that protects your organization’s confidential, proprietary, and commerce secret info. Nevertheless, for such an settlement to be efficient, it must be clear about what you search to guard. And to be trustworthy, most of the Confidentiality Agreements I see usually are not. Usually a enterprise will use boilerplate language that was used at one other enterprise or simply taken from the Web. Massive mistake. In case your staff can not clearly perceive what info you plan to maintain confidential, then there isn’t a manner your attorneys are going to have the ability to successfully defend it.
An efficient confidentiality settlement will particularly set forth the data the corporate desires to guard, corresponding to its consumer record, buyer specs, a pc program, a coverage handbook, personnel or vendor contact info, and many others. If it isn’t clear to your staff what info is protected below your settlement, then it received’t be clear to a court docket both.
Take Steps Internally to Defend Confidential Data
Second, be certain to take steps to guard your confidential info. For instance, is it on the corporate’s intranet or doc administration system for everybody to see and obtain? In that case, password defend it. Or higher but, use your expertise to restrict who has entry to it (and who can ahead or copy it). Oh, and sure, you may truly mark it confidential.
Additionally guarantee your insurance policies constantly instruct staff to safeguard confidential info. Remind them that their work emails and units usually are not personal, and they need to not anticipate privateness on any work supplied expertise, gadget, or system.
Responsibility of Loyalty
Third, there may be nonetheless an obligation of loyalty, and you may have a non-compete or non-disclosure obligation throughout employment. This might assist in case your staff are planning to steal your confidential supplies or raid your staff whereas nonetheless employed. Any such actions towards your corporation whereas employed might very effectively be actionable in a breach of confidentiality case.
Bottomline, all hope will not be misplaced. There are nonetheless efficient (and comparatively easy) steps that California employers can take to guard themselves in 2024 and past.
