by JoLynn Markison · Published July 3, 2018
· Last modified September 20, 2019
Today’s workforce is more mobile than in past generations. Long gone are the days when an employee started and ended a career at the same company. Knowing how to protect your company’s confidential information when a trusted employee leaves can have a lasting impact on your ability to compete. So, what can you do when a former employee goes to...
by JoLynn Markison · Published November 4, 2016
· Last modified April 12, 2018
Question: We operate a financial services firm that employs account executives who execute investment trades on behalf of clients. One of our brokers recently resigned to move to a competitor firm. With his resignation letter, he included a list of clients he plans to solicit at his new firm. This list includes clients with whom the broker may have had...
by Dorsey & Whitney · Published April 28, 2016
· Last modified April 12, 2018
Question: I saw something on the news about some new trade secrets legislation. What’s going on with that? Will it help employers better protect their trade secrets?
by Dorsey & Whitney · Published April 19, 2016
· Last modified April 12, 2018
Question: Our company uses agreements to try to protect our confidential and proprietary information. One of our former sales employees recently left us to work for a competing company. We have evidence he took with him our confidential information about our clients and is planning to use it to sell products to our clients for his new employer. When we reminded...
by Dorsey & Whitney · Published March 25, 2016
· Last modified April 12, 2018
Question: Our company uses non-compete and non-solicit agreements that bar former employees from having contact with any client of our company after they leave. One former employee who recently left is now claiming the agreement is invalid because it is “overly broad” in that it bars him from soliciting not only those clients of ours he used to work with,...
by Dorsey & Whitney · Published March 18, 2016
· Last modified April 12, 2018
Question: One of our company’s employees recently left to start a competing business. We think he started this process while he was still employed by us, and that he is probably using information he learned from us. We’re in California, so I know we don’t have a non-compete agreement with him. Do we have any other recourse?
by Kevin Ha · Published June 5, 2015
· Last modified April 12, 2018
Question: We are a Wisconsin employer that recently lost a number of employees to a direct competitor in our region. As a result, we are now in the process of having all of our employees sign non-compete agreements prohibiting them from working for a competitor for a limited period of time after leaving our company. Assuming that the non-compete agreement...
by Kevin Ha · Published August 6, 2014
· Last modified April 12, 2018
Question: We are a Wisconsin employer that has recently lost a number of employees to competing companies in our area. We’re worried our competitors are getting an unfair edge in the market, basically using employees we’ve spent time and resources training to compete against us. It doesn’t seem fair. Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to us to have our employees sign...
by Dorsey & Whitney · Published April 28, 2014
· Last modified April 12, 2018
Question: We are a business headquartered in Minnesota. We plan to expand into other states but have concerns with investing the time and money in training new employees in a very competitive industry. We currently have our Minnesota employees sign a form non-compete agreement. Can we use that same form agreement for other states where we are expanding?
by Gabrielle Wirth · Published November 12, 2013
· Last modified March 14, 2015
Question: We are an accounting firm and recently fired an employee at will. We have always understood that Montana law disfavors non-competition agreements, therefore, our employment agreement provides that if the accountant provides services to our clients within six months of leaving, he will pay us the profits from such an engagement which are stipulated to be 75% of gross...
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About
Published by attorneys in Dorsey’s Labor & Employment practice group, the Quirky Questions blog addresses the unanticipated and unconventional employment questions.
Our goal is to help executives, managers, in-house counsel, and human resources professionals construct an appropriate response and devise a creative solution to the problem presented.
Jack is a Partner in Dorsey’s Labor & Employment group, where he focuses his practice on employment advice, litigation, and traditional labor-law issues. In his advice practice, Jack helps clients avoid litigation and position themselves effectively in case an employee does bring a claim. When counseling employers, Jack draws both from his legal experience and from the practical experience gained in his first career as a print reporter and newsroom manager, including service as a regional correspondent for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C., as a reporter and editor for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, and as the manager and editor of a suburban news team for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Employers turn to Gabrielle for guidance on how they...
Disclaimer
This blog is not legal advice, but contains general information not applicable to specific matters. We are not acting as your legal counsel unless separately retained in a written agreement signed by us.