Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility

Our Epstein Becker Green colleague Angel Gomez, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment and Litigation practices, based in Los Angeles, wrote an article for Law360 titled "In Light of Snowden: How to Use Independent Contractors." (Read the full version - subscription required.)

Following is an excerpt:

Recent events connected with Edward Snowden have captured the world's attention. Snowden, an admitted leaker of national security secrets, was, at the time of the leaks, an employee of the well-known consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton — Booz Allen Hamilton was a ...

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently affirmed a preliminary injunction enforcing a five-year non-compete agreement against a former employee of a printing business. Why was a restriction of that length found to be reasonable?

A bill that would have changed Connecticut's non-compete law was vetoed by the Governor on Friday, July 12, 2013.

A California legislator recently introduced two bills in Congress which, if passed, could have profound effects for companies seeking to pursue claims relating to trade secrets and confidential information - one bill would create a new private right of action under federal law for trade secret theft, while the other bill would appear to limit plaintiffs' abilities to pursue existing remedies for computer fraud and abuse.

In Fifield v. Premier Dealer Services, Inc., an Illinois Appellate Court recently held that, absent other consideration, two years of employment is required for a restrictive covenant to be deemed supported by adequate consideration - even where the employee signed the restrictive covenant as a condition to his employment offer - and even where the employee voluntarily resigned.

In a recent case, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued the latest opinion regarding whether former employees violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act before they joined a competitor by downloading electronic information without authorized access.

A bill proposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives to regulate non-compete agreements and codify the common law has been modified to be applied only under circumstances of companies involved in mergers and acquisitions.

Over the last ten days, events unfolded in New Jersey that showed the Justice Department's federal trade secret enforcement initiative, which was announced in February 2013, to be one involving real action.

A recent federal case provides an example of how companies will be stuck with the terms of the restrictive covenants they implement, and may not be able later to interpret those covenants broadly.

A recent case stands as a reminder that there may be liability for writing an "overly zealous" - - and potentially inaccurate - - cease and desist letter.