Protecting Proprietary Information when an Employee Leaves

On the employee’s last day of employment with you, an exit interview should be conducted to discuss the practical and legal matters associated with his or her departure. If applicable, this includes reminding the employee of the non-disclosure agreement and/or the non-compete contract he or she signed. If such contracts were not signed, an employer should still inform the employee that your company’s trade secrets are protected and should not be disclosed. Further, you may want to ask the employee to sign an acknowledgement of his or her ongoing obligations and confirm that all company documents and records have been returned to you. If you discover that your employee has been hired by a competitor, you should confer with us as a precautionary measure.

Before the departing employee leaves the premises, you should confirm that any company devices provided to the employee as part of his or her employment has been returned. This includes cell phones, laptops, iPads and other similar types of devices. Again, you should have the employee sign a confirmation statement that all company devices were returned to you.

A departing employee’s access to the company network, email, file rooms or other restricted areas should be terminated. This includes having the employee return any access cards, passes or keys. If codes are used to gain entry into the building or other areas, the code should immediately be changed.

Your IT department should conduct an investigation to determine whether any improper downloads of information were made by the employee. If you discover such activity occurred, you should contact us to discuss your legal options.

If the departing employee had contact with clients, customers, vendors or other important third-parties, you should notify them that the employee is no longer working with you. It is important to provide the third-party with a new point of contact at your business.

If you have questions regarding the termination of an employee or any other business-related matter, please contact The Swenson Law Firm to schedule an initial consultation.

The post Protecting Proprietary Information when an Employee Leaves appeared first on The Swenson Law Firm - Providing Guidance and Protection to California Businesses and Employers.