“Garden Leaves” and Other Strategies to Protect Trade Secrets When Losing Employees

Layoffs and terminations continue regardless of whether the economy continues to skid along or moves towards more consistent growth.  Employers risk that those individuals they terminate will walk-down-the-street and join a key competitor, where they will divulge trade secrets among other highly confidential information that could be very detrimental if shared with the competition.   But, as each day passes, hopefully the more stale the information possessed by the employee becomes.  This is the case, for example, where the employee possesses key information regarding strategic planning initiatives. 

There may be ways to prevent key employees from walking down the street and sharing an employer’s trade secrets despite the uncertainty surrounding non-compete agreements.  This is the case even in states like California, where creative approaches to drafting post-termination restrictive covenants, including, “Garden Leave” provisions, can provide employers with some protections after the departure of key employees. 

Please join us for a special webinar that will discuss the viability of “Garden Leave” provisions in employment contracts, as well as other post-termination restrictive covenants.  The Crowell & Moring team will discuss the current state of the law in this area as well as strategies employers can employ to minimize the risk of loss of trade secrets and other confidential information when they lose employees.

Presenters include some of the most experienced attorneys in the field, and we hope you can join us.