Author: Dorsey & Whitney

A Matter of Protocol — Rules for Departing Brokers Trying to Solicit Former Clients

A Matter of Protocol — Rules for Departing Brokers Trying to Solicit Former Clients

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...

Quirky Question #283: They Stole Our Stuff, Can We Sue?

Question: My company recently terminated an employee, and we are very worried she accessed her email inappropriately in the days before she was fired. The timing of it all is … well, quirky. Here’s what happened: The employee’s manager met with her on a Friday and informed her that her performance was not acceptable, even after several earlier warnings to...

Quirky Question #281: Deploying the DTSA

Question: We believe our former employee recently stole some of our trade secrets and went to a competitor.  Can we rely on the Defend Trade Secrets Act to bring suit in federal court?

Quirky Question # 276: Ex-Employees Gone Rogue

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...

Question #275: Can We Take A Stand On Employees Sitting?

Question: Some of our retail company’s employees in California are demanding chairs to sit in while they work. Management thinks it appears unprofessional to have workers sitting, but I hear the employees might have a legal right to sit down. Should management take a stand?

Question #274: Opining on Obesity

Question: We have a large meat processing facility in Northern Minnesota. We were recently hiring for one of our positions in the plant requiring work with large mechanical equipment. Because we consider this position to be safety sensitive, we require candidates for this position to pass a medical examination prior to hire. One of the candidates for the open position...

Question #273: Crafting a Concrete Non-Compete

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,...

Question #272: Competing in California

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?

Quirky Question #267: An Equine Accommodation?

Question: Our employee regularly uses a service dog in our office, which helps him with stability and maintaining balance around the office, which can be challenging for him due to several medical conditions he has. However, yesterday he came in and said he would like to use a miniature horse as a service animal instead of the dog, because it...