Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility

California has long had the nation’s most stringent laws against restrictive covenants. On September 15, 2025, the California legislature increased the potential scope of those laws, and whether by intention or mistake, set the state on a path to change existing laws on retention bonuses for current employees.

New York is known for having many protections for its employees in the workplace, but a long-standing legal doctrine can furnish a remedy to employers with regard to employees who engage in repeated acts of disloyalty during their employment. The “faithless servant doctrine” permits an employer to “claw back” an employee’s compensation when an employee is found to be disloyal to the employer. While the doctrine may seem antiquated, it continues to have vitality.  For example, in March 2018, a New York appellate court confirmed an arbitration award that directed, based on ...

In Nedschroef Detroit Corp. et al. v. Bemas Enterprises et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed an award of nearly $3.7  million in damages against two individuals found to have engaged in misconduct related to the operation of a business which competed with their employer.

Nedschroef Detroit Corporation (“Nedschroef”) services and provides replacement parts for fastener machines made by an affiliate in Europe.  Without Nedschroef’s knowledge, two of its employees formed a business – under their wives’ names – to do exactly what ...

A former California State judge in an arbitration awarded nearly $1.7 million to an employer against its former employee based primarily on his acts taken going out the door.  His joking email with a co-worker after recruiting three others, characterizing their resignations as “Three bullets to the back of the head” of his employer, was clearly shooting himself in the foot in the eyes of the arbitrator.  The Award is interesting for many reasons - - the interplay between fiduciary duties and non-solicitation of employees provisions, the allowable damages when such a fiduciary duty ...