Legal Question in Business Law in California

Conflict of Interest

I am a contractor in the state of California and I have one employee. This employee, without my knowledge, became licensed and started a business on paper and was actively looking for his own clients while he was working for me. He has stated that he would never attempt to contact my clients and solicit work, however, I did not think that he would not be up front with me about his endeavors either. I have temporarily suspended him, but I would like to know if I had any legal recourse as far as having him sign a non-compete and/or having him terminate his current cell phone number being that many of my clients have needed to contact him in the past regarding our service? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Andy


Asked on 2/11/09, 11:16 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Bryan C. Becker Your Lawyer for Life.

Re: Conflict of Interest

Andy,

If you are concerned you can ask him to sign a non-compete now, but be careful with the terms as this is an area of the law that has recently changed. With respect to his use of your client list, if you discover that he has solicated your current clients you may have a trade secret action against him. Finally, regarding the cell phone -- if it is a business phone you provide you can of course cancel it; however, if it is a personal phone it would be more difficult. You could always seek an injunction in conjunction with your trade secret suit, but again -- you would have to have some evidence that he has acted nefariously.

If you would like to discuss further, feel free to contact me.

Yours truly,

Bryan

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Answered on 2/12/09, 11:50 pm
Bryan C. Becker Your Lawyer for Life.

Re: Conflict of Interest

Andy,

If you are concerned you can ask him to sign a non-compete now, but be careful with the terms as this is an area of the law that has recently changed. With respect to his use of your client list, if you discover that he has solicited your current clients you may have a trade secret action against him. Finally, regarding the cell phone -- if it is a business phone you provide you can of course cancel it; however, if it is a personal phone it would be more difficult. You could always seek an injunction in conjunction with your trade secret suit, but again -- you would have to have some evidence that he has acted nefariously.

If you would like to discuss further, feel free to contact me.

Yours truly,

Bryan

Read more
Answered on 2/12/09, 11:50 pm


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