Comments on: How to keep laid-off workers honest

By: Mike Harris, San Diego, CA

Mike Harris, San Diego, CA — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:22:38 +0000

As some have pointed out, the typical 'stick' approach has limitations. Try tying the return of company property to any severance or other benefits they're being offered. And lose the idea that sales people will give up their customer lists. Those lists are their lifeblood and it's a high IQ move to hold onto them.

By: Mike Harris, San Diego, CA

Mike Harris, San Diego, CA — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:15:48 +0000

Amanda, did you know 30,000 reporters lost their jobs last year? What's that tell you about the traditional news industry? Taking back the 'power' from greedy buggers will not create one extra dollar of demand in the marketplace. It's a dying industry so make sure you look at the trends before joining your next company or starting out on your own.

By: Grace Nyatome, Bloomfield, NJ

Grace Nyatome, Bloomfield, NJ — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:28:51 +0000

I have been laid of since March 2009.
I have visited banks for small loans and not one has responded. I need someone to help me expand my business. It is not easy to secure a job. I would like to do something that will benefit me and my family. Please help me.

By: Tom, Milwaukee WI

Tom, Milwaukee WI — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:19:48 +0000

Regarding Zwiestow's comment…you are confusing a "Non-Compete" with a "Non-Disclosure". A standard non-compete contract tries to restrict an employee or former employee from working in any capacity for another company within the same industry. Non-disclosures protect the property and processes of a business.

By: Zwiestow, Holly Springs, NC

Zwiestow, Holly Springs, NC — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:31:19 +0000

oh please. I've not heard a whinier bunch of people in a long while. A non-compete is standard practice in most if not all high-tech/biotech businesses. So the company is supposed to pay you to do work for it and then wave happily as you take all your work (which you were compensated to do, remmeber) and walk out the door with it? As a business owner I have every right to ask former employees to respect the intellectual property rights that were generated before or during their employment (they were paid for all work, remember)?

I'm sure that if any of you started your own company that you'd be more than happy if your key employees quit and started a new, competitive company with all the information you generated. Please.

And Amanda, you are correct. There should be no bailouts. Companies (including GM) should fail and go out of business if they cannot compete on a regular, non-subsidized playing field. This means all those employees lose their jobs anyway, but maybe someone in a failed company will think of a better way to do business, start a company, hire you, then ask you to (appropriately) sign a non-compete.

By: Tom, Milwaukee WI

Tom, Milwaukee WI — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:44:30 +0000

Non-competes are virtually un-enforceable…particularly if the employment is terminated by the employer (which is the scenario referenced in the original question). Do NOT rely on non-competes. Instead make sure you fully document all intellectual property, vital business data and processes. Protect it with trademarks, patents, copyrights, any measure you can. All employees should be submitting to Non-Disclosure Agreements, confidentiality agreements and should be made thoroughly aware that all work performed under the employment of the company belongs to the company outright.

Those items hold up in court and can/will result in monetary compensation.

By: c.wise

c.wise — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:48:49 +0000

just to comment on the discussion in general, if i were a customer of one of these firms, and had placed my trust and my companies future in anindividual,only to find out they had been laid off, i would no longer be a customer. i would stick with the person i trusted.

By: SalesPro

SalesPro — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:55:59 +0000

Smart employees gather data while they are happily employed. Any sales person that I know usually has all the customer lists that they need long before they are let go.

By: J.Paps, Miami, FL

J.Paps, Miami, FL — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:19:18 +0000

Wow, reading this Jim R. character makes me feel lucky by not having to face someone like him up until now. It is a shame people feel this way about an employer. Hey Jim R., do you speak out these thoughts at any point on your job interviews? not so huh? so you cheat!

By: Ben F Ranklin

Ben F Ranklin — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:44:38 +0000

If it's a well run business, it doesn't have to worry about getting employee's to sign non-competes, or any other such nonsense, does it… If a company has to use such tactics, consider working for a different firm…

By: Michael , Kansas City MO

Michael , Kansas City MO — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:40:19 +0000

I would never take anything from Sprint. The company's "trade secrets" and internal processes are the poster child of inefficiency.

By: Alex, Loudoun County, VA

Alex, Loudoun County, VA — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:15:42 +0000

An employee would typically sign an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) when they are hired, and not when they are fired.

IMHO to make an employee sign such an agreement when they are fired is unethical and demeaning, and is not "common sense", unless the employer gives some sort of compensation to keep company secrets (such as a sevarance package). Even though I've signed a NDA with my current employer, I really don't think they would hit me over the head with it if they gave me my walking papers.

I feel that this article was rather poorly written, as it seems biased towards an employer and not towards an employee.

By: Jim R

Jim R — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:36:28 +0000

Frack 'em. Steal everything you can as you are marched out the door. Steal all their physical property. Steal their client lists. Steal their intellectual capital. They don't give an d@mn about you, return the favor.

By: Scott, East Hanover, NJ

Scott, East Hanover, NJ — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:16:12 +0000

Justin shows that a thimble full of knowledge is dangerous. And using the 13th amendment as a defense to its enforcement? Wow. Absent the preence of fraud or duress, of course it will hold up in court. Shame on you Justin for holding yourself out to be someone with a brain and having common sense.

By: Amanda Brand

Amanda Brand — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:25:29 +0000

..Yes, not to mention the shock, fear and career loss after some of us spent years in building the company, pampering it like a little baby! I lost my Newspaper job a few days before Christmas! Terrific huh? As a single mother I had spend my whole life getting where and what i have today – only to slowly see it slip away by a bunch of arrogant, no-nothing corporate leaders whom do NOT deserve hiding behind "poor" economic times. Incompetence, corporate America are the single culprit for thousands like myself!!! When will we take back the power from these greedy buggers?!! No government bailouts for these companies!

By: C.D., Philadelphia, PA

C.D., Philadelphia, PA — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:12:43 +0000

To Kevin– slimy indeed, but what do you expect from corporate lawyers? They are paid to be slimy and assist companies even when it's to the detriment of their employees or customers or both. And yes, the non-compete stuff is bad advice not only because it's slimy but because it may not apply in a layoff situation, and it's only tangentally related to the original question.

By: terry Hendrickson, Greensburg PA

terry Hendrickson, Greensburg PA — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:16:21 +0000

As Rich K says, confidentiality agreements are almost standard for new hires.
I am in favor of confidentiality/non discosure agrrememnts as well as having a clearly defined policy on what data is covered.
As mentioned before, I have contracted with a large number of companies since entering the IT field and have signed confidentiality/non disclosure agreements as a mattter of course.
Most are reasonable.

The problem arises when companies require some one to sign an unreasonable contract to work there.
Altough these contracts are most likely unenforceable, the cost of fighting them can be high. Additionally, you new employer can be included in any litigation.

Companies can, and do, use these agreements to bully employees.

I will repeat my statement that reputable firms do not use these tatics.

I can only speak for myself, but I would not want to work for a company who would use these tatics. Based on first hand experience as well as talking with other in my field, companies requiring non compete agreements usually act unethically in other aspects of there business as well so why deal with them?

That being said, as a matter of ethics, taking trade secrets, customer lists and similar information from a previous employeer is unethical as well. That should go without saying

By: Jonh, La Jolla CA

Jonh, La Jolla CA — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:14:53 +0000

Ah… So not only do they fire me, they also restrict my capability to find job in future. Sounds soooo reasonable…

By: Rich K., Danbury, CT

Rich K., Danbury, CT — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:19:16 +0000

Confidentiality Agreements and Non-competes are commonplace new hire paperwork these days. However, no company would ever justify the expense of legal counsel to prevent someone from working for the competitor. Your thoughts are nice on paper, but don't translate to any workable practice in the real world.

Moreso, these two aforementioned documents generally apply in most states to situations where an employee quits voluntarily, not when he/she is laid off or fired.

By: Roger, Raleigh, NC

Roger, Raleigh, NC — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:56:39 +0000

Any worker with a brain cell would already have a personal database of all the contacts and clients from every job they ever had. We are all free agents in this corporate culture. Business intellegence is crucial in having a long and successful career.

There is very little unique company data that can't be reconstructed so I wouldn't worry about terminated employees walking off with company data. Unless you have a secret formula for a product, you spend too much energy worrying about this topic. Worry about the things you can control.