Preserving Your Trade Secrets: Exit Interviews

There are several steps you should take to preserve your company’s trade secrets when an employee  decides to leave the company.  All departing employees should be asked to participate in an exit interview to learn about the employees plans after departure and to secure company confidential or trade secret business information before departure and before the employee starts a new position elsewhere.  Here is a basic checklist covering the process in connection with an exit interview:

• Before the interview, work with  IT to determine if the departing employee recently accessed or used trade-secret information, particularly in an out-of-the-ordinary manner. If so, consult with an attorney, since it may be advisable to address this issue with the employee during the exit interview.
• Gather intelligence about his next job to determine the risk of unwanted disclosure.  Is the employee going to work for a competitor, supplier, or customer who may seek a commercial advantage from the employee’s knowledge or prior access to your company’s trade secrets?  What function or job role will the employee have at the new company?  Make sure to have contact information for the employee and the new employer.
• Confirm that the employee has returned all company information, documents and devices. You should be keeping an inventory of all company devices issued to the employee. Go through the inventory to make sure all company devices have been returned.  Ask whether the employee has any hard-copy documents or electronically stored information on his personal computer, devices, and storage medium. If so, give a set date for the return or destruction of the information.
• Remind the employee of applicable legal obligations before and after departure.  Provide the  employee with copies of any signed employment agreements and remind the employee of  noncompete, nonsolicitation, nondisclosure, and ongoing legal obligations to,keep designated information confidential.  Have the employee sign an acknowledgment form that confirms knowledge and understanding of continuing legal obligations,the return of all company devices, and the return or destruction of company documents and information.

Following this process will allow you to evaluate the risk that the departing employee will abscond with or disclose confidential proprietary information or trade secrets.

If the employee refuses to participate in the exit interview, is non-responsive during the interview, or refuses to identify the new employer, these are all red flags that your confidential company information and trade secrets are at risk of disclosure, and you may want to seek the advice of an attorney in taking the next steps to secure your company’s trade secrets.

To learn more about how CASTAYBERT PLLC can assist you in preserving and protecting trade secrets in the workplace, click here.

To learn more about CASTAYBERT PLLC’s Intellectual Property Law practice, click here.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.