Peter A. Steinmeyer, a Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Chicago office, authored an article in IPWatchdog, titled “Developing a Plan for Employee Departures in California.”
Following is an excerpt:
Although California employers generally cannot restrict an employee’s ability to work elsewhere, California employers can protect their trade secrets and confidential information. One pillar of a successful plan to do so is having an employee departure protocol.
The foundation of a solid employee departure protocol is the exit interview. Employers should know who will conduct it, when it will be held, and what will be covered.
There should be a written checklist for the exit interview, and it should cover threshold topics such as reminding the departing employee of his or her continuing confidentiality obligations, the return of company property and information stored on-site (e.g., access cards, laptops, and iPhones), and arrangements for the return and/or destruction of company property stored off-site.
