When you learn a former employee has stolen your trade secrets to take them across the street to benefit a competitor, your quickest remedy is to sue him and try to shut him down through an injunction. Oftentimes, the new employer is also sued because it may have helped him breach his agreement not to unfairly compete. An important consideration in deciding whether to sue the new employer and your competitor is whether it […]

If a company hires someone for full-time employment, it’s natural to want that person’s undivided attention. So it seems only reasonable that an employer can tell someone: “Hey, if we’re paying you for full-time work, you can’t work for anyone else.” Right?

Wrong. Labor Code §96(k) authorizes the Labor Commissioner to pursue “claims for loss of wages as the result of demotion, suspension, or discharge from employment for lawful conduct occurring during nonworking hours away […]