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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Mendocino County
    Posts
    2

    Default Former Employee is Using Employer's Information to Open a Competing Business

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: California, Mendocino County.

    I am the new office manager of the vacation rental, I have realized the previous office manager that was training me at the time or was suppose to train me, quit 3 weeks after I started. During those three weeks, and the following month, I have discovered that the previous office manager had been in contact with one of our homeowner's towards the end of them quitting. That homeowner and previous office manager have set up their own website, used the vacation rental agency photo's of the house. The previous office manager was stealing all the renter information pertaining to that specific homeowner's vacation rentals.

    Let me go back in time. The previous office manager was originally hired as a housekeeper for 5 years before coming the office manager for 8 months. In that 8 month period, the previous office manager slowly started to steal their idea's and clients, to open up their own business and have the previous office manager, office based in the same community of the vacation rental agency, and the previous office manager home.

    The previous office manager has contacted private homeowner's and also repeat clients of the vacation rental agency, while she's been setting up her business and do house cleaning while she's unemployment at the same time. the previous office manager has stolen our clients, and homeowner information and client information home with her.

    Is this a crime? And if so, what should I do? I have raised this concern with the owner's of the vacation rental agency, and they are concerned and just don't know what to do.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Former Employee is Using Employer's Information to Open a Competing Business

    If there is a valid non-compete agreement, or if there is evidence that the former employee misappropriated confidential information such as customer lists, the business owner can consult their business lawyer to evaluate whether it is worth taking legal action against the former employee. If the picture being used on the former employee's website belongs to your employer, they can take appropriate action to protect their rights, from issuing a take-down notice to discussing other options with their lawyer.

    You have done your job by telling the owners what has happened. The rest is up to them.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    1,279

    Default Re: Former Employee is Using Employer's Information to Open a Competing Business

    Section 499(c) of the California Penal Code addresses the theft of trade secrets. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/f...ectionNum=499c.

    It is a complex law and not for the faint of heart. It can be hard to get a District Attorney to prosecute under this section because and it is often difficult to define whether the information pr items stolen fall within the legal definition of a trade secret. In addition, if there is any type of dispute over unpaid wages between the victim employer and suspect employee, I have seen one District Attorney decline to prosecute, writing the whole matter off as a civil dispute.

    OTOH, Section 3426 of the California Civil Code tells you how to address the matter civilly and provides a venue for stopping the other business from competing against you and for recovering damages. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/di...00&section=civ

    Again, it is complex and not for the faint of heart. You really need an attorney for this one.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Mendocino County
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Former Employee is Using Employer's Information to Open a Competing Business

    The previous office manager had access to all types of private information that we as office managers have to guard, such as credit card information, homeowner's information. We have proof that the homeowner that is working with the previous office manager seems to me to be willing to help with the theft by having her soliciting our renters in our other units.

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