Legal

Every business has secret information, such as customer lists and contracts. Some also have secret formulas, processes and methods used in production of goods vital to successful operation of the business. This information is considered a protected trade secret if it is a commercially valuable secret (guarded from disclosure), and not common knowledge.

Legal challenges an employer faces on hiring an employee begin with the interview process and continue long after an employee has been terminated from employment. From pre-employment inquiries to post-employment references, employers are confronted with a panoply of laws that regulate and restrict their ability to manage personnel. This article addresses what some refer to as the “Big Three,” including the Civil Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Question: If an employee enters into an agreement that obligates the company financially, and we did not give him permission to do so, do we have to honor it?

Answer: It depends on whether the counterparty to the contract justifiably relied on the employee having the authority to bind the company to the agreement.

The Internet is a marketplace, one in which virtually every business in the world can participate. It’s BIG business. For that reason, it’s a battleground. Businesses, products and services — and jobs and fortunes — are won and lost based on search engine results and web page views.