Ex-Employee

What is the name of your state? CA

Is anyone familiar with case law regarding how former employees can solicit confidential customers of their former employer if they obtain the contact info from an independent source?

Nice said:

What is the name of your state? CA

Is anyone familiar with case law regarding how former employees can solicit confidential customers of their former employer if they obtain the contact info from an independent source?

Click to expand...

My response:

You cannot "solicit" customers; however, a former employee (as well as a current employee) has the right to mail announcements of his or her new employment to the former employer's customers, even if their identities are trade secrets. Merely informing customers of a change in employment, without more, does not constitute solicitation. [Aetna Bldg. Maint. Co. v. West (1952) 39 Cal.2d 198, 203, 246 P.2d 11, 15]

Do you understand the difference?

IAAL

trade secrets

I am in California.

Thanks. I understand that an announcement and nothing more is not a solicitation. That's a great idea.

But can you answer me this...

If a loan officer quoted her babysitter a loan while working for company #1, and the babysitter declined the offer because it wasn't attractive... then the babysitter was no longer a prospect and was never a customer. Weeks pass and the loan officer refers the babysitter to a friend of hers that works at another mortgage company. The refering loan officer's company threatens to sue her (their own employee) for giving out trade secrets by refering her personal friend/babysitter to another lender.

Is refering your personal friend to another company "giving out trade secrets?"