Author: Stark & Stark

In recent news, the National Football League has proposed a new rule that would establish a yardage penalty for any on-field use of the “N-word.” The proposed rule has stirred up much debate: some legal, some cultural, some editorial, all polemical. It is not the purpose of this blog to step foot onto that gridiron of controversy, though a simple threshold question might be whether the use of the “N-word” on the playing field constitutes protected speech. Nor is it the purpose of this blog to evaluate whether Roger Goodell can impose such a rule in his “workplace.” Rather, the NFL’s proposal provides an opportunity to examine a private sector employer’s right to regulate speech in the workplace. Continue reading →

Employers eager to protect trade secrets perhaps face their toughest challenge when a key employee having knowledge thereof joins a competitor. Common sense (if not our criminal code) dictates against killing the former employee, but under what circumstances can the employee be precluded from jumping to the competition? An employer’s legitimate business interest in protecting its trade secrets cuts across industry lines, from wealth management groups with their books of business, to software development firms with newly created applications, to the local craft brewery with its new recipe for a seasonal IPA. All employers share the same concern: by what legal means can we prevent these best-kept secrets from getting out? Continue reading →