An Employee Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is a common contract in business that specifies the type of information that cannot be disclosed, allowing employees to understand better the information they should not share.
The agreement typically requires employees with advanced knowledge of confidential information to sign, and some companies make it standard for all employees.
Overall, an employee NDA is a contractual agreement between an employee and an employer that details the employee’s obligation not to disclose the company’s sensitive information without permission.
What Does an Employee NDA Protect?
- Business and marketing strategies
- Formulas and recipes
- Product plans
- Processes
- Computer software
- Vendor and customer lists
- Financial information
- Source code
- Intellectual property
When to Use an Employee NDA?
An Employee NDA is essential when sharing confidential information that you don’t want others to disclose or misuse. Here are key situations to consider:
- Employees with Access to Sensitive Data: If employees handle critical information—like client lists or trade secrets—an NDA can prevent them from sharing it with competitors.
- Working with Vendors: If you collaborate with vendors who need access to sensitive data, ensure they sign an NDA to protect your business information.
- Hiring Freelancers: To secure your business’s interests, an NDA is advisable for freelancers who access proprietary materials or intellectual property.
- Licensing Negotiations: Always have a signed NDA when discussing licensing your products. It safeguards your innovations from potential misuse.
- Any Confidential Sharing: Whenever you share valuable information, an NDA is a prudent measure to protect your company’s hard work.
In uncertain situations, opting for an NDA is a wise choice.
Understanding Employee NDAs
Before you start writing an NDA, you should make sure you understand the agreement and what it is you’re asking an employee to sign to ensure your confidential information is protected.
Defining Confidential Information
The NDA must define confidential information. This could include trade secrets, customer lists, business strategies, intellectual property, and financial data. A clear definition eliminates ambiguity and covers all business-critical items.
Scope
The agreement should outline how the employee is expected to handle confidential information. It should state whether the NDA covers verbal, written, or digital information and under what circumstances the employee can share or use the information—with third parties or post-employment discussions.
Term
The agreement should state how long the employee must keep the information confidential. Typically, this is for the duration of employment and 1 to 3 years after employment, although in cases of trade secrets, it may be indefinite.
Exceptions
There are circumstances where the obligation to keep confidential doesn’t apply. These can include information that becomes public without the employee’s fault, information known prior to signing the NDA, or disclosure required by law (e.g., court orders). Clearly stating these exceptions avoids confusion.
Previous Employment
Employees must be reminded of their duty to respect their former employer’s confidentiality. This provision prevents the use of another company’s proprietary information while employed and protects the current employer.
Third-Party Information
The document should also cover any confidential information obtained from third parties during employment to protect both the company and external clients or partners.
Company Property
Upon termination, employees must return all company property. This should be clearly stated in the NDA, employee handbook, and exit materials to avoid confusion and non-compliance.
Future Employers
The agreement should state that employees may still have obligations to their former employers even after they leave, particularly regarding confidential information. It should also allow the current employer to notify future employers of these ongoing obligations.
Legal Remedies
To protect confidential information, the NDA may allow the employer to seek legal remedies, including injunctions to prevent disclosure. This provision minimizes damage from breaches and reinforces the agreement.
Successors and Assigns
In the event of a change of company (e.g., merger or acquisition), the NDA can be assigned to the new entity without employee consent. This ensures continuity and enforces the agreement under new ownership.
Severability
A severability clause protects the NDA as a whole. If one section is found to be invalid, the rest of the agreement remains intact and enforceable.
Enforcement and Penalties
Make sure the NDA outlines the consequences of breaking the agreement, such as termination, financial penalties, or legal action. However, also know that some courts may not enforce overly harsh penalties, so balance is key.
Updates and Regular Reviews
Your NDA should not be a set-it-and-forget-it document. As your business evolves, the types of confidential information you need to protect may change. Regularly review and update the agreement to reflect new realities.
Employee NDA vs. Non-Compete Agreement
Both employee NDAs and non-compete agreements are contracts between an employer and an employee, but they have different purposes. The purpose of an employee NDA is to legally bind the employee to the secrecy of a company’s confidential information or trade secrets.
A non-compete agreement sets out a period during which the employee cannot work for a competing company, typically after terminating an employment contract.
What Should an Employee NDA Include?
Your Employee NDA should include the following information:
- The Parties: The contract should specify the company and the employee entering the contract.
- Information: The information and trade secrets the NDA protects should be well-defined.
- Time Frame: The duration that the contract is enforceable needs to be spelled out.
- Non-Compete Clause: This clause specifies the time the employee cannot directly compete with your company after terminating the relationship.
- Non-Solicitation Clause: This clause dictates that employees cannot be solicited from the company for another enterprise.
- Remedies: This section indicates remedies if the contract is breached.
- Notice: Because you’re dealing with proprietary information, you should include a section indicating how notice should be made if the employee discovers a breach in information, e.g., if the employee’s computer was hacked.
It is important to note that courts are reluctant to enforce broad non-compete clauses in employment contracts. To increase the likelihood of being enforced, your non-compete clause should be very narrow and as specific as possible regarding position, industry, and region.
An employee confidentiality agreement protects your interests while laying out the type of privacy your company information needs. These are becoming increasingly standard in business, and many employees sign them as a term of employment. However, employees should still ask themselves if they should sign an NDA.
How to Write an Employee NDA
To write an Employee NDA, you should follow the below steps:
Step 1 – Initial Details
Start with the date the agreement is being entered into and the name of the employer and employee. Then, include the position of the employee.
Step 2 – The Confidential Information
Next, you need to detail the information the employee NDA will protect. Whether it’s all information the company shares, only information marked ‘confidential,’ or specific information such as accounting information or marketing and sales plans.
Step 3 – Obligation to Maintain Confidentiality
You need to detail whether the confidential information must be protected indefinitely once the employee’s employment contract is terminated or if the NDA will remain in effect until a specific date or period.
Step 4 – Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation
If you want to include a non-compete clause, outline whether it is only when the employee works for the company or whether it’s from signing until a specific date. Do the same for a non-solicitation clause if you must include one.
Step 5 – Termination
Outline under what terms the NDA can terminate earlier, such as upon written agreement of both parties or the cessation of the employee’s employment.
Sample
Below, you can download an employee non-disclosure agreement in PDF or Word format:
Consequences of Not Having an Agreement
The consequences of not having an employee NDA can vary. It often depends on the type of industry and business model. It was once standard that businesses expected their employees to behave ethically. Believing in someone’s good nature might be more congenial in your personal life, but it’s not an effective strategy to protect your business.
Suppose an employee is not bound by an employee NDA. In that case, they can use the information they’ve learned through your company in various ways that can damage your reputation or impair your ability to compete in the marketplace.
Some consequences might include the following:
1. Using Proprietary Knowledge to Gain Employment Elsewhere: Many employees change jobs frequently. Without an NDA, your employee can use proprietary knowledge of your company to secure employment with a competitor. This also means your competition will have inside knowledge of your company.
2. Opening Their Enterprise Using Your Information: Employees could open their own business, taking customers and connections they’ve met through your business with them. They may even hire away some of your employees.
3. Using Client Information: Employees could use client information, such as mailing lists, in their future ventures. This might put you at risk legally or damage your relationship with clients.
4. Making Public Information That Damages Your Ability to Compete: An employee could make intimate knowledge of your company public through interviews or social media—although you should try to cover this in your social media policy. This might include information that would damage your marketing position.
Example: Tesla, Inc. v. Khatilov
In January 2021, Tesla sued Alex Khatilov, a new software engineer, for trade secret misappropriation just days after he was hired. Khatilov allegedly downloaded over 26,000 confidential files related to Tesla’s quality assurance processes and uploaded them to his personal Dropbox account without permission. When confronted, Khatilov tried to delete the files and block Tesla’s internal investigation.
Tesla obtained a temporary restraining order, and the court agreed that Tesla was likely to succeed on the merits. The order required Khatilov to return all stolen materials, preserve evidence, and not disseminate Tesla’s proprietary information. The case shows how important NDAs are in protecting trade secrets and swiftly taking action when violations occur.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Should You Use an Employee Non-Disclosure Agreement?
Many times, there are legal consequences for employees disclosing trade secrets and other confidential information, even without an NDA. However, suppose your employee has signed an NDA. In that case, you have additional legal actions available that may be easier to pursue, like action for breach of contract for violating the non-disclosure agreement.
The NDA can also serve as a guide for the employee to outline expectations regarding what information should be protected and how to protect that information so that you can adequately manage employee expectations and hopefully avoid a serious breach or future legal action.
When Are Non-Disclosure Agreements Signed by Employees Enforceable?
When non-disclosure agreements signed by employers are enforceable, it depends on your company’s state. State laws vary from state to state regarding employee NDAs, but most agreements may be enforceable if drafted and executed correctly. Also, for the non-disclosure to be legally valid, some form of consideration must be involved, like the employee being employed by the employer in exchange for the employee’s agreement under the NDA not to disclose confidential information or business trade secrets.
When Are Non-Disclosure Agreements Signed by Employees Unenforceable?
This varies from state to state due to state laws, but employee NDAs can be unenforceable for several reasons, such as:
- The language is too broad – If the employee NDA is too broad or restrictive, the courts could deem it unenforceable, particularly if it’s not limited in duration or scope.
- The information is public knowledge – if the information a company is trying to protect is widely disclosed or public knowledge, then it’s unlikely the NDA will hold up in court.
- The NDA is protecting something illegal – If the agreement requires the employee to do something illegal, such as remaining silent about some illegal activity, the NDA won’t be enforceable.
What Happens If a Confidentiality Agreement Is Breached?
If a confidentiality agreement is breached, the violator could be taken to court and could result in having to pay financial damages as well as legal costs. Typically, the breaching party must reimburse the other party for any losses caused by violating the confidentiality agreement. It can be hard to know what to do if someone breaks your NDA, but there are some steps you can take following a breach;
- Investigate and gather evidence
- Consult with your attorney
- Take legal action
How Long Does a Confidentiality Agreement Last?
A confidentiality agreement lasts as long as the disclosing party requires the information to be confidential. Typically, they last between one and five years but can be as long as required.
What Information Is Not Confidential?
Information that is not confidential is typically anything that is known publicly. Information that the other party already has access to before signing the agreement, information that has been received by reverse engineering, and information required to be disclosed by a court of competent jurisdiction or government agency are further examples of information that is not confidential.
When Do I Need an Employee Non-Disclosure Agreement?
It’s ideal to have an employee NDA signed upon hiring a new employee. In many cases, it is contained within a standard employment contract.
These contracts are enforceable because they meet set criteria:
- Terms of Contract: The terms of the contract are laid out so that the employee can see what standards they agree to uphold.
- Agreement of Contract: The employee agrees to the contract terms.
- Payment or Considerations: Some value must be exchanged to bind a contract. When hiring a new employee, the position and salary serve as considerations.
Some companies may not have all employees sign an NDA. In this case, the employee confidentiality agreement might be drawn up to be signed by employees when they are promoted to a position where one is deemed necessary. Payment should still be attached to these agreements, even when a current employee is asked to sign. Payment might include a raise or some form of bonus.