What is a confidentiality agreement?

by | Sep 16, 2016 | Business Litigation, Firm News

When businesses and companies of all sizes in Louisiana and elsewhere hire employees, they take steps to protect the interests of the company as well as all the employees working at the business. In order to do this, certain documents are signed when new employees are hired. One of these documents is known as a confidentiality agreement.

What is a confidentiality agreement? Because the business world can be a harsh world, businesses need to take extreme steps to ensure that private information of the company remains private. This means taking the extra steps to certify that employees are aware of this situation and will not share this confidential information with another party or another business.

Confidentiality agreements are also known as non-disclosure agreements, and these documents memorialize the agreement between the employer and employee that the employee will not share any secrets or sensitive information of the company to anyone. These documents are then signed and are considered a binding agreement. If an employer believes that an employee has breached a confidentiality agreement, this can lead to business litigation to hold the employee liable for this breach and any damages caused.

When a business dispute ensues regarding a confidentiality agreement, both parties will need to reach a resolution. This might require negotiation, mediation, arbitration, litigation or a combination of these methods. In some cases, the manners in which these disputes are handled are defined in the terms of the agreement.

Those dealing with this or other business law issues should understand their rights when it comes to resolving them. This will not only protect the business’s rights but also their interests. Moreover, this will prevent a business law matter from disrupting normal business activities.

Source: Buzzle.com, “Employee Confidentiality Agreement,” Arjun Kulkarni, Aug. 1, 2016