There are two specific situations in which an employee may be stopped from competing
with his former employer by the courts. First – even in the absence of a written
agreement – an employee owes a fiduciary duty of loyalty to his or her employer.
If the employee attempts to take confidential, proprietary information or misappropriate
trade secrets (such as recruiting customers while employed), then the employer may
be able to bring a suit for breach of these fiduciary duties. Second, an employee
cannot take and use the trade secrets of a former employer. That said, employers
are advised to require that employees sign confidentiality agreements and not solely
rely upon these common law duties.