How to Discuss Confidential Company Documents

Every business has confidential data or processes that give it an an advantage over its competitors. This could be lists of customers that were created with a lot of effort and expense, unique pricing formulas, designs for products codes systems, and other inventions. The law protects companies by making these processes or documents confidential so that competitors do not have easy access to them.

There are a variety of administrative documents that need to remain private. This could include desk layouts, seating plans and internal procedures. There could also be confidential data on customers, such as sales numbers or confidential information from vendors. Last but not least, you may have personal information on employees, such as tax forms and pay stubs.

A nondisclosure agreement is the most effective method of protecting confidential documents of the company. However, you have to be extremely cautious when drafting the agreement and defining what information is confidential. Be very specific so that you prevent employees who are currently employed or former employees from claiming later that they did not know that the information was protected by confidentiality policies.

Be very specific about the duration of the nondisclosure agreement. It cannot be legally binding if the period is longer than is reasonable to safeguard the legitimate interests of a company or those that are “protectable”. Generally speaking, courts look at the circumstances and decide what is fair. If you are concerned about a particular employee, consider offering the promise of a raise or promotion in exchange for signing the www.dataroombusiness.com agreement. This could be enough to deflect any claims that you did not know the document was confidential.