QUESTION
Can a confidentiality agreement include information that does not pertain to confidentiality?
Asked on Aug 03rd, 2015 on Employment Contracts - Florida
More details to this question:
Thank you for your time. My employer issued a confidentiality agreement after a new employee quit without notice because he found out some "confidential" information about the company. The agreement is a standard template popularly found online but it was modified to include a clause that does not pertain to company privacy. It states that employees are required to give a 2-3 weeks notice before quitting a position; this has nothing to do with confidentiality. The header stating the nature of the contract was removed¿the original template title reads: "Confidentiality Agreement." It also states that the company "reserves the right to take disciplinary action for violations of this agreement" but the possible disciplinary actions are not specified. Is this contract valid and is it even legal to modify it the way they did when the 2-3 notice is just a formality? Thank you!
1 ANSWER
You say the company "issued" an agreement, which is contradictory. By definition, an agreement means that two or more parties have mutually agreed upon something. If you don't agree, obviously you are not bound, although I recognize that you may feel you have no choice because you can't afford to lose your job.
Be that as it may, the agreement may or may not be enforceable based on many factors, but none of them relate to putting in a requirement of notice before quitting, or not specififying the disciplinary action which may be taken. Contracts can cover any number of subjects, and the headings of various provisions are generally irrelevant.
FYI, if the information is really confidential, i.e. a trade secret, employees are required to protect its confidentiality by law, regardless of whether there is a contract in place.
Answered on Aug 04th, 2015 at 10:18 AM