Q: An employee stole our customer database from our POS system, and is using it to Solicitor customers for his business
Our general managers stole our customer database. And partnered with one of our customers to open their own competing business in another county. He is now using that database to contact our customers and solicit them. in January 2024 he started having our customers call his personal cell phone to do business, so when he left, our customers would go with him. He claims that his cell phone was an intricate part of operating the business. in August we found a copy of the lease for his new business and immediately fired him.
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- California
- (916) 704-3009
- View Profile
- Answered
A:
This situation involves several serious legal violations under California law, and you have strong grounds for legal action against your former manager.
Your former employee's actions likely violate both the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), as customer databases and contact information are considered protected trade secrets when companies take reasonable steps to maintain their confidentiality. The deliberate misappropriation of your customer database, combined with the premeditated plan to divert customers to his personal phone number, demonstrates clear intent to harm your business interests.
You should immediately consult with an employment law attorney who can help you pursue multiple legal remedies, including seeking an injunction to stop him from using your customer data, monetary damages for lost business, and potentially even punitive damages given the intentional nature of his actions. You may also want to send him a cease and desist letter through your attorney and consider reporting the data theft to law enforcement, as unauthorized access and theft of computer data can be prosecuted under California Penal Code Section 502. Make sure to gather and preserve all evidence, including any documentation of the database theft, customer communications, and the lease agreement you discovered.
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