What are my rights regarding a confidentiality agreement that my employer wants us to sign?
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What are my rights regarding a confidentiality agreement that my employer wants us to sign?
My employer decided to issue a confidentiality agreement to the staff after a new employee quit without notice because he found out some “confidential†information about the company. The agreement is based on a standard template popularly found online but I have questions about its legality because it was modified to include a clause that does not pertain to company privacy. One of the points included in the agreement is that employees are required to give a 2-3 weeks notice before quitting a position; this has nothing to do with confidentiality.
Asked on August 3, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Do you have an employment contract or union agreement that releases you from having to sign this type of document? Does company policy afford you any protection? Does making you sign constitute some from of actionable discriminatation? If you can answer no to all of the foregoing, then you either sign the agreement or face possible termintion (in fact an employer can fire an employee for any reason or no reason at all).
The fact is, employers can set the terms and conditions of the workplace much as they see fit. This is called "at will" employment". An employee can either agree to be bound buy those terms or conditions, quit or face dismissal.
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