Regardless of industry or occupation, many employees have joined LinkedIn, which bills itself as the “world’s largest professional network.” LinkedIn provides each user with a webpage “account” where they can describe their current occupation, employer, skills and experience and other information related to their profession. In many cases, employees use their LinkedIn accounts to develop and maintain contacts with co-workers and their employer’s customers and suppliers. Some employers encourage such contacts as good for business.
The growth in membership and use of LinkedIn raises legal questions about how it interacts with an employee’s legal obligations under pre-existing restrictive covenant agreements that prohibit or restrict disclosure of confidential and proprietary information, competition and solicitation of customers or suppliers.
