The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant shift to remote work has had substantial implications for the accessibility and privacy of company information. With the shift to remote and hybrid workplace models, information that was once physically stored in an office may now be electronically accessed and transmitted across accounts, network connections, and cloud sharing services. In this series of articles, we have addressed protection of trade secrets under New Jersey and federal law for companies that invent, manufacture, or supply original technologies or processes. Now we analyze how the increase in remote access has complicated the protection of trade secrets, flagging key issues to consider as many industries continue to embrace hybrid workplace models.    

Endurance of the Hybrid Work Model

The shift to hybrid workplace models seen during the COVID-19 global pandemic has endured. Twenty-five to 30% of the workforce plans to continue to work remotely for at least part of the week beyond the end of the pandemic. As of February 2022, 42% of remote-capable employees continued to work in a hybrid model and 39% of those employees worked entirely from home. The benefits of remote and hybrid work, including increased employee productivity and lower business costs, appear to drive the trend toward working from home.