Employee theft of confidential information and trade secrets is a particularly vexing problem for employers. However, the recent New Jersey Supreme Court case, State v. Saavedra, decided on June 23, gave a glimmer of hope to the corporate world by ruling that employees who “steal” confidential documents, even if done solely to support an employment discrimination suit, can be held criminally liable for theft. But, before employers celebrate this decision, they must consider Saavedra in its proper context, among a group of New Jersey cases that define the contours of employer monitoring of employee online activity at work. In the grand scheme of New Jersey law, employers must carefully balance their duty and right to monitor against the associated risks and liability.
In State v. Saavedra, Ivonne Saavedra filed an employment discrimination suit against her employer, North Bergen Board of Education. During discovery, Saavedra produced documents that she obtained during her employment, which included students’ confidential medical and educational records. Upon receipt of these documents, the board reported the alleged theft to the county prosecutor. The prosecutor pressed charges and presented the matter to a grand jury. The grand jury indicted Saavedra for official misconduct and theft by unlawful taking. Saavedra moved to dismiss the criminal indictment, claiming that an earlier Supreme Court decision, Quinlan v. Curtiss-Wright, immunized her conduct because the documents she took, like the documents at issue in Quinlan, were for use in her employment discrimination lawsuit.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
