After termination, can I still keep in contact with clients I once provided in-home health care for?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
After termination, can I still keep in contact with clients I once provided in-home health care for?
I was recently fired from an in-home health care provider and was wondering if it is against the law for me to remain in contact with the clients.
Asked on August 3, 2011 Missouri
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You *may* have some difficulty with this. If you have not signed a no-solicitation or non-competition agreement, then at first glance, you could stay in touch with these clients. However, that said, a former employer may generally not use proprietary business information--including potentially client or customer lists--for his or her own benefit. If you also did not sign an confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement(s) providing that you would not use this information (e.g. client names, addresses, etc.), then there is a good chance you could stay in touch with these clients; on the other hand, if your former employer wanted to, it might be able to at least bring a cause of action or lawsuit against you, for improper use of propretiery information. Even if you won, you would have the cost and distraction of defending yourself. Therefore, in the absence of agreements to the contrary, it is likely, tbough not certain, that you could stay in touch with these clients, but you have to weigh whatever benefit that would give you against the possibility of having to defend yourself from legal action.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.