An employee of a Bay Areas executive recruiting firm who left to start his own firm was sentenced to one year in prison after being found guilty of trade secret theft and unauthorized computer access crimes.  David Nosal was a former managing director at Korn/Ferry International and left in 2004 to start his own firm.  He was accused of having his former coworkers download customer lists and other secret information that he used in his new business venture.

A jury found Mr. Nosal guilty of computer fraud and unauthorized downloading of trade secrets last April.  In addition to the sentence of one year in prison, Mr. Nosal was ordered to pay a $60,000 fine and perform 400 hours of community service after his release.  A future hearing will be held to determine the amount of restitution he must pay to his former employer as a result of these crimes.

The Nosal case is an important reminder of the severity of trade secret misappropriation and the potential for criminal liabilities in addition to those remedies sought by a victim of trade secret theft in a civil court.  For more on the sentencing of Mr. Nosal, click here.

By:   Lizbeth V. West, Esq.

On January 6, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it has decided not to seek Supreme Court review of two U.S. Court of Appeals decisions invalidating the NLRB’s Notice Posting Rule, which would have required most private sector employers to post a notice of employee rights in the workplace.

However, in its announcement the NLRB stated that it remains committed to "ensuring that workers, businesses and labor organizations are informed of their rights and obligations under the National Labor Relations Act" and noted that the now-invalidated workplace poster is still available on its web site if employers wish to “voluntarily” disseminate it to their workforce.

Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will recognize automatic gratuities, a percentage automatically added to a restaurant bill, as a service charge, rather than a tip. The IRS ruling on automatic gratuities isn’t new. This was the result of a June 2012 tax ruling that was delayed to give restaurants and related businesses more time to comply.

Continue Reading Think You Are Leaving a Tip After a Nice Meal, Think Again; You May Be Leaving Someone’s Wages – IRS Ruling On Automatic Gratuity Begins January 2014

Upcoming Seminar: Employment Law Update

2013  – A Year in Review

2014 – An Interesting Year Ahead

Summary of Program

Join the attorneys from Weintraub Tobin’s Labor and Employment Group as they discuss important legal developments from 2013 and review the complexities of a number of new laws facing employers in 2014. 

Sacramento Date:    January 16, 2014

Time:   9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Location:  400 Capitol Mall, 11th Floor, Sacramento, CA

San Francisco Date:  January 23, 2014

Time:   9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Location:  475 Sansome Street, Suite 1800, San Francisco, CA

For more information, please visit our website at www.weintraub.com and click under "News and Events".

By: Meagan Christiansen

As has become a pattern each year, there are a number of new laws enacted in 2013 that will undoubtedly affect California employers in 2014. The attached is a brief description of the major new legislation and regulations that employers should look out for. Please do not hesitate to contact any one of Weintraub Tobin’s Labor and Employment attorneys for more information or assistance in determining which new laws apply to you.

Click here to read the full article.