Better yet, tell them what you're working on, and get a signed statement that they're cool with it. Informal agreements may not survive a change in management.

Better yet, tell them what you're working on, and get a signed statement that they're cool with it. Informal agreements may not survive a change in management. (It may be less important to take care of these details in California, where, as I understand it, state law generally keeps employers from claiming rights to what their employees do on their own time, with their own equipment. But the devil's in the details, and it's probably best to talk to a lawyer about the limits of those provisions before taking anything for granted. And most other states are far less friendly to employees than California...)