4 ms·

I recently bought a second laptop for home, even though it was common at the company I work for to use your computer for work and pleasure. Under California em

by pearkes 14y ago

I recently bought a second laptop for home, even though it was common at the company I work for to use your computer for work and pleasure. Under California employment law, an employer can argue that they own anything created on company machines[1]. If you work on side projects, I think it's a worthy investment. [1] http://answers.onstartups.com/questions/19422/if-im-working-at-a-company-do-they-have-intellectual-property-rights-to-the-st/20126#20126 http://answers.onstartups.com/questions/19422/if-im-working-...

justinschuh 14y ago
Definitely. I'm comfortable using my employer-provided laptop to keep tabs on my personal email (and use multi-profile to keep it separate). However, if I was doing any side work at all I would keep it entirely off of my employer's systems and outside work hours, because my baseline assumption is that it belongs to your employer if you produced it with their resources or on their time.
jevinskie 14y ago
Careful! I believe they can still claim any work that is related to the company's field. Or is that just something that is commonly included in employment contracts?
- obviouslygreen 14y ago
  I recall this being present in IT contracts at least ten years ago, but some time around then people figured it out and started insisting on removing that section... though I actually personally saw something like this for the first time just last week. Fortunately, a client had just sent me the wrong form, but there's no way I would have signed it. It's just a matter of carefully reading contracts and making sure you know what you're getting yourself into.
- pearkes 14y ago
  You're right in my case. That being said, I have no interest in competing - it's more for side projects.
- maaku 14y ago
  No, although that is a common clause in employment contracts. The GP on the other hand is talking about the default ruling under California law. You're allowed side projects in the same field on your own time, so long as your contract doesn't say otherwise. (As always, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, etc.)
larrys 14y ago
"I recently bought a second laptop for home, even though it was common at the company I work for to use your computer for work and pleasure." Another option is to make your work laptop dual boot - either with the internal drive (partition) or with a portable external drive. If you have to return the laptop (with the internal drive partitioned) you can wipe that partition. Not necessary with the external drive option. For a practical matter (even under california employment law) they aren't going to know that you are doing this.

by pearkes 14y ago

justinschuh 14y ago

Definitely. I'm comfortable using my employer-provided laptop to keep tabs on my personal email (and use multi-profile to keep it separate). However, if I was doing any side work at all I would keep it entirely off of my employer's systems and outside work hours, because my baseline assumption is that it belongs to your employer if you produced it with their resources or on their time.

jevinskie 14y ago

Careful! I believe they can still claim any work that is related to the company's field. Or is that just something that is commonly included in employment contracts?

obviouslygreen 14y ago
I recall this being present in IT contracts at least ten years ago, but some time around then people figured it out and started insisting on removing that section... though I actually personally saw something like this for the first time just last week. Fortunately, a client had just sent me the wrong form, but there's no way I would have signed it. It's just a matter of carefully reading contracts and making sure you know what you're getting yourself into.
pearkes 14y ago
You're right in my case. That being said, I have no interest in competing - it's more for side projects.
maaku 14y ago
No, although that is a common clause in employment contracts. The GP on the other hand is talking about the default ruling under California law. You're allowed side projects in the same field on your own time, so long as your contract doesn't say otherwise. (As always, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, etc.)

larrys 14y ago

"I recently bought a second laptop for home, even though it was common at the company I work for to use your computer for work and pleasure." Another option is to make your work laptop dual boot - either with the internal drive (partition) or with a portable external drive. If you have to return the laptop (with the internal drive partitioned) you can wipe that partition. Not necessary with the external drive option. For a practical matter (even under california employment law) they aren't going to know that you are doing this.