• Blog Post

    IN THE MARKET FOR TRADE SECRETS

    In early March, retail grocery store company Aldi, Inc. filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of North Carolina against two former employees who joined rival company Lidl US.  The two former employees, Bruna Maraccini and Colleen Savory, are named as Defendants in the complaint.  Both were involved in the company’s real estate strategy and acquisition efforts, and are alleged to have misappropriated trade secrets of their former company for the benefit of their new company.  The complaint also alleges that Ms. Maraccini, who was a director of real estate for North Carolina and Virginia while at Aldi, violated confidentiality, non-compete, and non-solicitation agreements by accepting a similar position with…

  • Blog Post

    The Dos and Don’ts of Social Media and Your Job

    Misusing social media can get you fired if you’re not careful. It can also cost you a prospective job, scholarship, or enrollment at a university. If you post something incendiary, self-incriminating, racist, or anything that otherwise casts the company you work for in a bad light, you might be fired for it. When combing through stacks of resumes that all begin to look the same, some employers or admissions officers may turn to the social media of candidates and applicants for more information and finding questionable or incendiary content may cost you as well.   An increasing number of states are banning employers from requesting access to their employees’ and…

  • Blog Post

    A Primer on the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act: What Every Employer and Employee Should Know

    Overview     The North Carolina Department of Labor is charged with promoting the “health, safety, and general well-being” of more than 4 million workers in the state.   The Wage and Hour Bureau of the North Carolina Department of Labor enforces the Wage and Hour Act of North Carolina.[1]  This Act and its amendments protect employees by providing requirements regarding: (1) minimum wage; (2) overtime requirements; (3) wage (including bonus and commission) payments; (4) payments of promised benefits such as vacation pay; (5) child labor; and (6) recordkeeping.  The majority of all North Carolina employees are covered by the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (NCWHA), subject to a few…