Chapter § 8.2

• Jurisdiction: New York

[8.2] What common law duties does the employee owe to the employer?

Decisions by New York courts recognize a number of common law duties that an employee owes to an employer.² These common law duties prohibit employees from acting in ways that, although not forbidden by any express understanding, would deprive the employer of the right to receive the intended benefits of the employment relationship.³ Simply put, an employee may not act against his or her employer's interest.

Related common law duties include: the duty to follow the employer's reasonable rules and directions; the duty to protect and preserve the employer's property (including its confidential information) and to return it when the employment ends; and the duty to devote sufficient time and attention to the employer's work and avoid any competing responsibilities.⁴

The employee's common law duties of loyalty, competence, and to protect the employer's confidential information are discussed in Sections 8.5 through 8.7 below.

Not every bad act by an employee necessarily violates a common law duty. It is only where the employee acts directly against the employer's interests--as in...