Side Projects

UWOTC-CWA is seeking clarity around permitted side projects for workers. Current approval processes for side projects often receive blanket denials or go unanswered for long periods. Workers should be free to confidently engage in work clearly outside of scope. We should not fear legal retaliation from the company for work that is clearly our own.

In the US, especially in creative industries, it is very common for companies to include overly-broad contract terms that dictate ownership of employee IP generated while at the company. Companies are incentivized to have broad contracts, even where sections of them are invalidated by state or federal law.

This shouldn't be the norm. Some of these terms are restricted by state or federal law and aren't entirely enforceable, but the burden is placed entirely on workers to submit exemption requests or otherwise retain legal consultation in case of disputes. This is an undue burden and we believe WOTC can do significantly better here.

In the vast majority of cases, workers have a clear understanding that most work done on their own time does not conflict with any of the individual’s employment work. There should be clear guidance that allows employees to begin work in these areas without requiring approval from the company. Gray areas should be relatively small and easily resolved by a well defined and timely approval process.