14 DAY TRIAL // Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, Microsoft’s new chief diversity officer, is being sued by IBM, the former employer, for violating a year-long non-compete agreement.
McIntyre, who worked at IBM for more than 20 years, was appointed by Microsoft to “drive a multitude of existing cross-company initiatives to further Microsoft’s progress in building a diverse and inclusive culture.”
But IBM says in a lawsuit filed in a federal court in New York that McIntyre will use strategies and diversity data belonging to the company and which were labeled as confidential, thus violating a non-compete clause.
The court has already issued a temporary restraining order that prevents McIntyre from working for Microsoft until a final ruling is made.
“Lindsay Rae McIntyre was, until she abruptly resigned to compete against IBM, one of IBM’s most senior executives with knowledge of IBM’s most closely guarded and competitively sensitive strategic plans and recruitment initiatives,” the company said in the lawsuit.
First hearing to take place this month
“As Microsoft has admitted, disclosure of the very type of confidential information that McIntyre possesses – non-public diversity data, strategies, and initiatives – can cause real and immediate competitive harm.”
IBM points to a different case in which Microsoft itself struggled to secure diversity data, trying to prove that trade secrets need to be protected when employees change companies.
The company goes on to explain that by joining Microsoft, McIntyre would compete against IBM in the same executive job for the software giant, and no matter if she wants it or not, she will use and disclose the confidential and sensitive information that it knows from her previous job. This “would place IBM at a competitive disadvantage,” the company said.
Microsoft hasn’t issued a statement in this case, but the first hearing is set for February 22. In the meantime, McIntyre can’t work for Microsoft, and it’s believed the judge would rule in the favor of IBM.