IBM sues Microsoft over hiring of chief diversity officer

International Business Machines called foul on Microsoft’s hiring of its chief diversity officer in a case that elevates recruiting and promotion of an inclusive workforce to the level of safeguarding proprietary technology.

IBM claims the information that Lindsay-Rae McIntyre possesses — including confidential data about diversity, strategies and initiatives — can cause “real and immediate competitive harm” if she’s allowed to move immediately to Microsoft. IBM sued to enforce a one-year noncompetition agreement.

While the lawsuit highlights the contention that can ensue when a senior employee bolts for a rival, it also shines a light on the increasing role that diversity measures play in corporate America. Technology and financial companies have reserved those noncompetition fights in the past to employees who possessed key technical or strategic knowledge, not those entrusted to make decisions on hiring and the makeup of the workforce.

IBM is wrongly seeking to enforce an “overbroad” noncompetition clause against an employee who has taken no confidential information, McIntyre’s lawyers responded in court filings.

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/ibm-sues-microsoft-over-hiring-of-chief-diversity-officer/