A cease and desist letter can mean many different things.
Some companies, will send a cease and desist letter to an ex-employee, in order to say “Hey, I think you are breaking your contract so WATCH IT.”
Other companies will hire an attorney to write a cease and desist letter to say the exact same thing, but with slightly more force.
Some companies send a cease and desist letter, wait to see if the ex-employee ceases, and then either (1) drops the whole thing if compliance occurs, or (2) files suit. Essentially in this case, the letter serves as a warning shot.
Occasionally, someone will send a cease and desist letter as a scare tactic, and if it doesn’t work, oh well, at least they tried.
So how do you know what your employer’s cease and desist letter means? You don’t until time passes and actions either change, or don’t.
You don’t have to send a letter before you sue someone. You can just run down to the Court house and sue them…. which means the cease and desist letter you received, could mean something very different than the one another Virginian receives.
Need help deciphering the language and planning a response? We would be happy to help.