CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Job seekers with inside knowledge about their former employer could be getting some mail from their old boss.

Steve Dellinger, a Charlotte attorney specializing in employment law, said contracts which include disclosure agreements are common for top sales people, executives, and technology employees who have access to sensitive information about their company.

Companies will often remind employees about the contracts when a worker with proprietary information leaves their job, Dellinger said.

With thousands of recent layoffs, businesses are especially concerned about company secrets getting into the wrong hands, he said.

“You are entrusting individuals, especially high level executives, with a lot of information,” Dellinger told NewsChannel 36. “You want to be able to protect your proprietary interest.”

Bank of America is sending letters to some of its former workers, reminding them of agreements they signed while at the bank, according to The Charlotte Observer.

Finance company GMAC is expected to hire employees who have been employed at competing banks, including Bank of America.

GMAC’s CEO and other top executives came from Charlotte’s biggest bank.

Disputes involving former employees and the leaking of trade secrets to a competitor can lead to a lawsuit, Dellinger said.

In some cases, a judge can order ex-workers to pay damages to their former company, he said.

Dellinger suggested anyone with an employment agreement review the contract carefully before taking a new job.