moonlighting or stealing?

[Crispix]

I'm undercutting my employer by offering my services on the side at a lower rate. My moonlighting customers are totally separate from my employer's customers except for one. My boss doesn't know about it, but is it "stealing" to moonlight for an existing customer? The customer offered to pay me on the side, and I accepted. All work is done at home, with just an occaisional phone call or email while I'm at work, and I try to avoid that. I think my employer may be on to me. Can I be fired for misconduct? I'm under nondisclosure, and customer lists are confidential, but I'm not under a non-compete. This is in California.

 

[buddy2bear]

"I'm undercutting my employer by offering my services on the side at a lower rate." You don't think this is might be viewed as gross misconduct?

If you didn't think something was wrong with what you were doing, you wouldn't have posted here.

Yes, I think your employer can make a "case" for terminating you "for cause." He could also possibly sue you because you are using the company's confidential customer list to feather your own nest.

At any rate, I would never have done work "on the side" for a customer of my company. "A secret isn't a secret when more than one person knows about it."