Hesse Regional Labor Court on the protection of trade secrets in unfair dismissal proceedings

Hesse Regional Labor Court, decision of October 13, 2025 – 18 Ta 699/25

The 18th Chamber of the Hesse Regional Labor Court had to rule on the possibility of trade secret protection in ongoing unfair dismissal proceedings under Section 273a of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO). The background to the decision was a dismissal dispute concerning extraordinary dismissal for disclosure of trade secrets and unauthorized secondary employment. The defendant requested that the information it had presented to justify the dismissal be classified as trade secrets and that access to the court documents and proceedings be restricted in order to protect them.

The court clarified that the new procedural protection of confidentiality also applies outside of classic trade secret disputes, meaning that measures to protect confidential information can also be requested in labor law proceedings for protection against dismissal. However, the protection afforded by Section 273a of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) requires that the information in question be identifiable and specifically demonstrable. A mere general description of how a surveillance method works is not sufficient.

I. Facts

The employer, part of the Deutsche Börse Group, terminated an employee's employment without notice, alternatively with notice, citing, among other things, that the employee had disclosed confidential information. In the subsequent unfair dismissal proceedings, after § 273a ZPO came into force, the employer requested that the information which the employee was alleged to have disclosed (specifically relating to a surveillance method) be classified as confidential and that access to written pleadings and exhibits be restricted, as well as that the public be partially excluded from the proceedings before the labor court.

The labor court rejected the motions: Although it is possible in principle to implement measures under Section 273a ZPO in labor court proceedings, in this specific case there was no information worthy of protection. In the case in question, the employer had only described the surveillance method in question in abstract terms.

II. Decision of the Hesse Regional Labor Court

The Regional Labor Court first emphasized the scope of Section 273a ZPO: Upon request, the court in civil proceedings, including labor court proceedings, may classify information as confidential and restrict access to it if it is credibly demonstrated that it may be a trade secret within the meaning of Section 2 No. 1 GeschGehG; there is no need for a "trade secret dispute" in the narrower sense. The standard is credibility, not full proof.

Measured against this standard, the employer failed: the functioning of the surveillance method was only described in abstract terms, without naming specific, reproducible pieces of information that distinguish it from standard market solutions. A "mode of operation" can only be information within the meaning of the GeschGehG if the description enables experts to reproduce it in an " " manner; mere buzzwords about data collection, AI use, and alert logic are not sufficient.

Nor does the blanket use of broad passages from written submissions and attachments replace the required identification. In particular, the court objects to the subsequent, extensive "re-classification as confidential" of the submission already filed without precisely identifying the information requiring confidentiality and without reference to specific, definable document content.

Consequence: Neither classification nor access restrictions were ordered; the appeal was dismissed with costs, and the appeal on points of law was not allowed.

III. Practical Information

Dismissals due to the disclosure of confidential information and unauthorized secondary employment or competition are not uncommon. One challenge is often to present the employee's violation in the dismissal protection proceedings without at the same time jeopardizing the confidentiality of sensitive information in the public dismissal protection proceedings.

The Hesse Regional Labor Court has now emphasized that protective measures under Section 273a of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) are also possible in labor law proceedings. Employers should take this into account at the outset of such proceedings and apply for the information to be classified as trade secrets in good time. From a procedural point of view, it is advisable to initially withhold information requiring confidentiality after Section 273a ZPO comes into force, to submit the classification application quickly, and to only disclose the information after an order has been issued in order to avoid uncontrolled dissemination. A comprehensive, retroactive classification of large parts of written submissions is generally not promising if the contents have already become public to the parties.

However, the LAG also emphasizes that protection can only be granted if the information in question is sufficiently specific and sensitive.