I did not let my employer know. I understand that sometimes there can be risks from a legal perspective but given the context I felt the risk was extremely low. Plus, it was none of their business. I'm still blown away that in this country (US) people that work for others have to sometimes worry about their jobs going after them for what they do outside of that job. It honestly sickens me.
To be fair, it makes sense in some circumstances. Would you want your employees taking your algorithms, trade secrets, insider knowledge and networking contacts to build a competing business while you are paying them at the same time?
