Articles Posted in Employment Law

This article is part one of a two-part series on the commission-based employee overtime wage exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA, at 18 U.S.C. § 207, generally requires employees to be paid one and a half times their normally hourly rate when working more than forty hours in a week. However,…

Florida employers seeking an injunction to stop their former employees from engaging in competition in violation of a non-compete agreement must demonstrate specific criteria to a court or tribunal. Under Section 542.335, Florida Statutes, an employer must plead and prove several facts to be entitled to a temporary injunction against a former employee breaching a…

Employers may invoke the legal doctrine of judicial estoppel to prevent employees from suing their employers when those employees fail to disclose that claim in bankruptcy. In the recent case of Smith v. Haynes & Haynes P.C., 940 F.3d 635 (11th Cir. 2019), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which governs…

Florida law prohibits retaliation against an employee seeking worker compensation benefits. A recent Florida appellate decision allowed a worker compensation retaliation claim even though the employee never actually filed a worker compensation claim before termination of his employment. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale employment attorney who defends businesses and business owners against claims of…

An employee bringing a hostile work environment claim must show that the complained of conduct is sufficiently severe to claim unlawful discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act. Generally, courts consider factors that include whether the incidents are frequent, severe, physically threatening or humiliating, and interfere with…

To qualify as sexual harassment under Florida and Federal antidiscrimination laws, sexual conduct between employees must be so severe and pervasive that it alters the “terms and conditions” of employment. While it may be prudent for an employer to discourage sexual relationships between supervisors and employees, the mere fact that an employee has been the…

Certain types of employee complaints to an employer qualify as “protected activity.” An employer that responds to a protected complaint by terminating, demoting, or otherwise taking an adverse employment action against the employee risks being sued for retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Florida Civil Rights Act of…

While courts may allow employees to bring claims of “reverse discrimination” concerning sex, race, or religion, an employee may not bring a claim of “reverse” age discrimination under current interpretations of the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) or the Florida Civil Rights Act (“FCRA”). The different way that age is treated when contrasted…

Contracts that restrict or prohibit competition during or after the term of employment are enforceable, “so long as such contracts are reasonable in time, area, and line of business…” Florida Statute § 542.335. A non-compete provision that prohibits a doctor from seeing any patients from medical practice that formerly employed him/her, is not overbroad, provided…

The Florida Arbitration Code provides businesses with flexibility in resolving their conflicts through arbitration. Arbitration is an immensely popular method of conflict resolution for Florida business litigation and employment litigation. Arbitration can generally help resolve disputes more quickly than litigation. However, parties to arbitration sometimes need court intervention via “provisional remedies,” i.e., a court ruling…