Articles Posted in Employment Law

FORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: EQUITABLE TOLLING OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS
Mavrick Law Firm

The expiration of a non-compete period does not necessarily mean the covenant is unenforceable. A former employer may be able to enforce a non-compete against a former employee if the non-compete period expired and the non-compete period was tolled by the former employee’s violation of his restrictive covenant. Restrictive covenants, like non-compete agreements and non-solicitation…

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FORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: FLORIDA TRADE SECRETS CLAIMS PREEMPTION
Mavrick Law Firm

Florida employers who have non-compete agreements may enforce the restrictive covenants based on the legitimate business interest of trade secrets under Florida Statutes Section 542.335(1)(b)(1). Employers may also sue for misappropriation of trade secrets. However, employers sometimes sue former employees for common law claims that are related to misappropriation of company trade secrets. Such common…

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MIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: WHERE VIOLATIONS OF NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS CAUSE DEMISE OF A BUSINESS
Mavrick Law Firm

A former employee cannot avoid non-compete obligations by causing the demise of the business to whom he or she owes the obligation. Florida law requires the business that intends to enforce the restrictive covenant to establish a legitimate business interest justifying the restriction. Florida Statutes Section 542.335(c) states in pertinent part that, “[a] person seeking…

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FORT LAUDERDALE BUSINESS LITIGATION: COMPANY TRADE SECRETS ACCESSED VIA EMPLOYEES’ SMARTPHONES
Mavrick Law Firm

Employers beware: it is possible to invalidate trade secret protections if employees access your trade secrets using personal smartphones and other similar devices. The erosion of trade secret protections can occur even if the employer undertakes other, reasonable measures to protect those very same trade secrets. Most, if not all, trade secret statutes require the…

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MIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: NON-COMPETE AGREEMENTS BASED ON CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Mavrick Law Firm

Under Florida law, restrictive covenants are generally unenforceable under Florida law as restraints on trade. Section 541.18, Florida Statutes, states that “[e]very contract, combination or conspiracy in restrain of trade or commerce in this state is unlawful.” Precedent from the Supreme Court of Florida in White v. Mederi Caretenders Visiting Servs. of Se. Fla, LLC,…

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DEFENDING FLORIDA EMPLOYERS: CLAIMS ALLEGING INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
Mavrick Law Firm

Some Florida employers and their owners or managers have been sued for alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Supreme Court of Florida in Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. McCarson, 467 So.2d 277 (Fla. 1985), held that to prove intentional infliction of emotional distress, the plaintiff must prove (1) the defendant engaged in intentional or…

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DEFENDING FLORIDA EMPLOYERS: WHISTLEBLOWER ACT CLAIM AND CONSTRUCTIVE DISCHARGE
Mavrick Law Firm

Florida’s Whistleblower’s Act, governing private sector employers, prohibits the employer from taking “retaliatory personnel action” against an employee because the employee “[o]bjected to, or refused to participate in, any activity, policy, or practice of the employer which is in violation of a law, rule, or regulation.” Section 448.102(3), Florida Statutes. The statute defines “retaliatory personnel…

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DEFENDING FLORIDA EMPLOYERS: SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS ASSERTING HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT
Mavrick Law Firm

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by the Florida Civil Rights Act and under the federal civil rights law referred to as Title VII, so that an employee may assert a claim for sexual harassment under section 760.10, Florida Statutes. Although neither the Florida nor the Federal Civil Rights Acts specifically mention…

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DEFENDING FLORIDA EMPLOYERS: INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR EXEMPTION TO OVERTIME WAGE CLAIMS
Mavrick Law Firm

The Fair Labor Standards Act (often referred to as the “FLSA”) applies to “employees” but does not apply to “independent contractors.” The FLSA has an expansive definition of who constitutes an employee. At 29 U.S.C. section 203(e)1), the FLSA defines the term “employee” as “any individual employed by an employer.” The FLSA, at 29 U.S.C.…

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MIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: DEFEATING TRADE SECRETS AND NON-COMPETE CLAIMS BASED ON CUSTOMER LISTS
Mavrick Law Firm

Many non-compete agreements contain covenants asserting that the employer business has protectible trade secrets. A contractual provision where the parties agree, ex ante, that the employer will have (or actually has) a “trade secret” does not thereby mean the employer will have (or has) a trade secret in the future. As Florida’ Fourth District Court…

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