Articles Posted in Employment Law

A party’s trade secrets are one of the categories of legitimate business interests protected by Florida’s non-compete statute, Section 542.335. Courts will enforce non-compete agreements to protect a party’s legitimate business interests if the interest qualifies as a trade secret under Florida law. In business litigation arising from a non-compete agreement, a common issue is…

Employers typically are not liable for alleged retaliatory acts against their current or former employees when the employee is not qualified for the employment position. This is true under both Florida and federal law governing retaliation claims. The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (FCRA) provides that it is unlawful for “an employer . .…

One of the main issues in trade secret litigation is whether the business can prove the statutory element that there was a “misappropriation” of its trade secrets. To qualify for protection under Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“FUTSA”) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), an employer must prove its trade secrets were acquired…

A frequent issue in business litigation is whether restrictive covenants in an employment contract are enforceable. “Florida statutory law (as a matter of public policy) does not allow a party to enforce a restrictive covenant unless it proves that enforcement is necessary to protect its legitimate business interests.” Evans v. Generic Sol. Eng’g, LLC, 178…

Parties generally have a duty to mitigate their damages under Florida law. A party’s “failure to mitigate” its damages is a defense commonly raised in employment litigation. “The doctrine of avoidance consequences, commonly referred to as a duty to mitigate damages, prevents a party from recovering those damages inflicted by a wrongdoer which the injured…

Respondeat superior is a common law doctrine which provides that an employer may be held liable for the actions of its employee if the employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment when committing the tortious or criminal act. Many businesses find themselves involved in litigation due to the actions of their…

In many cases, employers or managers make statements that do not qualify as sexual harassment as a matter of law, even though the statements may be viewed as inappropriate. To assess the best defense against an employee’s claim of sexual harassment, it is important to understand the types of sexual harassment under the law and…

The “first to breach” or “prior breach” doctrine is a commonly raised defense by employees in actions brought by their former employers to enforce restrictive covenants. Under Florida law, an employer’s prior breach of its employment contract may prohibit the employer from enforcing restrictive covenants under the same agreement. Employees typically raise the “prior breach”…

Non-compete agreements between employers and their employees sometimes contain “forum selection clauses” that dictate where subsequent lawsuits related to the non-compete agreement can be filed. Under Florida and federal law, forum-selection clauses are presumptively valid absent a “strong showing” that enforcement would be unfair or unreasonable under the circumstances. It is important for employers to…

Employees owe their current employers a duty of loyalty under Florida law. This duty of loyalty is a specific fiduciary duty that requires employees to act in the best interest of their current employers. One example of such a breach is where an employee who starts a competing business while still working for the employer.…