Articles Posted in Labor – Employment Law

Florida law specifies, at Florida Statutes section 542.335, how and when a restrictive covenant (such as a non-compete agreement or non-solicitation agreement) may be enforced against a current or former employee. In a lawsuit to enforce an agreement that restricts or prohibits competition during or after the term of the restrictive covenants, section 542.335(1)(b) states…

The State of Florida enacted Florida Statutes Section 542.335 to allow non-compete agreements where there is a “legitimate business interest.” Two frequently cited “legitimate business interests” are confidential information and trade secrets. In an employment context, a non-compete agreement based on “[v]aluable confidential business or professional information” (referenced in Florida Statutes Section 542.335(1)(b)(2)), Florida law…

An important consideration when buying a business, whether via a stock purchase agreement or an asset purchase agreement, is whether the seller will take the sale proceeds and start a new, competing business. Typically, the seller would have a competitive advantage in competition with the new buyer of the business, due to such matters as…

Under Florida law, non-compete agreements between employers and employees are allowed when they comply with the requirements of Florida’s restrictive covenant statute, Section 542.335, Florida Statutes. For years, Florida law has allowed non-compete agreements to protect apparent “legitimate business interests” referenced in Section 542.335(1)(b), such as, for example, protecting an employer’s interests in retaining trade…

Most litigation over restrictive covenants are resolved at the conclusion of the temporary injunction hearing. At that stage, the trial judge has made a decision whether the plaintiff is substantially likely to succeed on the merits of the case. The parties usually are motivated to settle the case at that point. However, in some cases…

Florida’s non-compete statute goes hand-in-hand with Florida law prohibiting trade secret misappropriation. Under Florida’s statute governing non-compete agreements, a trade secret is a “legitimate business interest” to restrict employees and former employees from competing against their former employers. Florida Statutes § 542.335(1)(b)(1) (legitimate business includes “trade secrets”). A restrictive covenant in Florida is given an…

Florida law contains an explicit privilege against disclosure of alleged trade secrets. This trade secret privilege is set forth in Florida Statutes Section 90.506, which states in pertinent part: “A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent other persons from disclosing, a trade secret owned by that person if the allowance…

Title VII makes it an “unlawful employment practice for an employer . . . to discharge any individual . . . because of such individual’s religion.” Title VII defines religion as follows: “[t]he term ‘religion’ includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable…

Business litigation in Florida often involves claims for trade secret misappropriation under Florida’s Uniform Trade Secret Act (FUTSA) or the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). For liability to attach under DTSA or FUTSA, the trade secret information must be the fruit of a wrongful acquisition or misappropriation. Misappropriation of a trade secret occurs “where a…

Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision makes it “an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of [its] employees . . . because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by this subchapter, or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding,…