For certain business, their trade secrets and are their most valuable assets. Accordingly, businesses will often seek to protect their trade secrets in various ways, including the use of a non-disclosure agreement (commonly referred to as an “NDA”). An NDA is a contract that typically binds current and former employees…
Some businesses have experienced loss of customer relationships due to former employees taking customer relationships to competitors. The most obvious way to protect against such a situation is to ensure employees sign a restrictive covenant under Florida Statutes Section 542.335, commonly referred to as a non-compete agreement, prohibiting solicitation of…
Federal law and Florida law provide private causes of action for unauthorized access to computers. The federal law is called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), and imposes civil liability on those who “intentionally access[ ] a computer without authorization or exceed[ ] authorized access.” 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2).…
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,…
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…
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…
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,…
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.…
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…
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. …