Noncompete agreements sometimes designate the laws of other states to govern the parties’ contractual obligations, even if the agreement is made in Florida. This is known as a choice of law provision. When these choice-of-law provisions are valid and enforceable, they can have significant repercussions on the results of noncompete…
Employees who are terminated because of their poor performance or conduct sometimes accuse their former employers of employment discrimination. Employment discrimination claims can be based on a variety of “protected categories,” such as race, national origin, sex, or age discrimination. Such claims are most commonly asserted under federal law (such…
While the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA) aim to ensure that disabled people are given adequate accommodations for their disability, both statutes only protect persons who are, or are perceived as, “disabled” as defined under the ADA. Some terminated employees have sued their former…
This article is part three of a three-part series concerning employer defense against class action certification of employment law claims. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale employment attorney, who also represents businesses in Miami and Palm Beach. The Mavrick Law Firm defends the interests of businesses and business owners in employment law…
This article is part two of a three-part series discussing how employers may successfully challenge class certification of lawsuits seeking overtime and minimum wages. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets forth a unique procedure of “collective actions,” instead of “class actions.” A collective action requires cumbersome procedures to…
This article is part of a three-part series discussing the ways that employers may defend against measures taken by employee-plaintiffs who sue their employers to bring in additional plaintiff-employees into the lawsuit. Part one of this series defines and distinguishes between Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions and class…
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…
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…
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…
Florida and New York’s non-compete laws are protective of business interests in customer relationships and goodwill. Due to the mobility of workers as well as the frequent overbreadth of non-compete covenants in today’s economy, there are often cases when the non-compete laws of more than one state may be implicated …