Sometimes business deals result in disagreements between business partners about the direction of the business. This includes cases where a business partner acts improperly by trying to usurp control of the business and oust or “freeze-out” other partners. An example of this occurred in recent case filed in Pennsylvania, Harvey v. Tidemark Partners 1 LP.…
Continue reading ›Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin.” The broad language of this statute makes employers susceptible to Title VII claims brought by employees. Most Title VII lawsuits are brought by members of a minority group. However, a member of a…
Continue reading ›It is important that businesses classifying workers as independent contractors ensure they are properly classified. Whether workers are independent contractors can have important implications for various federal and state statutes. For example, if a worker is an independent contractor, the business does not have to pay them overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Many…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements have received significant attention this year after the Federal Trade Commission issued a rule on April 23, 2024, banning most employee non-compete agreements. The rule was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. However, on August 20, 2024, a court in the United States District Court for the Northern District of…
Continue reading ›The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule banning most non-compete agreements continues to produce legal developments. Conflicting opinions were previously issued by a court in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and by a court in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In Ryan LLC v. FTC, Case…
Continue reading ›Developments regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) prohibition of non-compete agreements continue. Recently, a court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion for preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the ban in ATS Tree Services, LLC v. FTC, Case No. 2:24-CV-01743, 2024 WL 3511630 (E.D. Pa., July 23, 2024). This decision conflicts with…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements have been a standard business practice for many years. Businesses use non-compete agreements to protect their interests like proprietary business information, trade secrets, customer, goodwill, staff, and others. However, on April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) upended this long-standing business practice by issuing a rule banning most non-compete agreements. See 16…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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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