Florida Business Litigation Lawyer Blog

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law which makes it unlawful to discriminate against a job applicant or employee based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This article provides an overview of the Faragher-Ellerth defense and how it can protect employers against claims for sexual harassment…

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) establishes an employer’s obligations regarding the payment of overtime and minimum wages. The FLSA also contains various exemptions under which employees may not be entitled to overtime wages. One of these exemptions is the administrative exemption. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale employment lawyer who has extensive experience dealing…

The Florida Legislature enacted the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 with the intention of following the federal anti-discrimination law commonly known as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Both the Florida Civil Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibit certain types of employment discrimination. This article discusses…

Intellectual property is the foundation for innovation and ingenuity. Protecting your intellectual property rights, both as an individual or business, is essential to maintaining an economic advantage over your competitors. Trade secrets are one of the most controversial forms of intellectual property because the information is maintained in secrecy. By contrast, other intellectual property, such…

The Florida Civil Rights Act (“FCRA”) of 1992, Section 760.01, et. seq., Florida Statutes, was enacted to prohibit discriminatory practices against employees in the workplace. The statute itself states that it shall be “liberally construed.” Case law follows judicial decisions interpreting federal employment anti-discrimination laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of…

As a business owner, ensuring that your customer list is adequately protected can often be a challenging task. Employees who have direct access to a customer list can misappropriate that information and use it to compete directly against the business. Fortunately, a business’s customer list may qualify as a trade secret to justify the enforcement…

During discovery opposing parties request the production of relevant evidence and documents to encourage fair judicial proceedings and case settlements. Although the rules of both state and federal civil procedure are broad enough to encompass most discovery requests, not everything that a party requests is discoverable. There are certain objections and privileges that exist to…

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act attempts to redress workplace discrimination and sexual harassment. As an employer, it is important to understand the necessary action that must be taken to promptly correct sexual harassment claims in the workplace. One way employers can protect themselves is by providing employees with copies of their sexual harassment…

Restrictive covenants have become increasingly prevalent as a prophylactic measure to ensure adequate protection of an employer’s legitimate business interests. These restrictive covenants are generally found in the employee’s employment agreement. Historically, two Florida Statutes (F.S.) have governed the enforcement of restrictive covenants: (1) F.S. 542.33 and (2) F.S. 542.335. Although F.S. 542.18 provides that…

Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale non-compete attorney who regularly represent entrepreneurs who formerly were employed in a certain industry and are now seeking to start their own business in the same industry. Our law firm is often confronted with non-compete covenants, otherwise known as restrictive covenants, signed by the entrepreneur when he or she…