Trade secrets are a form of intellectual property that are maintained in secrecy. There is no bright line rule that the courts use to determine whether an employee should be enjoined from utilizing a corporation’s trade secrets. The courts must first determine whether the information in question constitutes a trade secret. Courts also look to…
Continue reading ›If an employer can successfully meet their burden and establish the necessary elements for a valid non-compete agreement, the court will likely grant an injunction to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests. The injunction will only be granted if it is determined that the former employee breached the valid non-compete agreement. Once this is determined,…
Continue reading ›Non-compete agreements serve to protect an employer’s business interests and prevent employees from engaging in unfair competition. When a business sells its assets, merges with another company, or dissolves entirely, the ability to assign a non-compete agreement is affected differently. Peter Mavrick is a Fort Lauderdale non-compete lawyer who has extensive experience dealing with non-compete…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›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…
Continue reading ›
