A Florida Circuit Court judge sternly rebuked two former employees of a private South Florida provider of Autism treatment services who began competing illegally with a new employer – while still employed with their old...more
In a stunningly broad ruling that should send shivers down the spine of every home healthcare agency that uses an independent contractor workforce, a Florida federal court ruled on April 12 that a home healthcare worker who...more
4/20/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Misclassification ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
A Florida federal court just denied an employer’s effort to dismiss a disability discrimination claim filed by a legally blind applicant who alleges the employer asked improper pre-offer questions on its standard job...more
12/16/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Job Applicants ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Title I
In what can only be described as a complete flipping of the script in employment-related litigation, the owner and manager of a suburban Pittsburgh restaurant adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic have sued a former...more
Alright. So, you’ve battened down the hatches of your company’s premises, to protect your employees and your information. Employees are required to create secret computer passwords they’re not to share with anyone, even...more
Ever since Uber became part of our everyday world, the mandatory arbitration agreement it requires its independent contractor drivers to sign has been under constant scrutiny—and attack. A recent decision, however, fell in...more
3/7/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Ridesharing ,
Uber ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
By now, we are all too familiar with the issues and pitfalls associated with cybersecurity breaches in a multitude of industries. Consider Equifax, Home Depot, Yahoo or Target, to name a few. Those well-publicized incidents...more
2/21/2019
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hackers ,
Insurance Industry ,
Popular
Our client, we’ll call them Company X, provides installation, connection, upgrades and repairs for one of the country’s largest providers of residential and commercial television, telephone and Internet service. We’ll call...more
If you’re going to demote or terminate your in-house tech expert, you should plan that event very carefully.
Our firm is now helping a client with damage control and data recovery upon discovering – a week after their...more
3/26/2018
/ Chief Technology Officer (CTO) ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Former Employee ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Proprietary Information ,
Restraining Orders ,
Risk Mitigation
A decade ago, I litigated a trade secret/unfair competition dispute between two large plastics manufacturers. The Plaintiff was based in southwest Florida, the Defendant in southern Alabama. The factual dispute is...more
10/19/2017
/ Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Employment Policies ,
Hackers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Passwords ,
Proprietary Information ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unfair Competition
Virtually every thoughtful employer wants to hire the very best employees they can find. And why not? Good workers produce better products, provide better service, give maximum effort, learn and adopt the company’s best...more
In a somewhat surprising but positive development for gig companies, a Florida state appellate court ruled on February 1, 2017 that Uber drivers are independent contractors, NOT employees, and therefore not entitled to...more
Apparently, even a “no decision” decision by the U.S. Supreme Court can still establish precedent.
Relying on a Spring 2016 SCOTUS decision, a federal magistrate judge in California dismissed a proposed class action...more
Earlier this week, by a 6-2 vote, the Supreme Court issued a “no decision” decision on an issue important to employers facing class action litigation. The Court decided that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals needed to review...more
The question of whether referral sources constitute legitimate, protectable business interests under Florida's Covenants Against Unfair Competition statute, Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (2014), is likely heading to the Florida...more
Picture this scenario: a privately held dealership operates 16 stores in Southwest Florida. The company’s CFO tries to keep on top of how the finance managers, cashiers, parts managers, and others who handle money or property...more