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Some Florida employers have employees sign non-compete agreements as a condition of employment. Florida law recognizes and enforces these agreements so long as they are valid and their terms are reasonable.

Employers often have legitimate business reasons to impose non-competes. While the following overview can give you an understanding of how the law determines the legitimacy of a given provision, consulting an attorney is the best way to learn more about your rights in a particular agreement.

Technical requirements

A non-compete agreement is only enforceable if it is in writing and has your signature. Oral agreements are not valid even if there is evidence of their existence.

Effect on employee not a reason to refuse to enforce

The Florida statute specifically states that any resulting economic hardship to the employee is not a reason to invalidate a non-compete provision, even if the employee can show it actually prevents him or her from earning a living.

Agreement must protect legitimate business interests

The employer must also be able to produce legitimate reasons why the the non-compete clause is necessary to protect the company’s business. Some examples of valid business interests a clause may protect include a client database, customer relationships, confidential information, trade secrets, or proprietary training or techniques. A business owner may protect him or herself from an employee who leaves the company, goes to work for a competitor and shares important information with that competitor. However, Florida courts tend to examine the substantiality of alleged business reasons rather then just take the employer’s word for their importance.

Terms must be reasonable

Agreements must also be reasonable in terms of the time, geographic area and type of business they restrict. Generally, failure to be specific about these items or specifying an indefinite term may result in an unenforceable provision.

Most agreements setting a time of under six months qualify as reasonable, while agreements that set a time of over two years are considered unreasonable. Under most circumstances, courts will not find a term of less than two years unenforceable. The reasonableness of geographic limits generally depends on whether the employer actually does business within these limits.

Discrimination against women in high-tech jobs has been getting more attention lately thanks to media reports that reveal an ingrained culture of bias and harassment. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has compiled data that indicates these stories may be just the tip of the iceberg.

Studies show that discrimination against women and minority groups has created an “overwhelming dominance of white men” in tech fields.

Underrepresented

When it comes to leadership positions, women are not well-represented. Nearly 80 percent of senior officers and managers are men, while just over 20 percent are women. Even among the lower officer and managerial positions, women only make up 30.1 percent of the total. Women in professional positions represent almost 32 percent, while roughly 24 percent of the technicians are female.

Some claim these numbers are so low because there are not enough qualified women applying for the jobs. However, data comparing the rate of graduations of females and males with bachelor’s degrees and higher indicate that this should not be the case.

Undervalued

According to some reports, many tech companies hire women to raise the appearance of diversity within the organization but never have any intention of using their talents. In one survey, women who were hired into tech jobs said their employers questioned their expertise and discounted their successes, and two-thirds stated that they had to continually prove themselves.

In another study, 80 percent of American women in these industries claim to love the work they do, but 32 percent admit to feeling as if their careers are unlikely to advance, and are considering leaving the field. Pay discrepancies show men earning 11 to 25 percent more than women in the same positions.

Many women say that they fear retaliation, not just from their employers, but from the industry as a whole, if they speak up. Some, though, have chosen to fight back against the male-dominated culture by publicly sharing their stories, filing complaints with the EEOC and taking their employers to court.

Many people sign employment contracts when they start a new job — especially when they go to work for a new company. In evaluating such a contract, the more you know about what these contracts normally include the better.

With this in mind, let’s review the basic parts of a good employment contract:

• A definition of the job: Your employment contract should tell you exactly what your job requirements are. These should include the essential duties and name of your position. This definition will also need to clarify the hours you will work and where you will work.
• How long the agreement lasts: Your employment contract should clarify how long the agreement is good for. It should also have timetables for noncompetition clauses, how much notice you should provide before ending your employment and other timetables.
• Performance expectations: Your performance requirements need to be detailed in your contract. In addition, your contract should detail performance metrics that will be used to measure your success as an employee.
• Compensation: Most importantly from your perspective, your contract needs to clarify exactly how much you will receive as payment and compensation. This includes hourly wages, yearly salary and/or commissions that you should expect to receive — in addition to other benefits like health benefits, company perks, retirement savings plans and other extras.

There are other important things that your employment contract should include, like guidelines for the circumstances under which your employment could be terminated. By discussing your employment contract with an experienced employment law attorney before signing the document, you can ensure that your legal rights are protected. Check out our website for more information.

Sexual harassment is an awful scourge that has affected American society for far too long. Fortunately, nearly all large companies have adopted zero-tolerance sexual harassment policies. Nevertheless, with all the attention on sexual harassment, other forms of harassment often go unchecked, and these forms of harassment can be just as harmful.

A small team of academic researchers has been studying what they call “uncivil experiences” endured by over 2,400 employees, executives and managers located in Canada and the United States. After eight years of research, the team determined that numerous employees are experiencing forms of harassment that largely remain undetected, but are just as damaging to workplace turnover and workplace productivity. The researchers feel that corporations should try to eradicate these “uncivil experiences” from the daily lives of their employees.

Here are characteristic examples of workplace incivility:

• Bosses being unkind to subordinates and reprimanding them in too strong a fashion.
• Fellow workers purposefully not helping their coworkers who are in crisis situations.
• Spreading rumors about other colleagues.
• Any retaliatory behavior meant to harm another employee.
• Often it’s covert and under the radar.
• Sometimes it’s visible so that the employee gets publicly embarrassed.

Putting up with this kind of abuse may cause workers enormous stress and enormous losses in workplace productivity. In many cases, workers have no recourse. In order to put a stop to hidden harassment, they’re forced to quit their jobs. Managers and company executives are therefore encouraged to create zero tolerance policies for incivility in the workplace and to diligently watch out for signs of such behavior among their employees.

Are you being subjected to incivility at your workplace? By speaking with an employment law attorney who assists victims of workplace discrimination and harassment, you can learn about your legal rights and options.

Source: Havard Business Review, “Hidden harassment,” accessed Aug. 25, 2017

Anyone who has been watching the news lately has seen issues relating to racial relations in the United States reaching what appears to be a climax. The stress and tension in the air is so thick that you could cut it with a knife. However, we all continue to go to our jobs every day, and we continue the best we can to fulfill our work responsibilities, no matter our race, gender, sexual orientation, sex or creed.

During a time like this, while fulfilling their daily responsibilities, many Florida workers may be especially sensitive to any kinds of discrimination they are experiencing on the job. Some workers might be tuning into an ever-present sense that they are treated differently, that they don’t receive the same opportunities as fellow employees, that they are being paid less, or that they are being harassed for superficial reasons that don’t have anything to do with who they really are.

Racial discrimination can be insidious, it can be under the surface and it can be highly destructive to a Florida employee’s career, level of income and happiness. For example, if you are being denied opportunities on your job, you and your family will suffer the consequences. If you’re receiving unequal pay, you might not be able to give your children the same quality of life. If you’re being ridiculed or harassed because of your race or religion, these stresses could create disharmony and unhappiness in your marital life.

Fortunately, no Florida employee needs to put up with workplace discrimination. Those who are being denied their employment rights and discriminated against can pursue financial restitution and justice in court.

Source: Law Offices of Gary A. Costales, PA, “Discrimination,” accessed Aug. 18, 2017

One of the best ways to prevent workplace discrimination in Florida businesses involves the setting up of an anti-discrimination policy. Having such a policy in place will allow employees to feel safe that — even if they do become the victims of discrimination on the job — they will be able to file a complaint without fear of reprisal, and that a plan of action exists for how to manage the complaint.

Every Florida workplace should have an anti-discrimination policy in place to limit the chances that employees could find themselves being discriminated against. There are several things that the anti-discrimination policy needs to include in this regard:

• Clear and concise language that employees can understand easily without confusion.
• Explicit and broad language stating that the company prohibits discrimination and harassment in all forms at the workplace.
• Clearly defined descriptions about what constitutes harassment and discrimination. These descriptions should identify types of discrimination and harassment that are prohibited such as religious, sex, age, race, sexual preference, etc. Examples of instances of discrimination and harassment are very useful.
• A description about what kinds of protections are offered outside the workplace. For example, the anti-discrimination policy should cover the employees, both in the workplace and at off-site meetings, sponsored events and holiday parties.
• There should also be disciplinary provisions to punish employees that engage in discriminatory or harassing behaviors, and anti-retaliatory provisions to protect employees that file a report that they have been discriminated against.
• Employees should be encouraged to make complaints and not to be afraid to make those complaints.

Do you need to take care of a workplace discrimination matter? Were you wrongfully terminated because you complained of workplace discrimination? A Florida employment law attorney can assist you in evaluating your legal rights and options.