Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida
This might be an odd posts, but it has been a stressful time since I left my last IT job. They recently sent me a letter from the lawyers saying I broke the non compete agreement I signed when I worked for the company and have caused 7,500 dollars in damaged because of it and they are giving me 10 days to pay that otherwise they will take further actions. So this is what happened.. They paid me very little and I had an idea to start a side gig fixing home PCs and never officially ever starting anything, never registered anything, never worked on anyones computer once, and they are saying I started a competiting IT company while working for them and used their phone for the business that I never started. It was strictly an idea and never officially started anything. I simply made a logo and someone from my work must have told them I had a business when I worked for them. They were really mad I left and the CEO told me how disappointed he was in me when I gave the 2 weeks notice. And my last paycheck they deposited it and then reversed it and then I had to bug them all day to get the money they owed. I never experienced anything like this before... Do they have a chance to actually pull this off even if I never started any business and I simply just had an idea then I posted it on internet but it have been deleted. Have any of you had this happen before? And do you know how they can prove this caused 7,500 + in damage somehow? It all seems really crazy to me.
2 Answers from Attorneys
It is crazy and they would need to prove their case. It appears that they cannot prove anyting. If a suit is brought you will need to hire an attorney to defend against it. Non-compete clauses in employment contracts are enforceable as long as they are not unreasonable within the particular industry. Much research could be done just to determine if the clause in your case is enforceable. It could be invalid for one reason or another. An attorney can research the caselaw to make a determination. There might be some footwork you can do at the county courthouse law library in perhaps finding a treatise which includes non-compete clause research and cases. At least give it a try and see what you can find. I can do a lot of research right here in the office, but I charge money. Give me a call for a free consultation.
R. Jason de Groot, Esq.
386-337-8239
Your Non-compete is probably not enforceable and I have a hard time believing there is $7500 in damages. If you want more information on how to beat your non-compete check out our employee rights blog www.takethisjobnshoveitblog.com or our website www.behrenlaw.com. You can call our office for a consultation also. Thanks.
Scott Behren
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