Restrictive Covenants For Independent Contractor In Florida
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Independent contractors are not entitled to benefits from the company, such as health insurance or retirement, and are ineligible for unemployment benefits. Independent contractors are even exempt from employment discrimination laws governing wages and hours worked.
An employee can challenge a restrictive covenant if they believe it is unreasonable or prevents them from finding suitable employment. If the covenant is too broad or not essential to protecting the employer's business, it may be deemed unenforceable by the courts.
In the US, blue penciling commonly refers to the practice of modifying, narrowing, or deleting an unenforceable contract or contractual provision so that the remainder of the agreement is enforceable. It is often used by courts adjudicating challenges to restrictive covenants.
The blue pencil doctrine is a legal concept in common law countries in which a court finds that portions of a contract are void or unenforceable, but other portions of the contract are enforceable.
The Enforceability of Non-Compete Agreements in Florida In Florida, non-compete agreements are enforceable under Florida Statute 542.335, provided they are reasonable in terms of time, area, and line of business.
Florida courts have adopted the “blue pencil” approach to enforcing non-compete agreements and will revise or limit an overly broad non-compete provision to make the agreement reasonable.
Independent contractors are not entitled to benefits from the company, such as health insurance or retirement, and are ineligible for unemployment benefits. Independent contractors are even exempt from employment discrimination laws governing wages and hours worked.
A fourth middle ground option, adopted by some states, dubbed the “purple pencil,” is a hybrid of the reformation and red pencil approaches, requiring courts to strike a non-compete in its entirety unless the language reflects a clear good-faith intent to draft a reasonable restriction, in which case the court may ...
(1) Notwithstanding s. 542.18 and subsection (2), enforcement of contracts that restrict or prohibit competition during or after the term of restrictive covenants, so long as such contracts are reasonable in time, area, and line of business, is not prohibited.
It is also notable that Florida has the “blue pencil” rule. The “blue pencil” rule allows courts to modify an overly broad restrictive covenant to make its scope reasonable.
