These disputes usually begin with a departure. A high-producing salesperson resigns on a Friday and on Monday the firm's largest clients start calling to move their accounts. A project manager joins a competitor and a bid comes in that looks remarkably like the old employer's pricing. A business is sold and, a year later, the seller opens a new company across the street. Or an employee leaves, starts a new job, and receives a cease-and-desist letter claiming a non-compete the employee barely remembers signing.
Florida law in this area changed significantly in 2025 with the CHOICE Act, which created a separate track for certain high-earner agreements. Whether you are enforcing or defending, the agreement, the timing and the digital record decide most cases, and the digital record is the part most likely to be lost.
1. Locate the signed agreements
Find the signed non-compete, non-solicitation, confidentiality or garden leave agreement, together with any offer letter, equity or bonus plan, and sale-of-business documents that contain restrictions. Keep the signature page and any electronic signature record. Note the date signed, what was offered at the time, and any notice or acknowledgment that came with it.
2. Preserve devices and accounts at departure
For employers: when an employee gives notice, preserve the laptop, phone and accounts before they are reissued or wiped. Retain email, cloud storage, CRM and file-access logs. Consider forensic imaging by a qualified professional. For employees: return company property as required and do not take, forward or delete company files.
3. Identify what is actually confidential
Make a specific list of the information at issue: customer lists with contact and pricing details, formulas, bids, source code, vendor terms, marketing plans. For each item, note where it is stored, who had access, and what steps the company took to keep it secret, such as passwords, limited access, confidentiality markings and agreements.
4. Document customer relationships and goodwill
Employers should collect records showing the business's relationship with the customers in question: account histories, revenue by customer, and who developed the relationship. Employees should keep records of relationships they brought with them or developed independently, if they lawfully have them.
5. Track post-departure activity
Save announcements, social media posts, customer communications and any evidence of solicitation after the departure, with dates. Note lost accounts and the revenue tied to them.
6. Move quickly but carefully
Injunction relief depends on speed. Delay can weaken a request for emergency relief. At the same time, a cease-and-desist letter sent to a new employer can create its own exposure if it overstates the agreement, so have counsel review it first.
The Florida rules that matter
Restrictive covenants under § 542.335. A court "shall not enforce a restrictive covenant unless it is set forth in a writing signed by the person against whom enforcement is sought" (§ 542.335(1)(a)). The party seeking enforcement must plead and prove a legitimate business interest, such as trade secrets, "Valuable confidential business or professional information that otherwise does not qualify as trade secrets," substantial relationships with specific customers, goodwill tied to a specific area, or certain extraordinary training (§ 542.335(1)(b)), and that the restraint is "reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate business interest or interests" (§ 542.335(1)(c)). For an employee, a court "shall presume reasonable in time any restraint 6 months or less in duration" and presumes a restraint longer than two years unreasonable; for the sale of a business, the presumptions are three and seven years (§ 542.335(1)(d)). Restraints based on trade secrets carry presumptions of five and ten years (§ 542.335(1)(e)). "The violation of an enforceable restrictive covenant creates a presumption of irreparable injury" (§ 542.335(1)(j)), and the court may award fees to the prevailing party (§ 542.335(1)(k)).
The CHOICE Act. The Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act (§ 542.41 and following) covers agreements with a "covered employee," generally an employee or contractor earning more than twice the annual mean wage of the relevant Florida county, excluding health care practitioners (§ 542.43(3)). A covered noncompete may last "a period not to exceed 4 years" (§ 542.43(6)). To be enforceable, the employee must be advised "in writing, of the right to seek counsel before execution," receive the proposed agreement at least 7 days before the offer expires, and acknowledge in writing receipt of "confidential information or customer relationships" (§ 542.45(2), (3)). If the requirements are met, a court "must preliminarily enjoin a covered employee from providing services" to others during the restricted period, and the employee may obtain relief only by clear and convincing evidence on specified grounds (§ 542.45(5)). Covered garden leave agreements have their own rules (§ 542.44). Agreements that do not qualify remain under § 542.335.
Trade secrets. A trade secret is information that "Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known" and "Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy" (§ 688.002(4)). "Actual or threatened misappropriation may be enjoined" (§ 688.003(1)). Damages can include actual loss and unjust enrichment or a reasonable royalty, and for willful and malicious misappropriation, exemplary damages "not exceeding twice" the award (§ 688.004). "An action for misappropriation must be brought within 3 years after the misappropriation is discovered" or reasonably should have been, and a continuing misappropriation is a single claim (§ 688.007).
“shall not enforce a restrictive covenant unless it is set forth in a writing signed by the person against whom enforcement is sought”
§ 542.335.
“covered employee,”
§ 542.41
“Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known”
§ 688.002(4)
Your checklist
- Locate every signed restrictive covenant and the documents given with it.
- Preserve departing employees' devices, accounts and access logs.
- List the specific confidential information and the steps taken to protect it.
- Gather customer relationship and revenue records.
- Save evidence of post-departure solicitation, with dates.
- Determine whether the CHOICE Act or § 542.335 governs the agreement.
- Have counsel review any cease-and-desist letter before it goes out.
How we handle these cases
We represent employers and employees. On the enforcement side, we preserve the evidence, confirm the agreement meets the statutory requirements and move for injunctive relief when the facts support it. On the defense side, we test the agreement against the statute and look for a practical path that lets the client keep working. We handle these disputes throughout Florida. Meetings are by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789 to schedule a time to talk.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.