Employment Law

We advise Florida businesses on the full range of employment matters, from drafting the agreements and policies that define the employment relationship, to defending against claims when a dispute arises. Employment law touches every stage of the business relationship, and getting it right from the start reduces exposure at every stage that follows.

The businesses that handle employment matters well treat documentation as protection. The right agreements, policies, and procedures in place before a dispute arises determine the range of outcomes available when a dispute does arise.

• Employment Agreements: drafting agreements that define compensation, role, term, termination rights, and post-employment obligations.
• Contractor Agreements: drafting independent contractor agreements that properly classify the relationship, define scope of work, protect ownership of deliverables, and limit misclassification exposure.
• Employee Handbooks and Policies: drafting and reviewing handbooks and workplace policies that comply with Florida and federal employment law.
• Noncompete and Nonsolicitation Agreements: drafting restrictive covenant agreements supported by Florida law and pursuing enforcement when employees or contractors violate them.
• Termination and Severance: advising on termination decisions, drafting severance agreements and releases, and managing the legal risk of ending an employment relationship.

The employment relationship is defined from the moment an offer is made, and the documentation created at the hiring stage determines what the business can enforce and defend throughout the relationship. Offer letters that do not clearly define the role or compensation structure create ambiguity that may show up in disputes.

We advise on hiring practices, draft offer letters and employment agreements, and help businesses build an onboarding process that clearly defines the employment relationship from day one.

• Offer letters and employment agreements: defining role, compensation, term, and at-will status clearly from the start.
• Employee classification: correctly classifying employees as exempt or nonexempt under FLSA before pay practices create liability.
• Background check and preemployment screening compliance: meeting FCRA and Florida requirements regarding preemployment screening.
• Onboarding documentation and acknowledgments: building the paper trail that protects the business throughout the employment relationship.

Wage and hour violations are among the most common sources of employment liability for Florida businesses, and among the most preventable. Misclassification of employees as exempt, failure to track overtime correctly, and misclassification of workers as independent contractors are the most frequent issues we see.

We advise on Florida and federal wage and hour requirements, helping businesses align their pay practices with legal requirements before a Department of Labor audit or collective action lawsuit forces the issue.

• FLSA overtime and minimum wage compliance: ensuring pay practices meet federal requirements for all employee classifications.
• Employee vs. independent contractor classification: correctly classifying workers to avoid misclassification liability under federal and Florida law.
• Exempt and nonexempt classification reviews: auditing job duties and pay structures to confirm exemptions are properly applied.
• Wage claim defense and resolution: responding to Department of Labor investigations and defending against individual and collective wage claims.

Florida has specific statutory requirements for enforceable noncompete agreements, and agreements that do not meet those requirements are unenforceable. A departing employee taking clients, confidential information, or key employees is one of the most damaging events a business can face, and the enforceability of the noncompete determines the available remedies.

We draft noncompete, nonsolicitation, and nondisclosure agreements and pursue injunctive relief and damages when employees or contractors violate them.

• Noncompete agreements: drafted to support Florida’s specific requirements for enforceability, including legitimate business interest and reasonableness standards.
• Nonsolicitation of employees and customers: protecting the business's client relationships and workforce after a departure.
• Trade secret and confidential information protection: NDAs and confidentiality agreements that protect the business's proprietary information.
• Injunctive relief and enforcement litigation: pursuing emergency injunctive relief when a violation is occurring and pursuing damages when the violation has already caused harm.

How a termination is handled can determine whether it becomes a lawsuit. The documentation created at the time of termination, the separation agreement offered, and the process followed are the factors that shape the legal risk of every employment ending, whether voluntary or involuntary.

We advise on termination decisions, draft separation agreements and general releases, and help businesses manage the legal exposure of ending an employment relationship in a way that closes off future claims.

• Termination planning and documentation: building the record that supports the business's position if a claim follows.
• Separation agreements and general releases: drafting enforceable releases that resolve the employment relationship cleanly.
• WARN Act compliance: meeting federal and Florida advance notice requirements for layoffs and reductions in force.
• Severance negotiation and structuring: advising on severance terms that achieve a clean separation without creating additional liability.

Employment law counsel that understands how businesses actually operate is different from counsel that only responds to claims after they arrive. Most businesses need someone who can build the right documentation infrastructure from the start and respond decisively when a dispute arises, not just react after the fact.

Pomeranz Law provides practical, business-focused employment law counsel that helps Florida businesses manage the employment relationship at every stage and defend against claims when they arise.

• We draft agreements and policies that protect the business throughout the employment relationship, not just at the moment of signing.
• We advise on terminations before they happen, not after a claim has already been filed.
• We pursue noncompete enforcement with the urgency it requires, because injunctive relief moves fast or not at all.
• Transparent, practical counsel without the overhead of a large firm.