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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to employment agreements; creating 2
part I of ch. 542, F.S., entitled the "Florida 3
Antitrust Act of 1980"; creating part II of ch. 542, 4
F.S., entitled the "Florida Contracts Honoring 5
Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic 6
Growth (CHOICE) Act"; creating s. 542.41, F.S.; 7
providing a short title; creating s. 542.42, F.S.; 8
providing legislative findings; creating s. 542.43, 9
F.S.; defining terms; creating s. 542.44, F.S.; 10
providing applicability; providing that certain 11
covered garden leave agreements are not a restraint of 12
trade or an attempt to monopolize trade or commerce; 13
providing notice requirements for covered garden leave 14
agreements; providing that a covered employer may 15
waive any portion of such notice requirements by 16
providing a specified amount of advance written notice 17
to the covered employee; providing that covered garden 18
leave agreements do not affect other agreements; 19
requiring a court to enter a preliminary injunction to 20
stop covered employees, businesses, entities, or 21
individuals if a breach of a covered garden leave 22
agreement is alleged; authorizing the court to modify 23
such an injunction if a covered employee, business, 24
entity, or individual establishes certain information 25
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by clear and convincing evidence; requiring t hat 26
certain information be provided to the court under 27
seal; providing that a prevailing covered employer is 28
entitled to recover all available monetary damages for 29
all available claims; providing that a prevailing 30
party is entitled to reasonable attorney f ees and 31
costs; authorizing a covered employer to reduce the 32
salary or benefits of a covered employee if he or she 33
engages in gross misconduct; providing that such a 34
reduction is not a breach of the covered garden leave 35
agreement; creating s. 542.45, F.S.; providing 36
applicability; providing that certain covered 37
noncompete agreements are not a restraint of trade or 38
an attempt to monopolize trade or commerce; providing 39
notice requirements for covered noncompete agreements; 40
providing that covered noncompete agr eements do not 41
affect other agreements; requiring a court to enter a 42
preliminary injunction to stop covered employees, 43
businesses, entities, or individuals if a breach of a 44
covered noncompete agreement is alleged; authorizing 45
the court to modify such an in junction if a covered 46
employee, business, entity, or individual establishes 47
certain information by clear and convincing evidence; 48
requiring that certain information be provided to the 49
court under seal; providing that a prevailing covered 50
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employer is entitled to recover all available monetary 51
damages for all available claims; providing that a 52
prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney 53
fees and costs; authorizing a covered employer to 54
reduce the salary or benefits of a covered employee if 55
he or she engages in gross misconduct; providing that 56
such a reduction is not a breach of the covered 57
noncompete agreement; providing construction regarding 58
a restrictive covenant that does not meet the 59
definition of a covered garden leave agreement or a 60
covered noncompete agreement; amending ss. 542.15, 61
542.16, 542.17, 542.20, 542.22, 542.23, 542.235, 62
542.24, 542.25, 542.26, 542.27, 542.28, 542.29, 63
542.30, 542.31, 542.32, 542.33, 542.35, and 542.36, 64
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 65
act; providing an effective date. 66
67
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 68
69
Section 1. Part I of chapter 542, Florida Statutes, 70
consisting of ss. 542.15 -542.36, Florida Statutes, is created 71
and entitled the "Florida Antitrust Act of 1980." 72
Section 2. Part II of chapter 542, Florida Statutes, 73
consisting of ss. 542.41 -542.45, Florida Statutes, is created 74
and entitled the "Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, 75
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Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act." 76
542.41 Short title.—This part may be cited as the "Florida 77
Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and 78
Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act." 79
542.42 Legislative findings. —The Legislature finds that a 80
proper and legitimate state interest is served by enforcing 81
strong legal protections in contracts between employers and 82
contracted personnel which encourage optimal levels of 83
information sharing and training and development. The 84
Legislature further finds that alternative means of protecting 85
confidential informatio n and client relationships, such as 86
nondisclosure agreements, fixed -duration term contracts, and 87
nonsolicitation clauses in employment contracts, are inadequate 88
to protect against the significant global risks faced by 89
companies in this state. The Legislatu re further finds that 90
predictability in the enforcement of contracts described in this 91
part encourages investment in this state. Therefore, the 92
Legislature determines and declares that this part fulfills an 93
important state interest. 94
542.43 Definitions. —For the purposes of this part, the 95
term: 96
(1) "Annual mean wage of employees in Florida" or "annual 97
mean wage" means the most recent annual mean wage as calculated 98
by the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor 99
Statistics, or its successor calcul ation, for all occupations in 100
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this state. 101
(2) "Benefit" means access to health insurance, life 102
insurance, or disability insurance that is the same as or 103
similar to the insurance that a covered employee had access to 104
and at the same cost to that employee during the month before 105
the commencement of his or her notice period. 106
(3) "Covered employee" means an employee or individual 107
contractor who earns or is reasonably expected to earn a salary 108
greater than twice the annual mean wage, or who has access to 109
his or her employer's or client's confidential information or 110
customer relationships. The term does not include a person 111
classified as a medical professional as defined in s. 1006.0626. 112
(4) "Covered employer" means an entity or individual who 113
employs or engages a covered employee. 114
(5) "Covered garden leave agreement" means a written 115
agreement, or part of a written agreement, between a covered 116
employee and covered employer in which: 117
(a) The covered employee and covered employer agree to up 118
to, but no more than, 4 years of advance, express notice before 119
terminating the employment or contractor relationship; 120
(b) The covered employee agrees not to resign before the 121
end of such notice period; and 122
(c) The covered employer agrees to retain the covered 123
employee for the duration of such notice period and to continue 124
paying the covered employee the same salary and providing the 125
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same benefits that the covered employee received from the 126
covered employer in the last month before the commencement of 127
the notice period. The covered employer is not obligated to 128
provide discretionary incentive compensation or benefits or have 129
the covered employee continue performing any work during the 130
notice period. 131
(6) "Covered noncompete agreement" means a written 132
agreement, or a portion of a written agreement, between a 133
covered employee and a covered employer in which, for a period 134
not to exceed 4 years and within the geographic area defined in 135
the agreement, the covered e mployee agrees not to assume a role 136
with or for another business, entity, or individual: 137
(a) In which the covered employee would provide services 138
similar to the services provided to the covered employer during 139
the 3 years preceding the noncompete period; or 140
(b) In which it is reasonably likely the covered employee 141
would use the confidential information or customer relationships 142
of the covered employer. 143
(7) "Noncompete period" means the time from the covered 144
employee's termination of employment through the end of the 145
agreed-upon postemployment period of noncompetition as set forth 146
in the covered noncompete agreement. 147
(8) "Notice period" means the date from the covered 148
employee's or covered employer's written notice of intent to 149
terminate the covered e mployee's employment through the date of 150
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termination as set forth in a covered garden leave agreement. 151
(9) "Primary place of work" means the location where the 152
covered employee spends more work time than any other single 153
workplace. 154
(10) "Salary" means the base compensation, calculated on 155
an annualized basis, which a covered employer pays a covered 156
employee, including a base wage, a salary, a professional fee, 157
or other compensation for personal services, and the fair market 158
value of any benefit other tha n cash. Salary does not include 159
health care benefits, severance pay, retirement benefits, 160
expense reimbursement, distribution of earnings and profits not 161
included as compensation for personal services, discretionary 162
incentives or awards, or anticipated but indeterminable 163
compensation, including tips, bonuses, or commissions. 164
542.44 Covered garden leave agreement. — 165
(1) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to: 166
(a) A covered garden leave agreement with a covered 167
employee who maintains a primary place of w ork in this state, 168
regardless of any applicable choice of law provisions; or 169
(b) A covered garden leave agreement with a covered 170
employer whose principal place of business is in this state and 171
which employer is expressly governed by the laws of this stat e. 172
173
If any provision of this section is in conflict with any other 174
law, the provisions of this section shall govern. 175
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(2) RESTRAINT OF TRADE. —A covered garden leave agreement 176
does not violate public policy as a restraint of trade, as 177
described in s. 542.1 8, or an attempt to monopolize trade or 178
commerce in this state, as described in s. 542.19, and is fully 179
enforceable according to its terms, provided that: 180
(a) A covered employee was advised, in writing, of the 181
right to seek counsel prior to execution of the covered garden 182
leave agreement and was provided notice as described in 183
subsection (3); 184
(b) A covered employee acknowledges, in writing, receipt 185
of confidential information or customer relationships; and 186
(c) The covered garden leave agreement provid es that: 187
1. After the first 90 days of the notice period, the 188
covered employee does not have to provide services to the 189
covered employer; 190
2. The covered employee may engage in nonwork activities 191
at any time, including during normal business hours, duri ng the 192
remainder of the notice period; 193
3. The covered employee may, with the permission of the 194
covered employer, work for another employer while still employed 195
by the covered employer during the remainder of the notice 196
period; and 197
4. The garden leave a greement notice period may be reduced 198
during the notice period if the covered employer provides at 199
least 30 days' advance notice in writing to the covered 200
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employee. 201
(3) NOTICE.— 202
(a) A covered employer must provide a proposed covered 203
garden leave agreement to: 204
1. A prospective covered employee at least 7 days before 205
an offer of employment expires; or 206
2. A current covered employee at least 7 days before the 207
date that an offer to enter into a covered garden leave 208
agreement expires. 209
(b) A covered employer may, as provided for in the covered 210
garden leave agreement, shorten the term of the notice period at 211
any time during the notice period by providing at least 30 days' 212
advance notice in writing to the covered employee. 213
(4) OTHER AGREEMENTS. —This section does not affect or 214
limit the enforceability of any other employment agreement or 215
any other agreement. 216
(5) BREACH OF A COVERED GARDEN LEAVE AGREEMENT; REMEDIES. — 217
(a) Upon application by a covered employer seeking 218
enforcement of a covered garden leave agreement, a court must 219
preliminarily enjoin a covered employee from providing services 220
to any business, entity, or individual other than the covered 221
employer during the notice period. The court may modify or 222
dissolve the injunction only if the cove red employee establishes 223
by clear and convincing evidence that: 224
1. The covered employee will not perform, during the 225
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notice period, any work similar to the services provided to the 226
covered employer during the 3 -year period preceding the 227
commencement of the notice period, or use confidential 228
information or customer relationships of the covered employer; 229
or 230
2. The covered employer has failed to pay or provide the 231
salary and benefits provided for in the covered garden leave 232
agreement during the notice peri od and has had a reasonable 233
opportunity to cure the failure. 234
(b) Upon application by a covered employer seeking 235
enforcement of a covered garden leave agreement, a court must 236
preliminarily enjoin a business, an entity, or an individual 237
from engaging a covered employee during the covered employee's 238
notice period. The court may modify or dissolve the injunction 239
only if the business, entity, or individual establishes by clear 240
and convincing evidence, based on public or other 241
nonconfidential information, that: 242
1. The covered employee will not provide any services 243
similar to the services provided to the covered employer during 244
the 3-year period preceding the commencement of the notice 245
period, or use confidential information or customer 246
relationships of the cov ered employer; or 247
2. The business or individual seeking to employ or engage 248
the covered employee is not engaged in, and is not planning or 249
preparing to engage in, any business activity similar to that 250
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engaged in by the covered employer during the notice period. 251
252
Any information filed with the court which the covered employer 253
deems to be confidential must be filed under seal to protect 254
confidentiality or avoid substantial injury. A court must 255
presume that an employee or individual contractor has access to 256
confidential information or customer relationships if the 257
employee or individual contractor acknowledges the access or 258
receipt of such access in writing. 259
(c) The injunctive relief provided under this section is 260
not an exclusive remedy, and a prevailing c overed employer is 261
entitled to recover all available monetary damages for all 262
available claims. 263
(d) In any action to enforce this section, the prevailing 264
party is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs. 265
(e) If the covered employee engages in gr oss misconduct 266
against the covered employer, the covered employer may reduce 267
the salary or benefits of the covered employee or take other 268
appropriate action during the notice period, which reduction or 269
other action may not be considered a breach of the cov ered 270
garden leave agreement. 271
542.45 Covered noncompete agreements. — 272
(1) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to: 273
(a) A covered noncompete agreement with a covered employee 274
who maintains a primary place of work in this state, regardless 275
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of any applicable choice of law provisions; or 276
(b) A covered noncompete agreement with a covered employer 277
whose principal place of business is in this state and which 278
employer is expressly governed by the laws of this state. 279
280
In either case, if any provision of this se ction is in conflict 281
with any other law, the provisions of this section govern. 282
(2) RESTRAINT OF TRADE. —A covered noncompete agreement 283
does not violate public policy as a restraint of trade, as 284
described in s. 542.18, or an attempt to monopolize trade or 285
commerce in this state, as described in s. 542.19, and is fully 286
enforceable according to its terms, provided that: 287
(a) A covered employee was advised, in writing, of the 288
right to seek counsel prior to execution of the covered 289
noncompete agreement and wa s provided notice as described in 290
subsection (3); 291
(b) A covered employee acknowledges, in writing, receipt 292
of confidential information or customer relationships; and 293
(c) A covered noncompete agreement provides that the 294
noncompete period is reduced day -for-day by any nonworking 295
portion of the notice period, pursuant to a covered garden leave 296
agreement between the covered employee and the covered employer, 297
if applicable. 298
(3) NOTICE.—A covered employer must provide a proposed 299
covered noncompete agreement to: 300
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(a) A prospective covered employee at least 7 days before 301
an offer of employment expires; or 302
(b) A current covered employee at least 7 days before the 303
date that an offer to enter into a covered noncompete agreement 304
expires. 305
(4) OTHER AGREEMENTS. —This section does not affect or 306
limit the enforceability of any other employment agreement or 307
any other agreement. 308
(5) BREACH OF COVERED NONCOMPETE AGREEMENT; REMEDIES. — 309
(a) Upon application by a covered employer seeking 310
enforcement of a covered nonco mpete agreement, a court must 311
preliminarily enjoin a covered employee from providing services 312
to any business, entity, or individual other than the covered 313
employer during the noncompete period. The court may modify or 314
dissolve the injunction only if the c overed employee establishes 315
by clear and convincing evidence that: 316
1. The covered employee will not perform, during the 317
noncompete period, any work similar to the services provided to 318
the covered employer during the 3 -year period preceding the 319
commencement of the noncompete period, or use confidential 320
information or customer relationships of the covered employer; 321
or 322
2. The covered employer has failed to pay or provide the 323
consideration provided for in the covered noncompete agreement 324
and has had a reasonable opportunity to cure the failure. 325
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(b) Upon application by a covered employer seeking 326
enforcement of a covered noncompete agreement, a court must 327
preliminarily enjoin a business, an entity, or an individual 328
from engaging a covered employee during the covered employee's 329
noncompete period. The court may modify or dissolve the 330
injunction only if the business, entity, or individual 331
establishes by clear and convincing evidence, based on public or 332
other nonconfidential information, that: 333
1. The covered employee will not provide any services 334
similar to the services provided to the covered employer during 335
the 3-year period preceding the commencement of the noncompete 336
period, or use confidential information or customer 337
relationships of the covered employer; o r 338
2. The business or individual seeking to employ or engage 339
the covered employee is not engaged in, and is not planning or 340
preparing to engage in, any business activity in the geographic 341
area specified in the noncompete agreement during the noncompete 342
period if such business activity is similar to that engaged in 343
by the covered employer. 344
345
Any information filed with the court which the covered employer 346
deems to be confidential must be filed under seal to protect 347
confidentiality or avoid substantial injury. A court must 348
presume that an employee or individual contractor has access to 349
confidential information or customer relationships if the 350
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employee or individual contractor acknowledges the access or 351
receipt of such access in writing. 352
(c) The injunctive rel ief provided in this section is not 353
an exclusive remedy, and a prevailing covered employer is 354
entitled to recover all available monetary damages for all 355
available claims. 356
(d) In any action to enforce this section, the prevailing 357
party is entitled to reas onable attorney fees and costs. 358
(e) If the covered employee engages in gross misconduct 359
against the covered employer, the covered employer may reduce 360
the salary or benefits of the covered employee or take other 361
appropriate action during the noncompete pe riod, which reduction 362
or other action may not be considered a breach of the covered 363
noncompete agreement. 364
365
Any action regarding a restrictive covenant that does not meet 366
the definition of a covered garden leave agreement or a covered 367
noncompete agreement a s provided in this part is governed by s. 368
542.335. 369
Section 3. Section 542.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to 370
read: 371
542.15 Short title. —This part act shall be known and may 372
be cited as the "Florida Antitrust Act of 1980." 373
Section 4. Section 542.16, Florida Statutes, is amended to 374
read: 375
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542.16 Purpose.—The Legislature declares it to be the 376
purpose of this part act to complement the body of federal law 377
prohibiting restraints of trade or commerce in order to foster 378
effective competition. It is the intent of the Legislature that 379
this part act be liberally construed to accomplish its 380
beneficial purpose. 381
Section 5. Section 542.17, Florida Statutes, is amended to 382
read: 383
542.17 Definitions. —Unless a different meaning is clearly 384
indicated by the context, for the purposes of this part chapter, 385
the terms defined in this section have the following meanings 386
ascribed to them: 387
(1) "Commodity" means any goods, merchandise, wares, 388
produce, chose in action, land, article of commerce, or other 389
tangible or intangible property, real, personal, or mixed, for 390
use, consumption, production, enjoyment, or resale. 391
(2) "Service" means any kind of activity performed in 392
whole or in part for economic benefit. 393
(3) "Person" means any individual, corporation, firm, 394
partnership, limited partnership, incorporated or unincorporated 395
association, professional association, or other legal, 396
commercial, or governmental entity, including the State of 397
Florida, its departments, agencies, political subdivisions, and 398
units of government. 399
(4) "Trade or commerce" means any economic activity of any 400
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type whatsoever involving any commodity or service whatsoever. 401
(5) "Document" means any stored or retained data or 402
information in whatever form. 403
(6) "Attorney General" includes not on ly the Attorney 404
General of Florida but also any designee of the Attorney General 405
or any assistant attorney general or special assistant attorney 406
general. 407
(7) "State attorney" includes not only the state attorneys 408
of Florida but also any designee of a sta te attorney or any 409
assistant state attorney or special assistant state attorney. 410
(8) "Local government" means a municipality, county, 411
school district, or any other general -function or special-412
function governmental unit established by the laws of the stat e. 413
Section 6. Section 542.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to 414
read: 415
542.20 Exemptions.—Any activity or conduct exempt under 416
Florida statutory or common law or exempt from the provisions of 417
the antitrust laws of the United States is exempt from the 418
provisions of this part chapter. 419
Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 542.22, Florida 420
Statutes, is amended to read: 421
542.22 Suits for damages. — 422
(1) Any person who shall be injured in her or his business 423
or property by reason of any violation of s. 542 .18 or s. 542.19 424
may sue therefor in the circuit courts of this state and shall 425
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recover threefold the damages by her or him sustained, and the 426
cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee. The court 427
shall award a reasonable attorney's fee to a defen dant 428
prevailing in any action under this part chapter for damages or 429
equitable relief in which the court finds there was a complete 430
absence of a justiciable issue of either law or fact raised by 431
the plaintiff. 432
Section 8. Section 542.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to 433
read: 434
542.23 Equitable remedies. —In addition to other remedies 435
provided by this part chapter, any person shall be entitled to 436
sue for and have injunctive or other equitable relief in the 437
circuit courts of this state against threat ened loss or damage 438
by a violation of this part chapter. In any action under this 439
section in which the plaintiff substantially prevails, the court 440
shall award the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney's 441
fee, to the plaintiff. 442
Section 9. Subsection (4) of section 542.235, Florida 443
Statutes, is amended to read: 444
542.235 Limitations of actions and penalties against local 445
governments and their officials and employees. — 446
(4) No criminal action shall be maintained pursuant to s. 447
542.21(2), and no civ il penalties, damages, interest on damages, 448
costs, or attorneys' fees shall be recovered pursuant to s. 449
542.21(1) or s. 542.22, against any local government official or 450
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employee for official conduct within the scope of her or his 451
lawful authority, unless t he official or employee has violated 452
the provisions of this part chapter for the purpose of deriving 453
personal financial or professional gain or for the professional 454
or financial gain of her or his immediate family or of any 455
principal by whom the official i s retained. 456
Section 10. Section 542.24, Florida Statutes, is amended 457
to read: 458
542.24 Consent decrees and settlement agreements. —In a 459
civil action maintained under this part chapter by the Attorney 460
General or a state attorney, any party to such action may 461
petition the court for entry of a consent decree or for approval 462
of a settlement agreement. The proposed decree or agreement 463
shall set out the alleged violations, the future obligations of 464
the parties, the damages or other relief agreed upon, and the 465
reasons for entering into the consent decree or settlement 466
agreement. 467
Section 11. Section 542.25, Florida Statutes, is amended 468
to read: 469
542.25 Judgment in favor of state as prima facie 470
evidence.—A final judgment or decree entered in any civil or 471
criminal proceeding brought by the Attorney General or a state 472
attorney under s. 542.21 or s. 542.23 to the effect that a 473
defendant has violated s. 542.18 or s. 542.19, or entered in any 474
civil or criminal proceeding brought by the United States 475
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Department of Justice under comparable federal laws, shall be 476
prima facie evidence against such defendant in any civil action 477
or proceeding under this part chapter brought by any other 478
person against such defendant as to all matters with respect to 479
which such judgment or decree would be an estoppel as between 480
the parties thereto; however, this section does not apply to a 481
consent judgment or decree entered before any testimony has been 482
taken. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to 483
impose any limitation on the application of collateral estoppel. 484
Section 12. Subsection (2) of section 542.26, Florida 485
Statutes, is amended to read: 486
542.26 Limitation of actions. — 487
(2) Whenever any civil or criminal proceeding is 488
instituted by the Attorney General or a stat e attorney to 489
prevent, restrain, or punish any violation of this part chapter, 490
the running of the statute of limitations, with respect to every 491
private right of action arising under this part chapter and 492
based in whole or in part on any matter complained o f in said 493
proceeding, shall be suspended during the pendency thereof and 494
for 1 year thereafter. Whenever the running of the statute of 495
limitations in respect of a cause of action arising under s. 496
542.22(1) is suspended hereunder, any action to enforce such 497
cause of action shall be forever barred unless commenced either 498
within the period of suspension or within the period of 499
limitation. 500
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Section 13. Section 542.27, Florida Statutes, is amended 501
to read: 502
542.27 Enforcement authority. — 503
(1) The Attorney General, or a state attorney with written 504
permission from the Attorney General, acting jointly or 505
independently, may commence and try all criminal prosecutions 506
under this part chapter. Criminal prosecutions under this part 507
chapter shall be commenced by indictment. With respect to 508
commencement and trial of such prosecutions, the Attorney 509
General or a state attorney shall have all the powers and duties 510
vested by law with respect to criminal prosecutions generally. 511
Incident to any investigati on commenced under this part chapter, 512
the Attorney General may participate in and appear before a 513
grand jury in assistance of any state attorney, irrespective of 514
the provisions of chapter 905. 515
(2) The Attorney General is authorized to institute or 516
intervene in civil proceedings seeking the full range of relief 517
afforded by this part chapter or by federal laws pertaining to 518
antitrust or restraints of trade on behalf of the state, its 519
departments, agencies, and units of government. In addition, the 520
Attorney General, as chief state legal officer, may institute 521
any action authorized under this part chapter, federal laws 522
pertaining to antitrust or restraints of trade, or similar laws 523
of other states on behalf of natural persons in the state. 524
(3) Whenever the Attorney General, by her or his own 525
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inquiry or as a result of a complaint, suspects that a violation 526
of this part chapter or federal laws pertaining to restraints of 527
trade is imminent, occurring, or has occurred, the Attorney 528
General may investigate such su spected violation. 529
Section 14. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2), paragraph (b) 530
of subsection (3), and subsections (5) and (13) of section 531
542.28, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 532
542.28 Civil investigative demand. — 533
(2) The demand shall: 534
(b) State the nature of the conduct which constitutes the 535
violation of this part chapter or of the federal antitrust laws 536
and which is alleged to have occurred or to be imminent. 537
(3) No such demand shall require the production of any 538
documentary material, th e submission of any answers to written 539
interrogatories, or the giving of any oral testimony if such 540
material, answers, or testimony would be protected from 541
disclosure under: 542
(b) The standards applicable to a discovery request under 543
the Florida Rules of C ivil Procedure, to the extent that the 544
application of such standards to any such demand is appropriate 545
and consistent with the provisions and purposes of this part 546
chapter. 547
(5) Within 30 days after the service of an investigative 548
demand upon any person o r at any time before the return date 549
specified therein, whichever period is longer, the person served 550
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may file in the circuit court in and for the county in which the 551
person resides or transacts business, and serve upon the 552
Attorney General or state attorn ey, a petition for an order of 553
the court modifying or setting aside the demand. The time 554
allowed for compliance in whole or in part with the demand as 555
deemed proper and ordered by the court shall not run while the 556
petition is pending before the court. The petition shall specify 557
each ground upon which the petitioner relies in seeking relief 558
and may be based upon the failure of the demand to comply with 559
the provisions of this part chapter or upon any constitutional 560
or other legal right or privilege of such pe rson. 561
(13) Nothing contained in this section shall impair the 562
authority of the Attorney General or state attorney to: 563
(a) Institute a civil proceeding under s. 542.22; 564
(b) Lay before a grand jury of this state evidence 565
concerning a violation of this part chapter; 566
(c) Invoke the power of a court to compel the production 567
of evidence before a grand jury; or 568
(d) File a civil complaint or criminal indictment alleging 569
a violation of this part chapter. 570
Section 15. Section 542.29, Florida Statutes, is amended 571
to read: 572
542.29 Duty of public officers. —In any investigation and 573
in any criminal or civil action commenced pursuant to this part 574
chapter, it shall be the duty of all public officers and their 575
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deputies, assistants, clerks, subordinates, or emplo yees to 576
render and furnish to the Attorney General or a state attorney, 577
when so requested, assistance and all information available in 578
their official capacity. 579
Section 16. Section 542.30, Florida Statutes, is amended 580
to read: 581
542.30 Jurisdiction and venue.—Without regard to the 582
amount in controversy, a suit or proceeding brought under this 583
part chapter shall be brought in the circuit court in and for 584
any county in which the cause of action arose; in which any 585
defendant resides, is found, or has an age nt; or in which any 586
act in furtherance of the conduct prohibited by this part 587
chapter occurred. 588
Section 17. Section 542.31, Florida Statutes, is amended 589
to read: 590
542.31 Action not barred as affecting or involving 591
interstate or foreign commerce. —No action under this part 592
chapter shall be barred on the grounds that the activity or 593
conduct complained of in any way affects or involves interstate 594
or foreign commerce. It is the intent of the Legislature to 595
exercise its powers to the fullest extent consisten t with the 596
Constitutions of this state and the United States. 597
Section 18. Section 542.32, Florida Statutes, is amended 598
to read: 599
542.32 Rule of construction and coverage. —It is the intent 600
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of the Legislature that, in construing this part chapter, due 601
consideration and great weight be given to the interpretations 602
of the federal courts relating to comparable federal antitrust 603
statutes. In particular, the failure to include in this part 604
chapter the substantive provisions of s. 3 of the Clayton Act, 605
15 U.S.C. s. 14, shall not be deemed in any way to limit the 606
scope of s. 542.18 or s. 542.19. 607
Section 19. Subsection (1) of section 542.33, Florida 608
Statutes, is amended to read: 609
542.33 Contracts in restraint of trade valid. — 610
(1) Notwithstanding oth er provisions of this part chapter 611
to the contrary, each contract by which any person is restrained 612
from exercising a lawful profession, trade, or business of any 613
kind, as provided by subsections (2) and (3) hereof, is to that 614
extent valid, and all other c ontracts in restraint of trade are 615
void. 616
Section 20. Section 542.35, Florida Statutes, is amended 617
to read: 618
542.35 Remedies cumulative. —The remedies provided by this 619
part act are cumulative of each other and of existing powers and 620
remedies inherent in the courts. 621
Section 21. Section 542.36, Florida Statutes, is amended 622
to read: 623
542.36 Continuing violations. —Violations commenced prior 624
to October 1, 1980, the effective date of this act and 625
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continuing after the effective date shall be actionable as 626
provided in this part chapter. The fact that any conduct 627
occurred prior to October 1, 1980, the effective date of this 628
act shall not affect its relevance in proving that a violation 629
of this part chapter has occurred or is occurring. 630
Section 22. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 631