Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

Often I am asked about wrongful termination by Florida Employees. While in some states a company must have cause to fire you, Florida is not one of those states. Florida is an at-will employment state. This means that an employer may fire, demote, hire, promote, and discipline employees for almost any reason or no reason at all.

This does not mean that you have no rights or protections from a wrongful termination in Florida.
You may ask yourself the following questions:

Did my supervisors make comments that indicated bias?
Did your boss or supervisor make racial or sexual jokes?
Did your supervisor indicate that you were too old, or require you to work on religious holidays?
Did they make comments about your disability?
Were you treated differently than others in the same situation. Perhaps people of a different race, sex, religion, national origin, age, or other protected status were treated differently under the same circumstances?

These types of comments can be evidence of discrimination and could lead to a claim under Florida Law.

You may ask yourself why was I really fired? If you made a worker's compensation claim or reported the business for a violation and were fired shortly after, it can be an indication that you were fired in retaliation for making the claims or reports. These could lead to a whistle blower claim.

Is your employer saying false things or statements to others about you? If you can prove they are making statements that are false you may be able to sue for defamation. To create policies to protect your company from suits or if you believe your employer has violated your rights you should contact a Florida Business Lawyer.

Posted by David M. Goldman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Business Law , Discrimination , Harassment , Retaliation , Wrongful Termination

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In Florida, general “harassment” is not illegal. Your boss can be a jerk. Harassment because of the employee’s race, sex, age, religion, national origin, color (essentially, shade), pregnancy, disability, marital status, or, sometimes, sexual orientation, is illegal. It must be so severe or pervasive that it alters the conditions of employment. Single or occasional comments and actions are usually not considered harassment. If the employer has a harassment/ discrimination policy, the employee must report it and give the employer the opportunity to correct it before the employer is liable, unless the harassment results in a firing, demotion, or other “tangible” action.

You should look to see if you are in some protected category. If your supervisor made racist or sexist jokes, said they thought you were too old or your disability made you unable to do the job, required you to work on religious holidays, or made other comments that would indicate a bias, you may have direct evidence of discrimination.

If you don’t have direct evidence of discrimination, you may be able demonstrate you were treated differently than those of a different race, sex, religion, national origin, age, or other protected status under the same circumstances. Try to think of people who are of a different race/age/sex, etc. and were treated differently from you. Find out if there are people who have also been the victims of similar discrimination.

If you were retaliated against after you took some protected action, you may be able to sue for retaliation. Think about whether you recently made a worker’s compensation claim, performed jury duty, served in the military, took family/medical leave, served as a witness in a lawsuit, provided testimony or evidence to EEOC, refused to participate in illegal activity, reported illegal activity, or engaged in protected free speech.

If you believe something illegal has happened, contact a Florida Employment Lawyer to discuss the possibility that you may have a case.

Posted by David M. Goldman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Discrimination , Harassment , Retaliation

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