Florida Employment Law Attorney

f you are employed in Florida, multiple state and federal laws define how your employer should treat you while you are on the job. Federal and state laws protect workers and job applicants from discrimination, harassment, being cheated out of earned wages, wrongful termination, having to endure a hostile or unsafe work environment, and other forms of mistreatment.

If your employer is mistreating you, then you can fight back with the help of an experienced Florida employment law attorney. At Cruz Law Firm, P.A., our mission is to protect employees’ rights and help them recover compensation for the losses, employment discrimination, and mistreatment they have suffered.

Contact Cruz Law Firm today if your employer or prospective employer has treated you unfairly due to your race, gender, age, disability, or other protected characteristics during hiring, employment, compensation, or termination from a job. Our employment law firm is known for taking some of the most challenging employment law cases in Florida. Our workplace attorneys are ready to put our reputation and legal power to work for you.

Call or text (850) 518-6319 or submit our consultation request form today.

How Florida Employment Law Protects Workers

Numerous laws in Florida and the U.S. Federal Code define the relationship between employers and employees. These laws apply to applicants, employees, and former employees, regardless of their citizenship or work authorization status. Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered by federal law. Full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees are protected if they work for a covered employer.

The Florida Civil Rights Act and federal law protect employees from employer discrimination in hiring, training, job assignments, promotions, pay, fringe benefits, firing, layoffs, and other conditions of employment. It is illegal for an employer to allow its customers or vendors to discriminate against the employer’s workers.

At the same time, Florida is an at-will employment state. Employees in Florida are free to quit jobs at any time, for any reason, with or without notice. An employer can terminate an individual’s employment anytime for any reason that does not involve discrimination or retaliation.

At-will employment allows employers to change the terms of employment, such as wages, benefits, or job descriptions, as long as it’s not for an illegal reason and does not violate an existing employment contract.

Florida workers need to understand their rights. Not every adverse decision by an employer is illegal. If you believe an employer, supervisor, or co-worker discriminates against you, have an employment attorney at Cruz Law Firm review the situation. We’ll try first to resolve problems or rectify a bad situation and will help you pursue a legal claim if necessary.

Employee Rights in Florida

Employers in Florida cannot treat employees unfavorably if their actions are based on the employee’s protected status. Federal laws, which take precedence over state law, prohibit discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex, including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity
• National origin
• Disability
• Age (40 or older)
• Genetic information, including family medical history.

Florida law also prohibits discrimination based on:

• Marital status.
• Having or being perceived to have acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
• Having the sickle-cell trait.

Employees have a right to:

• Equal pay for equal work.
• A safe and healthful workplace and working conditions free of known dangers.
• Reasonable accommodations for disabilities or medical conditions to allow workers to perform essential functions of their job.
• Reasonable accommodations needed because of religious beliefs.
• Expect that any medical information or genetic information they share with their employers will be kept confidential.
• Report workplace discrimination, participate in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit, or oppose discrimination without retaliation for doing so.