labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Discrimination in the U.S. is strictly illegal and is guarded by the state and federal government. Discrimination occurs in the workplace more frequently when an employer makes a decision based on an employee’s or potential employee’s physical characteristics. These decisions can be related to hiring, hiring, promoting or providing certain opportunities to one employee over another based on superficial characteristics.

When it comes to Florida discrimination laws, the state has been critical in providing a forum for open discussion about discrimination. The state enacted the Human Rights Ordinance, for example, which provided that rights can not be abridged based on an individual’s sexuality. As such, the ordinance stated that an employer (or anyone)( cannot discriminate against a person based on his or her sexuality. This ordinance largely guards the rights of gays and lesbians.

Florida is also experimenting with prejudices and discrimination against people of foreign decent and against people of a certain age. As such, Florida is not only faced with some challenging cases regarding individuals’ nationalities, but they are also challenged by labor law rights for the elderly.

The Civil Rights Act of the 1960s states that employers may not discriminate against a person based on his or her race, sex, sexual orientation, age or religion. Employers may not discriminate against a person based on the persons’ language or ancestry either. However, many employers in Florida do so anyway, violating the Florida discrimination laws.

All places of work are required to post labor laws that contain information about employees’ labor law rights. These rights include information about Florida discrimination laws. The posters not only contain an outline of the law, but they also contain contact information for state and federal agencies that oversee the labor laws. If an employee believes that his or her labor laws have been violated, then the employee must file a claim with state and local agencies overseeing those laws.

While Florida’s laws regarding discrimination do not vary much from that of the federal laws and I did not find anything exceptionally unique about any of the statutes, they do take discrimination in the workforce seriously and afford workers protection from harassment and/or discrimination. In fact they have set up a state agency to handle matters related to discrimination, including educating the public, investigating allegations, and punishing offenders.

The Florida Commission on Human Relations, or FCHR is a resource for both the state and the business community alike. Their overall goal is to eliminate discrimination all together. The agency enforces both state and federal laws with regard to employment. Florida (FL) job discrimination law in the workplace deems that it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, marital status or familial status. These laws apply to employers with 15 or more employees. If you feel you have been a victim of discrimination, you should file immediately, but no later than 365 days from the date the discrimination took place or the date you learned that discriminatory action was used.

Florida (FL) Job discrimination law in the workplace gives the FCHR authority to receive and investigate complaints from any person working or seeking employment with an employer in the public and private sectors. The commission also has the authority to initiate a complaint based on reliable information that any person or business has been, or is engaged in a discriminatory practice. If it is determined by the commission that an individual has been discriminated against they may be entitled to any wages lost, actual and other compensatory damages, reinstatement, promotion, a cease and desist order and attorney fees. In the case of a civil action a complainant may be eligible for up to $100,000 in punitive damages.

Anti-discrimination laws in Florida are outlined in the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (FCRA). This is the same place you’ll find the Florida (FL) Sexual Discrimination Law in the Workplace information. The FCRA applies to employers, employment agencies, labor unions, and job training, apprenticeship and licensing organizations. It excludes organizations where employment is conditioned on organizational membership or beliefs such s religious and educational groups. Another important fact about employers is that it only applies to those employing fifteen or more employees. Some cities in Florida do have local ordinances that apply to employers with less than fifteen employees, however.

The FCRA does not specifically define who would be considered an employee under the law, so anyone who feels they are a victim of the law should file a complaint. Such discriminatory acts include firing or hiring based on gender as well as determining an individual’s pay and employment terms and conditions on the basis of gender.

Employers are allowed to treat individuals differently based on sex if a person’s gender is a genuine qualification or is reasonable necessary to complete the tasks of the position in question. In addition, employers in Florida can operate under seniority systems and payment systems where the employee is paid based on the quality or quantity of work as long as these systems do not, by nature, discriminate against anyone based on gender.

If you have a complaint, you must file it within 365 days of the alleged discriminatory act with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR). To do so, you just need to contact them by phone, in writing, electronically or in person. You will need to be able to provide a list of facts surrounding your complaint when you make this contact.

The FCHR will look into the case. If they determine there is reasonable cause to believe there was a violation of FCRA, you will be able to either request an administrative hearing or file a suit in private court. You are unable to take your claim to the private courts until it has gone through the FCHR. Additionally, the FCHR works with the EEOC, so filing a complaint with the FCHR automatically starts the process with the EEOC as well.

As an employee in Florida, it’s up to your to know your rights. As an employer in Florida, it’s up to you to know your responsibilities. To help keep everyone informed, be sure to keep an updated version of the Florida Complete Labor Laws poster posted in the workplace.

The place to go for general information on employment, workforce development, labor market information, and related topics is the Agency for Workforce Innovation. This particular agency is part of the Florida Department of Labor. The State of Florida relies on federal regulations for labor issues, using the same references to the federal Workforce Investment Act that many other states do. However, I found that Florida has in place a WIA of its own – the Workforce Innovation Act of 2000.

This state-level law consolidated some agencies and was designed to streamline the process for unemployment compensation, appeals, funding, and other areas. The new law repeals the 1996 Florida regulations. Florida has statutes that specifically address age discrimination and in fact, I found a section of the law that not only prohibits such discrimination, but also aims to remedy situations when older workers find themselves disadvantaged because “rising productivity and affluence” has changed the workplace. Florida law even states that setting arbitrary age limits has “become a common practice.”

The intent of Florida law in this area is to remedy some of these problems for older workers that may have suffered when compared to younger workers in the same industry. The bottom line is that the intent of the state’s law is to promote employment of older workers based on ability. Florida law also prohibits, among other things, “fail or refuse to hire” someone because of age, limit or segregate individuals based on age, and reduce wages based on age without employee’s consent to reduced work.

Many of the guidelines are the same as, or very similar to, those in other states. Additionally, guidelines are close in language to federal law. However, Florida’s laws also specifically list employees of the state who are in the Career Service System. A recent case involving age discrimination issues was the suit filed, in federal court against Florida Gulf Coast University. With this, a 62-year-old professor claimed he was demoted because he complained about being a victim of age discrimination.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission took up this suit followed by a spokesperson for the university telling Florida media that it was illegal to collect age information when you hire someone and she did not know the average age of the faculty at the university.

Given the diverse nature of Florida’s population, I was not surprised when I researched their policies concerning workplace discrimination; they have followed the path of the majority of U.S. states. They have laws concerning discrimination at the state level and their own agency which injured parties can file through.

State laws make it illegal for an employer to discriminate on the basis of age, color, handicap, marital status, national origin, race, religion, or sex. Florida law also covers age discrimination suits for business with 15-20 employees versus the federal standard of 20 or more employees in age discrimination cases (15 or more for all other cases).

In order to pursue a discrimination case within the state of Florida, injured parties can file claims through two agencies: the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) or the federal government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The FCHR can be contacted at (800) 342-8170, TDD ASCII: (800) 955-1339, TDD Baudot: (800) 955-8771, or Voice: (800) 955-8770. The EEOC can be contacted at one of two district offices: Miami, (305) 536-4491 or TTY: (305) 536-5721 and Tampa, Phone: 813-228-2310, or TTY: 813-228-2003.

These two agencies work together which means that injured parties only need to file with one agency and request that their case be cross-filed. By cross filing a claim, it is then filed with both the state and federal agencies.

Florida statutes require that claims be filed within 365 days of the discriminatory act while federal claims must be within 300 days. Because of legalities in filing procedure it is recommended that claims be filed quickly in order to prevent mistakes in filing to push claims past the allotted time limits. Enlisting the help of an attorney knowledgeable in discrimination cases is also recommended.

In order to take a claim to court, the injured party has to file a claim with the appropriate agency. If the FCHR and/or EEOC do not resolve the case, the case can be taken to court. However, Florida statutes say that cases the result in a “no cause” finding cannot be taken to court under state law. If the EEOC does not resolve the case, they will issue one of 2 documents: “Dismissal and Notice of Rights” or “Notice of Right to Sue.” Once either of these forms is received the injured party has only 90 days to file a federal court case if they choose to further pursue the issue. To file in state court, the case must have been filed with the FCHR for at least 180 days, within 4 years of the alleged discrimination (if the case remains pending) or within 1 year of the state giving a “probable cause” finding.

Damages designed to punish employers are limited to $100,000 under Florida statutes, but may be higher under federal laws. Florida does not limit damages due to emotional pain and suffering. Because of these factors, the plaintiff’s attorney may choose to file in a federal court under both state and federal law.

It is obvious that Florida (like California) has a very large amount of minority groups and the state has taken serious precautions to make sure that their residents are protected from discrimination. I would be surprised to find very many employers in the state who knowledgeably allow discrimination practices within their business.