Can Your Boss Fire You Under Probation in the State of Florida

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When you get to work in Florida, you wait that your employer volition pay you lot a reasonable salary for your work and treat yous fairly. Things were not e'er this style, however. In times past, employees were at the mercy of their employers. An

employer could reject to pay wages to his or her employees, could strength employees to work long hours in unsafe weather condition, and stop an employee for any reason at all. Now, employees in Florida and effectually the nation are protected by legislation that gives them sure rights, every bit well as remedies for when an employer does violate their rights. Understanding employment law is important in ensuring your employer treats you fairly and will help you know what to do when you feel your rights have been violated.

Nuts of Employee Rights Legislation

Three chief federal laws are responsible for many of the workplace rights enjoyed by employees. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mainly governs issues regarding employee wages and overtime hours. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees with certain protections if the employee must temporarily exit his or her job because of certain health-related issues. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is designed to ensure that employees' work environments are safe and gratis from unsafe conditions.

These iii principal federal laws, combined with other federal laws and state laws, provide employees with a number of rights and protections. Whenever both federal and land employment laws encompass the same issue, the police force that grants the employee greater protections will apply. For example, where the federal law guarantees a sure minimum wage, and state constabulary provides for a higher minimum wage, the employee volition be entitled to the higher minimum wage.

Rights During the Awarding Process

No Discrimination in Hiring Process

During the job application procedure, federal and state anti-discrimination laws protect applicants from discrimination. In particular, information technology is illegal for an employer to:

• Discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (Title VII of the Civil Rights Human action of 1964);

• Pay men and women unequally despite performing essentially similar piece of work (Equal Pay Human action of 1963);

• Discriminate on the basis of age (Age Bigotry in Employment Act of 1967);

• Discriminate on the basis of disability, if the applicant is otherwise qualified (Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Human activity of 1990 and Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Human activity of 1973); or

• Discriminate based on an applicant's genetic information (Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Human activity of 2008).

These protections mean that the following types of application or interview questions are generally improper:

• "Are you a U.S. citizen?"

• "How old are you?"

• "What is your marital condition" or "Do yous program to take a family?"

• "Do yous have any genetic diseases?"

No Drug Tests Against Applicant's Will

Information technology is also illegal for employers to force chore applicants to take a drug exam. In other words, an employer cannot force a chore applicant to take a drug exam confronting the applicant'south will. (Note, still, that it is lawful for an employer to offer a job that is contingent on successfully passing a drug test. In this case, the applicant all the same has a choice as to whether he or she wishes to submit to the test.)

Rights Afterward Beingness Hired

At-Will Employment

Florida is an "at-volition" employment state, meaning that either you or your employer can stop your employment at any fourth dimension and without any advance alert. However, even with your employment existence "at-volition," your employer cannot terminate your employment for an illegal reason. For instance, your employer is not able to cease yous because of your age or sex, even if your employment is "at-will."

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For example, suppose that Daniel is 55 years old and has just been hired by ABC Corporation. Daniel's employment contract states that his employment is "at-will." Four months after he is hired, Daniel is informed that he is existence fired. ABC Corporation does not give Daniel any caption for its decision and only states that the decision is effective immediately. If it is shown that the decision to burn Daniel was related to his historic period (for instance, if in that location are visitor memos or eastward-mails in which the topic is discussed, or Daniel is immediately replaced by someone much younger than him), then ABC Corporation has acted illegally and Daniel's termination is considered wrongful.

But suppose instead that ABC Corporation's orders have declined and they must lay off a number of employees. So long every bit the decision to lay off Daniel is non made on the basis of his age or any other protected characteristic, ABC Corporation is inside its rights to lay Daniel off with no notice.

Minimum Wage and Overtime

You also have the right to earn a certain "minimum wage" for regular hours that you work. The federal minimum wage is $eight.65 per hour; and as of Jan 1, 2021, the minimum wage in Florida is $eight.65 per hour. Thus, an employee in Florida covered by the minimum wage laws must be paid a minimum of $8.65 per hour worked.

Minimum wages in Florida are no set to rising every bit follows:

• Through December 31, 2022 – $8.56
• Jan 1, 2022 – $8.65
• September 30, 2022 – $10.00
• September 30, 2022 – $11.00
• September 30, 2023 – $12.00
• September thirty, 2024 – $xiii.00
• September xxx, 2025 – $14.00
• September xxx, 2026 – $15.00

(If you are a tipped employee, such as a waiter or waitress, you lot too are entitled to a minimum wage. All the same, considering the tips yous receive form a part of your wages, the minimum wage to which you are entitled is less.)

Tipped employee must earn the following minimums:

• January 1, 2022 – $5.63 per hour plus tips
• September xxx, 2022 – $vi.98 per hour plus tips
• September thirty, 2022 – $7.98 per hour plus tips
• September thirty, 2023 – $viii.98 per hour plus tips
• September 30, 2024 – $9.98 per hour plus tips
• September 30, 2025 – $10.98 per hour plus tips
• September thirty, 2026 – $11.98 per hour plus tips

Overtime laws are designed to forbid an employer from taking advantage of an employee during the workweek by requiring the employee to work excessive hours without fair bounty. Under the constabulary so, if an employee considered to be "covered" under the police works more than than 40 hours in a given workweek, he or she must be compensated at a rate of at least one and one-half times his or her regular hourly charge per unit for each hour worked in excess of 40. For example, suppose that Rene's workweek begins on Tuesday. Between Tuesday and the following Mon, Rene works a total of fifty hours. She is entitled to receive, at a minimum, her regular rate of pay for the showtime xl hours and ane and one-half times her regular rate of pay for the remaining 10 hours.

At that place are exceptions to the minimum wage and overtime requirements, so it is best to consult with an experienced employment law attorney to learn your verbal rights.

Medical Leave

Under the FMLA, you are entitled to time away from your workplace for certain health-related situations. Although you are not entitled to receive your pay during this time of absence, your job is protected and wellness insurance benefits must generally continue. Nether the FMLA, you are entitled to take 12 weeks of unpaid get out during a twelve-month flow for:

• The nascency of a child and to intendance for a newborn child under i year of age;

• Caring for a newly adopted child or newly placed foster child during the first year of adoption or placement

• Providing care to your spouse, child, or a parent when any of them have a serious health condition; or

• A serious health status that makes yous unable to perform your chore.

There are also rights under the FMLA to take unpaid medical leave to care for a servicemember that is a spouse, child, or parent and who has a qualifying condition.

Harassment and Bigotry in the Workplace

Just as a potential employer is not permitted to discriminate against an bidder during the job application process, an employer may not discriminate against an employee while that employee is working. Examples of bigotry can include not promoting an private because of his or her age, denying a raise to a female employee but giving a raise to a male colleague, or reassigning the chore duties of a significant employee.

In addition, the employer cannot maintain a harassing workplace. That is, an employer has an obligation to ensure the workplace is gratuitous from unlawful harassment. Harassment is unlawful if it is based on a protected characteristic (age, sex, etc.) and creates an intimidating, hostile, or abusive work environment. In addition, it is unlawful to harass an employee in retaliation for that employee filing a discrimination charge, or participating in an employment investigation against his or her employer. Harassment can accept the grade of offensive jokes, threats, physical assaults, or pictures (for instance).

The protection against harassment does not embrace footling annoyances or isolated incidents. Suppose that Marco works at XYZ Company. While at work i day an employee made a racially-offensive joke and Marco was offended. Marco filed a report with his supervisor and the matter was handled according to visitor policy. In this example, Marco does not have a merits for harassment as the incident was isolated and handled appropriately. But suppose that some of Marco's coworkers threaten him or people of his same race or ethnicity. Despite letting supervisors know of this, the management refuses to accept action. Here, Marco's claim of a hostile workplace is much stronger given the repeated nature of the harassment and the lack of activeness past direction.

Safe Working Conditions

Workers are more productive when they are not constantly concerned about their prophylactic. The Occupational Rubber and Health Act was designed to protect workers from workplace hazards that might pose a adventure of serious harm. Some of the protections that OSHA affords include the right to ask the Occupational Safe and Health Assistants to behave an inspection of i'south worksite for potential hazards and the correct to receive the results of tests done to make up one's mind whether hazards exist in the workplace. Workers are as well entitled to receive information and preparation almost hazards they might see on the jobsite and what they tin do to protect themselves from these hazards. Personal protective equipment is also to exist provided to workers and workers are to exist instructed on how to properly use the equipment. Finally, workers are entitled to review records of work-related injuries and illnesses kept by their employer also as obtain copies of their medical records.

Rights of Same-Sex Couples

An emerging issue in Florida and effectually the nation relates to the rights homosexuals and same-sex couples bask in the workplace. There are already a number of counties in Florida that prohibit discrimination in hiring or employment on the basis of sexual orientation. It appears that such protections are likely to continue to aggrandize across the land equally time goes on.

If same-sex marriages are recognized in Florida one solar day, rights guaranteed under the FMLA and other laws are most assuredly going to be extended to same-sex couples. For instance, one time Florida and/or the federal regime recognizes same-sex marriages, an employee would have the right under the FMLA to take an unpaid medical leave of absence to intendance for his or her same-sex partner.

Considering this is an area of the law that is constantly evolving, employees involved in a same-sex relationship should consult with a knowledgeable employment law attorney to acquire the nature of their rights under the current law.

Conclusion on Employee Laws in Florida

These are only a few of the rights that workers in Florida savor considering of federal and country legislation. These rights include the right to apply for work without being discriminated against, the correct to a fair wage and fair compensation, the right to a safe workplace free from discrimination and harassment, and the right to accept unpaid medical leave in certain circumstances without risking i's job or wellness benefits. While these laws do not prevent an employer from acting unlawfully, they do provide a means of redress if unlawful activity occurs.

An employee who knows his or her rights can not merely stand against abuses of his or her ain rights but abuses of his or her coworkers' rights as well. Employers who human action unlawfully or violate their employees' rights can accept astringent deportment taken against them past regime agencies. When attempting to resolve grievances related to employment, it is best to consult with an employment law chaser if informal discussions with the employer do not resolve the situation. And of course, if yous are unsure almost your precise rights, an employment law attorney can help you empathise your rights also.

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Source: https://www.myfloridalaw.com/employee-laws-in-florida/

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