Employment Law Guidance for Florida Employers

Can You Sue Your Employer in Florida? | KEW Legal

Can You Sue Your Employer in Florida for Unfair Treatment?

KEW Legal represents employers, and this page explains when an employee may bring a claim against a Florida employer in some situations. A firing or a bad work decision is not always a legal claim. The claim usually depends on whether the treatment broke a specific law.

Employees usually must tie the action to a protected trait, a protected complaint, or a legal right. Under the Florida Civil Rights Act, it is unlawful for an employer with 15 or more employees to fire someone, or treat them differently, because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status (Fla. Stat. § 760.10).

The same conduct can create exposure under federal law, Florida law, or both. Each claim has its own rules, deadlines and remedies. Outcomes depend on the facts. For employers, the practical question is what the written record shows.

Claims Employees Commonly Bring Against Florida Employers

Employee claims against employers may involve discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower protection and unpaid wages. Each comes from a different law.

• Discrimination. Under federal law, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire, or to discharge, any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (Title VII discrimination provision).
• Retaliation. Under federal law, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against an employee or applicant because the person has opposed any practice made unlawful by the statute, or because the person has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under it (Title VII retaliation provision).
• Whistleblower retaliation. Florida law bars retaliatory action against an employee who discloses a violation under oath, in writing, to an appropriate governmental agency after giving the employer written notice and a reasonable opportunity to correct it, gives information in an investigation, or refuses to join a violation (Fla. Stat. § 448.102).
• Wage claims. Under the Florida Constitution, employees may bring a civil action for unpaid minimum wages and for retaliation tied to state minimum wage rights (Fla. Const. art. X, § 24).

Whether a termination is unlawful depends on the statute or contract that applies. A firing is usually actionable only when it breaks a specific legal protection. A claim may start with a written complaint, a warning or a termination letter. Those documents deserve a close review early.

Which Employers and Workers Are Covered

The Florida whistleblower law covers private employers with ten or more employees. It defines an employee as someone who works under the employer’s control and direction for wages. Independent contractors are excluded (Fla. Stat. § 448.101).

Calling a worker a contractor does not settle the question on its own. Section 448.101 addresses control and direction of the work and excludes independent contractors from the term ’employee’. Businesses that use contractors should keep that working relationship clear in writing.

The Florida discrimination statute protects race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap and marital status (Fla. Stat. § 760.10). Coverage depends on employee counts: Title VII and the Florida Civil Rights Act apply to employers with 15 or more employees, and the Florida whistleblower law applies to employers with 10 or more employees.

How Proof Works and What to Preserve

Preserve these records now:

• Personnel files and performance reviews
• Written policies and handbooks
• Complaint logs and investigation notes
• Emails and text messages about the employee
• A timeline of each decision

Under Florida’s whistleblower law, the written-notice requirement applies only to certain disclosures made to a governmental agency, not to every protected activity. For agency disclosures covered by subsection (1), the employer must also be given a reasonable chance to fix the problem (Fla. Stat. § 448.102). A clear internal complaint process helps you see those notices when they arrive.

Deadlines and Remedies Before a Lawsuit

Deadlines are short, and they differ by claim. Treat the earliest possible deadline as the one that controls.

• Federal lawsuit. A suit must be brought within the time limit stated in the agency’s notice.
• Florida Civil Rights Act suit. It must be filed within 1 year after the Commission’s reasonable-cause determination or the expiration of the Commission’s 180-day determination period (Fla. Stat. § 760.11).
• Whistleblower suit. It must be brought within 2 years after discovery or 4 years after the action, whichever is earlier (Fla. Stat. § 448.103).

Under the Florida Civil Rights Act, a court may order back pay and compensatory damages. Total punitive damages cannot exceed $100,000 (Fla. Stat. § 760.11). Federal back pay cannot accrue more than two years before the charge was filed.

How KEW Legal Works With Florida Employers

KEW Legal acts as outside general counsel for business owners and investors across Miami-Dade and South Florida. The firm has offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach. Kristina E. Wilson is the lawyer responsible for this page. Our team of support staff assists with the office work.

For employers, the firm handles:

• Ongoing employment guidance for owners and managers, set out in a written engagement
• Policy and handbook review, including anti-harassment, complaint-reporting, leave and separation procedures
• Responses to agency charges, demand letters and internal complaints, including document gathering
• Defense of employment lawsuits in Florida courts

Here is how a matter usually moves:

1. An initial consultation, which is free, confidential and carries no obligation to continue.
2. Review of the relevant documents and deadlines.
3. A written scope of work.
4. A plan for responding to the agency or the other side. Timelines depend on the claim and on agency and court schedules.

A matter may be referred to another lawyer or firm, depending on the facts and scope.

Frequently Asked Questions