What Do Employment Lawyers Deal With? A Guide for Florida Employers

Employment lawyers handle the legal rules that cover hiring, pay, workplace conduct, complaints, and the end of a job. This page explains those issues from the employer’s side, for Florida business owners, managers, and HR staff. Kristina E. Wilson is the lawyer at KEW Legal, and the practice has support staff. The firm has offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach and works with businesses in Miami-Dade and Broward County. For the broader picture, read our Florida employer guide to employee legal trouble.

What do employment lawyers deal with for employers?

Employment lawyers deal with discrimination and retaliation claims, terminations, wage and classification questions, and the policies that tie them together. Some of this work is prevention. Lawyers review handbooks, pay practices, and separation paperwork before a problem becomes a complaint letter. Other work is response, such as handling a charge or dispute after it arrives. KEW Legal’s employment work covers the employer side only. For that service, see the employment law attorney for employers page.

Are discrimination and retaliation complaints covered?

Yes. Florida and federal law both limit how employers treat people because of protected traits, and retaliation is a separate violation. Florida’s statute bars an employer from firing, refusing to hire, or treating someone worse because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status (Fla. Stat. § 760.10). Title VII makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Florida law also bars discrimination against a person who opposed an unlawful practice or took part in an investigation. Retaliation claims often follow an internal complaint, so the timing of any discipline or termination matters.

Employer complaints usually arrive as an internal complaint, an agency charge, or a demand letter. Deadlines can be short. Under Fla. Stat. § 760.11, a civil action must start within 1 year of a reasonable cause determination or a federal Notice of Right to Sue, whichever comes first. If neither issues within 180 days after the complaint, the action may start no later than 18 months after the filing. Write down the timeline as soon as a complaint arrives.

How do terminations get reviewed?

A termination is reviewed for its stated reason, its paperwork, and its timing compared with any complaint, leave, or protected activity. A business reason alone does not end the review. A decision can still raise a discrimination or retaliation question if other employees got different treatment for similar conduct. Common mistakes include undocumented decisions, reasons that change over time, and informal promises made in the moment.

Separation agreements need care too. A release that tries to waive age-discrimination claims must meet specific rules. It must refer to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act by name. It cannot waive claims that arise after the waiver is signed.

Which wage and classification rules apply?

Wage and classification questions turn on how the work actually happens, not on the label. A job title or a contractor label does not settle the answer. The test looks at economic reality, including whether the worker depends on the business for work. The federal exemption rules state that a job title alone is insufficient to establish the exempt status of an employee; that status must be determined on the basis of whether the employee’s salary and duties meet the requirements of those regulations.

The federal minimum wage provision requires every employer to pay each employee who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise so engaged, not less than $7.25 an hour, except as otherwise provided in that section. Florida’s minimum wage amendment bars retaliation for raising a pay complaint. It also allows a civil action to recover unpaid wages plus liquidated damages, with a four-year limit, or five years for willful violations. The federal recordkeeping rules require each employer to preserve for at least 3 years, from the last date of entry, all payroll or other records containing the employee information and data required under any of the applicable sections of those rules. Whether a particular worker falls under these rules turns on the facts.

What may a manager do, and what may a manager not do?

A manager may not make hiring, firing, pay, or scheduling decisions because of a protected trait. A manager also may not retaliate against an employee for a protected complaint. These limits come from the discrimination and retaliation rules covered above.

Managers create risk in quieter ways too. Off-hand comments, promises of raises or job security that are never written down, and policies applied to some workers but not others can all become evidence in a later dispute. A written handbook helps only when managers follow it. Consistent documentation works the same way. The support staff at KEW Legal can help gather policies, pay records, and timelines for a consultation.

When should an employer talk with counsel?

An employer should talk with counsel when a complaint letter, agency notice, termination decision, or pay dispute is on the table. Early questions often matter most. Advice on documenting a decision, keeping records, or responding to a complaint is easier before a filing arrives. KEW Legal has offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach and serves businesses in Miami-Dade and Broward County. Each situation turns on its own facts.

Common questions