Terminating an Employee? Get Counsel Before You Act

What Employee Termination Counsel Does for Florida Employers

Employee termination counsel reviews a planned firing before the employer gives notice, so the reason, the file and the timing hold up. KEW Legal offers this review to owners, managers and HR leads in Miami-Dade, Broward and South Florida.

The work centers on the steps that create legal exposure. Those steps are the stated reason, the personnel file, the timing and the message the employee hears. Counsel also reviews the paperwork that follows, including final pay and any separation agreement.

KEW Legal works as outside general counsel for business owners. That means termination advice ties into your handbook, contracts and earlier workplace decisions. The page serves employers with one problem employee and employers planning a reduction in force.

Kristina E. Wilson is the responsible lawyer for this page. Natalie Martinez is also among the firm’s lawyers. The firm has offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach.

Is Florida Employment At-Will, and When Can a Termination Create Liability?

Florida is an at-will state, so an employer may end employment for any reason the law does not prohibit. The key word is “prohibit.” A termination becomes a legal problem when the reason is one the law forbids.

Discrimination is the first category. Under Fla. Stat. § 760.10, an employer may not discharge, fail or refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap or marital status, unless religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, absence of a particular handicap, or marital status is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary for the performance of the particular employment. The civil rights law defines an employer as any person employing 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, under Fla. Stat. § 760.02.

Retaliation is the second category. The Florida Private Whistle-blower Act bars retaliation against an employee who objects to a practice that violates a law. It also bars retaliation against an employee who gives information to an agency investigating the employer. The Act covers a private employer with ten or more persons, under Fla. Stat. § 448.101.

Other protected acts matter too.

Contract wording is the third category. Handbook promises are not automatically binding. Under Quaker Oats Co. v. Jewell, a manual is a contract only if it says so in explicit terms.

Two mistakes weaken a termination file. One is giving a reason that appears nowhere in the record. The other is acting on a recent complaint without checking the timeline.

What Our Termination Counsel Covers

Counsel covers the full path, from the first file review to the final paycheck. The list below shows what is included.

• File review. The personnel file, performance reviews, prior warnings, complaints, leave records and the handbook sections that apply.
• Decision review. Whether the stated reason appears in the record, and whether similar employees were treated the same way.
• Timing and protected activity. Whether a complaint, leave request or agency contact happened recently.
• Notice plan. Who delivers the decision, what is said in the meeting and what goes in writing.
• Separation agreements and releases. Terms and timing reviewed before the employee signs.
• Final pay, benefits and property. Return of company property and the final wage steps.
• Claims response. Replies to a demand letter or an agency charge, coordinated with the original decision file.
• Handbook and policy review. Updates so future terminations follow one consistent process.

How the Termination Process Works With KEW Legal

The process runs in five steps, from first contact through follow-up. It starts before anyone is told about the decision.

1. Initial consultation. You share the reason under consideration and bring the employee’s file, any recent complaints and any leave requests.
2. Fact and document review. Counsel reads the personnel file, policies, prior discipline and key messages, and flags gaps before notice.
3. Risk memo. Counsel explains the options, the risk of each, and the steps needed before any decision.
4. Termination plan. Counsel prepares the meeting outline, the written notice or separation agreement, and the final pay and property steps.
5. Follow-up. If a demand letter or agency charge arrives, counsel manages the response and advises on settlement or defense.

Timing varies with the file. A thin record takes longer to review than a complete one. A retaliation suit under the Whistle-blower Act must be filed within 2 years after the employee discovers the action, or within 4 years after it was taken, whichever is earlier, under Fla. Stat. § 448.103. Earlier review gives you more room to act.

Why Employers Work With KEW Legal

KEW Legal reviews terminations as business decisions, not as stand-alone defense work. The firm’s focus, offices and named lawyers shape that approach.

• Business-first advice. The review considers your contracts, leases, ownership and handbook together with the employment question.
• Business practice focus. The firm concentrates its work on business matters, including employment advice for employers, partnership disputes, contracts and commercial leases.
• Legal test applied. The review asks whether a complaint describes conduct the law actually prohibits.
• Offices. The firm has offices in Coral Gables and Sunny Isles Beach and serves employers across Miami-Dade, Broward and South Florida.
• Named lawyers. Kristina E. Wilson is the responsible lawyer for this page. Natalie Martinez is also among the firm’s lawyers.

Questions Employers Ask Before a Termination

Next Step: Talk Through the Termination Before Notice Is Given

If you have decided to end an employee’s job, or a complaint has changed the picture, bring the file to KEW Legal before the employee hears anything. Call 305-990-2300 or send your details through the KEW Legal contact page to set up a consultation before notice is given.