Know Your Rights Employers cannot discriminate in employment based on race, religion, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran or sex. However, up until recently transgender employees, or job candidates, were not specifically protected. In early 2014, President Obama signed Executive Order 13672 (EO) adding sexual orientation AND gender identity as independent, protected categories. […]
Will I Still Receive a Paycheck While on FMLA?
While the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 does provide peace of mind for job protection, it doesn’t always ease the financial stress of the medical bills and everyday expenses that can pile up during unpaid leave. Ensuring at least some income for approved time off is essential for most, but it’s hard […]
Can I Be Fired or Disciplined for Using FMLA?
Although Florida is an at-will work state, employment law still dictates certain policies that protect employees from wrongful termination. The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is one such provision that was put in place to maintain a worker’s job role and reputation during eligible leave. Can an employer fire or discipline a worker […]
LinkedIn Forced to Pay Nearly $6 Million in Unpaid Wages
Employment law is difficult to understand without a legal background. It used to be believed that hourly employees received overtime for anything worked over 40 hours, while salaried employees were at the mercy of their employer receiving a flat salary regardless of how many hours they worked. Employment law is not that simple and mistakes […]
4 Common Mistakes Sexual Harassment Victims Make
We’re not in the business of victim blaming. In fact, our goal is to empower the so-called “targets” of a hostile work environment. While employees who experience workplace sexual harassment aren’t responsible for their abuse, it’s important that they know the steps they do or don’t take after an incident can impact the strength of […]
Top 5 Tricks Employers Use to Get Out of Paying Overtime Wages
We’ve said it before: knowledge is power when it comes to overtime laws. Underhanded employers rely on their workers’ unfamiliarity with regulations set by the Fair Standards Labor Act (FSLA) and devise slight smoke-and-mirror schemes to obscure an employee’s overtime eligibility. However, most managers don’t moonlight as magicians so they’re not as skilled in concealing […]
What You Need to Know About Pregnancy Discrimination in the Workplace
Pregnancy should be a happy time. For some women, however, it can come with anxiety over employer perceptions. In certain cases, these concerns may escalate if an employer’s opinions devolve to harassment and discrimination, leading to a hostile work environment. According to The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), pregnancy is protected from discrimination related to general […]
Fighting for Unpaid Wages
4 Benefits of Hiring an Employment Law Attorney There are two types of employees: clock-watchers and “overtimers.” For hard workers, there’s a clock-watching misconception. If you’re not tracking your time, you may believe you’ve missed out on the pay for those unaccounted hours. What’s worse, as a salaried staffer you might believe you aren’t entitled […]
What rights do I have as a salaried employee?
Workers have a wide range of protections under the law. Salaried employee rights are included in legislation that holds employers accountable for violating those laws. People work hard for their salary and should be paid appropriately. But as a salaried employee, you may be working harder than you have to. There’s a common misconception that […]
Religious Freedom or Discrimination: Can My Employer Decide What Benefits I Can Get?
The recent landmark Supreme Court case Burwell v. Hobby Lobby has led many to question what benefits businesses can deny their employees based on religious beliefs. Some critics argue that the ruling, which favored the corporation’s right to deny female contraceptives through its insurance policy based on religious freedom, actually discriminates against the values of […]