Recent Blog Posts
Employees Are Protected Against Sexual Harassment From Customers
A common misconception in the area of sexual harassment law is that an employer can only be held liable for hostile work environment sexual harassment when the harassment is committed by an employee. However, employers have a duty to prevent and correct sexual harassment in the workplace whether the harasser is an employee or… Read More »
Florida Employees File Lawsuit for Wrongful Termination after Complaints of Hazardous Workplace Conditions
A group of terminated Florida employees has recently filed a lawsuit against their former employer, claiming that they were wrongfully terminated after complaining about the safety of their workplace. The lawsuit also includes claims of retaliation, racial discrimination, and failure to pay minimum wages. The lawsuit was filed by six former workers at the… Read More »
Employers Have A Duty To Investigate Sexual Harassment Complaints
When an employer knows or should know about sexually harassing conduct in the workplace, the employer is required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) to take prompt and effective remedial action that is reasonably calculated to end the harassment. As part of an employer’s remedial obligation, Title VII imposes a… Read More »
Does A Mandatory Retirement Age Violate The Age Discrimination In Employment Act?
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits discrimination in employment against individuals who are at least 40 years of age. Under the ADEA, employers are not permitted to make employment decisions on the basis of an individual’s age. The prohibited employment practices under the ADEA include discriminatory discharge, failure to hire, demotion, failure… Read More »
Former Clerk Sues City for Gender Discrimination
A former clerk for the DeBary, Florida, city government has recently filed a lawsuit for gender discrimination and the hostile work environment she claims to have experienced as a result of her supervisor’s frequent sexist remarks. This is the second sex discrimination lawsuit filed against the City of DeBary in a year. The clerk,… Read More »
Establishing Pregnancy Discrimination When Employer Hires The Employee & Then Fires The Employee After Learning She Was Pregnant When Hired
Standing alone, it is not unlawful for an employer to ask a job applicant whether she is pregnant when interviewing her for employment. However, if the job applicant is pregnant and not hired, evidence that the employer asked the job applicant whether she is pregnant can be used to show that pregnancy discrimination played… Read More »
What Type Of Remarks Reflect A Discriminatory Failure To Hire?
Federal and Florida law prohibit employers from refusing to hire any individual because of his or her race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, religion, disability, or age. Although it is sometimes difficult for victims of a discriminatory failure to hire to have access to all of the information helpful in proving their case before… Read More »
Employers Are Forbidden From Making Employment Decisions Based On Age Stereotypes
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which is federal law, and the Florida Civil Rights Act, which is Florida law, forbid employers from making employment decisions on the basis of age stereotypes. As explained by the U.S. Supreme Court in Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins, 507 U.S. 613 (1993), “Congress’ promulgation of the… Read More »
EEOC Lawsuit Uses Federal Law To Protect Employees Claiming Sexual Harassment
On March 8, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) entered into a Consent Decree with FYC International, Inc. (FYC) which settled an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC on behalf of employees of FYC in the U.S. District Court, District Court of Connecticut. In the case of EEOC v. FYC International,… Read More »
EEOC Sues Daytona Beach Corporation on behalf of Victim of Pregnancy Discrimination
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently filed a lawsuit against Brown & Brown, a large insurance brokerage based in Daytona Beach. The lawsuit asserts that the company denied a woman a job due to the fact that she was pregnant. In March 2015, Nicole Purcell applied for an entry-level job with Brown… Read More »