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Employment Law

Preserve e-mail records; new e-discovery rules kick in

01/01/2007

When employees sue your organization, you must turn over any related documents—including old e-mail messages and computer records—during the discovery phase. But be aware that recent changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure place an even greater burden on you to come clean with what information you have …

Weather can excuse late filing for unemployment benefits

01/01/2007

As every Florida resident knows, hurricanes can wreak havoc. But until now, ex-employees had to file unemployment compensation appeals by the statutory deadline—hurricane or no hurricane …

Don’t Forget to Comply With New Minimum-Wage Poster Law

01/01/2007

Effective Jan. 1, 2007, the new minimum wage in Florida is $6.67 per hour. This represents a 27-cent increase from the $6.40 per-hour minimum in 2006 …

Employees’ hostile pranks spell setback for Fort Lauderdale

01/01/2007

Dogged for over a decade by lawsuits alleging racial and sexual discrimination, the city of Fort Lauderdale has been working to change that atmosphere. But two recent instances of hostile employee pranks marked a major setback for the city’s effort …

State cuts workers’ comp rates by an average 15.7 percent

01/01/2007

The state’s insurance commissioner, Kevin McCarty, got his wish, approving an average 15.7 percent cut in workers’ compensation rates. That means a savings of more than $400 million for Florida employers …

Homeland Security’s Miami office to pay $2.5 million in bias lawsuit

01/01/2007

When it comes to discrimination laws, you’d think the federal government would know the rules. Yet a jury recently ordered the U.S. Homeland Security Department to pay $2.5 million to a former employee in a bias lawsuit …

State wins federal grant to help disabled start up businesses

01/01/2007

The Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Labor Department to promote entrepreneurship among disabled people …

Tallahassee college learns a hard lesson in $34,000 payout

01/01/2007

Tallahassee Community College recently settled a discrimination lawsuit with the U.S. Justice Department, agreeing to pay more than $34,000 in back pay and interest to a job applicant …

Florida Workers’ Comp Law: What Is ‘Maximum Medical Improvement’?

01/01/2007

Even though Florida’s workers’ compensation (WC) system includes many safeguards to protect against abuse, you must still stay on top of cases to ensure that you pay only legitimate benefits …

Big firms seeking partners that can prove staff diversity

01/01/2007

In recent years, large corporations have begun imposing work force diversity mandates on their suppliers. As a result, midsize organizations that want to win contracts scramble to prove diversity among their staffs …