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Florida

Develop, implement and publicize policies that encourage employees to report harassment

02/14/2011

Here’s a big benefit to having a strong anti-harassment policy: The policy’s very existence helps protect employers against false claims. That’s because employees won’t be able to say they endured years of harassment and didn’t know how or to whom to report it. The key is making sure employees know about your policy.

Florida government agencies, contractors must use E-Verify

02/14/2011
One of Gov. Rick Scott’s first moves after taking office in January was to require all state agencies and contractors to use the federal government’s E-Verify online employment eligibility verification system for all its new hires. Scott’s move makes Florida the 14th state to adopt E-Verify for public employees, contractors or both.

Post all job openings to head off bias suits

02/14/2011

Save yourself lots of trouble by posting all open positions and telling employees exactly how to apply. When jobs aren’t posted and a member of a protected class misses out on a job opportunity, he or she can argue that the employer purposely hid the opening in order to exclude some individuals.

Use independent investigation to prove you’re not biased

01/21/2011
Employers can sometimes be held liable if they rubber-stamp recommendations that come from supervisors who discriminate. Your best defense is to conduct a truly independent investigation before making disciplinary decisions. That will cut the liability cord.

After employee has complained, be prepared to defend even minor work changes

01/21/2011
Employers can defend against alleged retaliation by showing they had a good reason for the adverse action. For example, if a supervisor moves an employee to another position for a legitimate management reason, that’s not retaliation. Consider the following case.

When deciding on employee discipline, you don’t have to be absolutely right–just fair

01/21/2011

Supervisors have to make decisions on how to run the workplace every day. They can’t spend hours deliberating every move. Imagine how little actual work would get done if supervisors had to double-check every decision to make absolutely sure it was correct. Fortunately, courts don’t require perfection from employers—just assurance that they acted fairly and in good faith.

Orlando man tries to take bite out of Apple

01/11/2011
Apple Computer’s hip youth culture may have met its match in Michael Katz, a former employee who is suing the company for age bias.

Courts want proof employers did what they claim they did

01/11/2011
It was big news last fall when it became apparent that some bank representatives involved in home foreclosures never even examined the court affidavits they were signing. Judges are becoming more reluctant to accept such sworn statements in litigation—and not just in cases involving foreclosures.

Employees fired for missing work should expect to miss unemployment comp, too

01/11/2011
Employees who are guilty of misconduct aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation in Florida. That means if they’re fired for missing a lot of work, habitually arriving late or leaving early, they can be denied unemployment benefits.

Federal appeals court runs out of patience, cracks down on frivolous litigation

01/11/2011
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Florida employers, has started cracking down on employees who file false and frivolous claims. It’s losing patience for the attorneys who represent them, too. That may mean fewer such cases in the near future.