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If you work an hour, you should get paid for an hour. If you work forty hours, you should get paid for 40 hours. And if you work more than 40 hours, you should receive overtime pay. Nevertheless, some Florida workers do not receive the wages that their employers owe them. This results in numerous lawsuits every year related to hourly wage laws.

Perhaps the biggest challenge to enforcing wage and overtime laws is the fact that most Florida workers do not know what their legal rights are. Take overtime laws for example. If a Florida employee works for more than 40 hours in one week, the worker must receive his normal wages plus an extra half-wage for every hour worked. However, a lot of employers try to pay their workers less, and some workers never discover that they’ve been robbed of their pay.

The workers who know their overtime rights can speak up by bringing the pay discrepancy to the attention to their bosses. If the employer fails to compensate the employee, or refuses to compensate the employee, after the overtime pay discrepancy has been revealed, the worker may need to pursue a legal action in court to get paid. If successful, the employee can pursue financial compensation that represents the unpaid back wages and possibly other categories of damages in the lawsuit.

Workers sacrifice their time and their very lives for their jobs. They at least deserve to get paid according to Florida wage laws. If you feel that you’ve been jipped of the wages you’re owed, you might want to determine your legal rights and options.

Most of us know what sexual harassment is on an intellectual level, but it’s not as easy to identify it when it happens until it’s too late and the situation has gotten out of control. Often, in the initial stages of sexual harassment, an employee will dismiss the behavior, believing that it will stop if he or she just ignores it. However, if you can identify the behavior early, you have a better chance of speaking up and getting it to stop before things get out of control.

Here is what you should look for as a sign of the subtle beginnings of sexual harassment:

Basic flirting: The sexual harassment usually starts as simple flirting. Maybe your coworker or supervisor comments on your hair or your dress, saying that you look nice today. Maybe the flirting involves a kind of flirtatious banter that you can feel is definitely sexual harassment.

Passing off sexual behavior as silly or fun: If someone acts in a sexually harassing way, by touching you inappropriately or making an inappropriate comment, the harasser will often try to laugh it off as if it’s socially fine. Don’t fall for this.

Putting out feelers for mutual interest: The sexual harasser might say something revealing about his or her feelings toward you, to find out if there’s mutual interest. When these constantly continue, even though you don’t respond with interest, it could be sexual harassment.

Stalking from a distance: Perhaps this person is present all the time, almost in a stalking way. It might start in an innocent way and progress to actual stalking.

If you’re experiencing anything like the above, you may want to speak up before the symptoms turn into more direct harassment. You will want to be polite and direct. Don’t accuse the person of sexually harassing you, just identify the behavior and say that it’s making your uncomfortable. If the behavior worsens or continues, then you may want to speak with a supervisor or the human resources department.

Source: sexualharassmenttraining.biiz, “Sexual Harassment Training,” accessed Dec. 21, 2017

If you suspect you were terminated from your Florida job, you might want to investigate whether you can file a wrongful termination lawsuit. You’ll also want to make some preparations that will support the success of your lawsuit in the event that you decide to pursue it.

Here are some important things to do after a wrongful termination:

• Don’t act negatively against your employer just because you’re angry.
• Find out information about why you were terminated.
• Read and familiarize yourself with the terms of your employment contract.
• Determine who was the decision-maker when it came to firing you.
• Ask to see your personnel file.
• Document any promises made to you by your employer.
• Request and/or negotiate your severance package if possible, but don’t finalize the agreement until you fully understand how it may affect your legal right to pursue a wrongful termination suit.
• Don’t succumb to intimidation.
• Return company property and follow the post-employment rules outlined in your employee contract.
• Confirm your termination and any offer of severance in writing.

Losing your job — especially as a result of wrongful termination — will be difficult and stressful no matter the circumstances. In fact, you may not even realize you were wrongfully terminated and feel that it was your fault. Try to stay strong after losing your job and make sure that you review your legal rights and options to determine if there’s anything that can be done to improve your situation. In some cases, you might be able to pursue a wrongful termination suit to try and recoup financial damages.

More people than ever before are steadily becoming aware of the impact of sexual harassment in the workplace. In many cases, this harassment will not necessarily be violent. Many workplaces deal with employees who engage in lewd or sexual jokes, which are still enough to make coworkers uncomfortable.

Even if the person does not target the sexually explicit joke directly at you, it can still make you feel awkward, which is completely understandable. One way to address any concerns is to confront the individual making the jokes. Perhaps the person was simply unaware of how the jokes made you feel and will stop. If this type of behavior continues, then it is worth it to bring it to the attention of the boss. If either of these steps fills you with anxiety, then here are some steps for making the process go more smoothly.

Bring up concerns privately

The person who made the joke may become defensive if you call him or her out in public. While a public shaming may feel gratifying, it will most likely not promote the results you seek. Instead, talk to the coworker in private. The person may not have realized how the joke made everyone feel and appreciate your feedback.

Hang onto all communication

In the event a coworker sends you sexually explicit text messages or emails, you will want to hold onto them. Evidence is particularly useful if you end up leaving the company and bring a lawsuit against the individual later down the road.

Suggest a workshop

If there is a systemic problem of sexual jokes at your workplace, then bring up to your boss about hosting a sexual harassment seminar. A professional will come out to go over with everyone what constitutes harassment. Your employer should feel positively about this plan of action because it reduces his or her liability in case an incident goes to court.

A college professor from Florida says he was fired because of his controversial beliefs. The professor filed a wrongful termination lawsuit after he was fired regarding his belief that the Newtown massacre was fake. Florida Atlantic University has responded, saying that they did not fire the professor because of conspiracy theories. Instead, they say that they fired him for insubordination.

The professor posted blog articles online to promote his view that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting — which resulted in 26 deaths — was a staged event. Florida Atlantic College said that they advised the professor that he could continue spreading his beliefs online, but they asked him to make sure he did not associate himself with FAU.

The college further alleged that the professor failed to file special forms regarding the work he was doing outside the school, which is why the school eventually terminated the man for behavior it classifies as “insubordination.”

The professor says that he did not refuse to complete the forms. Rather, he was confused by them, which he says were not clear. He says that his termination represented a violation of his First Amendment rights. Will the professor win his case? As with any controversial wrongful termination lawsuit, only time will tell how the court will decide this matter.

If you feel that you were wrongfully terminated from your job, it’s important to investigate what happened from a legal perspective. You might be able to protect your employment rightsand seek financial compensation and other remedies in court if specific laws were violated during your firing.

Source: New York Daily News, “Florida professor who claimed Sandy Hook massacre was hoax fired for ‘insubordination,’ school official testifies,” David Boroff, accessed Dec. 06, 2017

The last month has been such a watershed of sexual harassment allegations in the news that many of us are spinning, wondering which celebrity — which important political figure — is going face accusations of sexual misconduct next. While everyone will agree that it’s good to stop this kind of behavior and hold those who commit it accountable, some may be wondering about what they should do if they become the victims of sexual harassment moving forward.

Responding to any kind of sexual harassment isn’t easy when our society tends to silence this kind of behavior. Many individuals are becoming extra careful now, in the wake of these allegations, not to commit sexual harassment themselves. Even managers, who have not committed sexual harassment, but must take the complaints about sexual harassment, are concerned that if they respond the wrong way they will be viewed as sexual harassers themselves.

So, how should we respond to this abuse as victims, managers and a society? In fact, like any legal matter, instances of sexual harassment need to be reviewed and investigated individually and objectively. Employers should act upon complaints of sexual harassment immediately and take action immediately as well. The victims should immediately be protected from further abuse from his or her abuser, while the employer investigates the matter to make a determination. In many cases, it would be equally effective to have an independent investigatory board to investigate such matters swiftly and come to a clear conclusion.

Also, victims should not be shy about coming forward. What we’re seeing right now is a long-needed purge. It’s a sea change that we hope will bring sexual harassment and toxic workplace environments to an end once and for all. If you are being sexually harassed at work, even in the wake of all these scandals, it’s time that you joined the revolution.

Source: The New York Times, “How Should We Respond to Sexual Harassment?,” Amanda Taub, Nov. 29, 2017