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Any Florida resident who has been through junior high school knows that there is no other place where more sexual harassment happens. Perhaps, since this is sexual harassment that involves children, it is a little more forgivable than when sexual harassment is committed by adults. After all, adults know better than to engage in this damaging behavior, and children might still need to be educated about why this behavior is so hurtful.

Nevertheless, sexual harassment in junior high school must be stopped, children need to be educated, and they also need to be punished and held accountable for the abuse. Indeed, late last month, yet another teenager — this time in Texas City, Texas — committed suicide by shooting herself in her attempt to alleviate the pain of sexual harassment and bullying being perpetrated against her via social media and text messaging.

Teenagers are so sensitive, and most of them don’t know where to turn or who to talk to when they are victimized by sexual harassment. According to one report, approximately 43 percent of junior high school children had been victimized by sexual comments, jokes, gestures and other forms of sexual harassment. Unfortunately, when schools and parents allow this behavior to go unchecked, it becomes a habitual practice by bullies, which can bleed into the adult workforce.

One might think that sexual harassment would end at junior high, and for many people it does. However, for Florida residents being sexually harassed — or harassed in any other way — at their workplaces, it can feel like they are re-living the worst of their teenage years. If you are being harassed by superiors or co-workers at your workplace, you can put a stop to the harassment right now by contacting an experienced Florida employment law attorney to discuss the facts surrounding your abuse.

Source: Science Daily, “Sexual harassment common among middle school children, study finds,” Dec. 09, 2016

When a Miami employee is wrongfully terminated, it means that the employee was terminated from his or her job in a way that violated federal or state law. One of the most common categories of wrongful termination is discriminatory firing. This means that an individual was fired as a result of his or her race, religion, national origin, sexual preference, sex, disability, age, pregnancy status or another protected status.

When an employee suffers a discriminatory firing, he or she may seek financial compensation in court by filing a wrongful termination claim along with a charge of discrimination via the federal U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Depending on the nature of the facts surrounding the termination, employees might also prefer to file their wrongful termination claims via a local or state anti-discrimination authority.

Another common element of a discriminatory firing claim relates to retaliation. Retaliation is what happens after an employee complains to a supervisor about discriminatory behavior being brought against him or her on the job. If the employer or manager punishes the employee for bringing discriminatory behavior to light — and that punishment could take the form of a wrongful termination, reduced wages, reduced working hours, a demotion or more — then retaliation is generally said to have occurred.

Since claims of wrongful termination and retaliation are limited by strict statutes of limitation — meaning there are time limitations on filing the claims — victims of discriminatory firing are encouraged to file their claims as expeditiously as possible. As such, those who have been harmed by wrongful termination, discriminatory firing and/or retaliation because of their race, sex, age or another protected reason may want to reach out to a Miami area employment law attorney before it is too late to file a claim.

Source: FindLaw, “What is wrongful termination?,” accessed Nov. 28, 2016

Miami employees have the right to work in an office or workplace that is completely free of unwanted sexual advances, sexual comments and harassment. In fact, those who are being subjected to this kind of abuse can and should make an immediate complaint to their supervisors without any fear of retaliation.

If you are being victimized at work by any kind of sexual harassment, stop making excuses for those who are doing it or stop saying that it’s really not that big of a deal. This is your pep talk from the legal team at the Law Offices of Gary A. Costales, PA. The law is on your side. You can stand up for your rights, and if you are retaliated against for doing so, the law will be doubly on your side.

An important aspect of many sexual harassment cases is the legal notion of “retaliation.” When an employer retaliates against an employee because he or she complained about sexual harassment, the employer will have committed another legal infraction and thereby bolstered the employee’s sexual harassment claims.

Florida courts are far more likely to award an even higher amount of financial compensation to employees who, for example, were terminated, demoted, suspended, given less working hours or suffered other negative consequences after they reported an instance of sexual harassment.

We have successfully represented numerous employees in their Florida sexual harassment claims. If you have been the victim of this kind of abuse, we are available to defend your rights and seek the maximum amount of financial compensation to make you whole.

A non-compete agreement, also known as a covenant not to compete, may seem like a very straightforward contract. The truth is that it is a very subjective type of agreement. This type of document relies on factors and details specific to the situation for it to be enforceable. If the document is clearly written and presents reasonable arguments, the court is likely to uphold the contract.

When reviewing the agreement, you will find it helpful to look for these details as they can determine whether the contract can be enforced:

1. Job restrictions and other limitations

The non-compete needs to explain exactly what the employee’s restrictions are. These may include the following:

· Working for competitors

· Investing in a competitor’s business

· Recruiting the employer’s current employees and/or clients

· Sharing trade secrets and other confidential information

General industry restrictions most likely will not have enforceability. The best course for both parties is to include only as much as needed to protect the employer’s business interests.

2. Time and distance limitations

The agreement must state a defined geographical limitation and period of time the agreement is in effect. Neither can be too broad that it would be difficult for the employee to find local work. The distance must be relevant to the scope of business.

The agreement can include enough time for the employer to recover from any loss, including the employee’s departure, or to protect confidential information. Be aware that the relationship between time and distance affects enforceability. Having a broad geographical restriction and a lengthy time restriction makes the court less likely to enforce the contract.

3. Other relevant information

Beyond the basics, a non-compete may include other information related to the agreement. For example, will the employee receive compensation for signing the contract, and if so, how much? Will the agreement remain in force if the employer terminates the employee? Will the employer give the employee severance pay after termination? The more information the agreement has, the better able the court will be to decide how reasonable it is to enforce.

Check the legality

The legality of your non-compete also will determine its enforceability. Employers must ensure it does not violate any laws, including those regarding taxes, or else they may have to pay severe penalties.

The best way to check the legal strength of your agreement is to consult an attorney with experience in non-compete agreements. An attorney may help you negotiate, draft and review your agreement for increased protection, and can represent you in the event of litigation.

The Florida home improvement corporation, JF & MB Home Improvement and Landscaping, Inc., is being sued by one of its former employees for wrongful termination. The lawsuit, filed late last month by an employee who says he was fired in retaliation for complaining about unpaid wages, cites claims relating to retaliation, unpaid wages, wrongful termination and breach of lease agreement.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed on Oct. 20 in the Middle District of Florida’s U.S. District Court, the home improvement company did not fulfill its duty to compensate the aggrieved employee at the correct rate for all of the hours he worked. Allegedly, the plaintiff was employed by the defendant in July 2014, and had entered into an agreement to be properly paid for all of the work he completed. However, the plaintiff claims that he did not receive his minimum applicable hourly wages, nor did he receive appropriate overtime pay.

The plaintiff says that when he complained about not receiving the wages he was owed, the landscaping company terminated him out of retaliation. The former landscaping employee has requested a jury trial and is asking for compensation for damages, court costs, attorneys’ fees and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

No Florida employee should ever be denied appropriate and just payment by an employer for wages earned during his or her employment. Even worse, when an employee brings forward the issue of non-payment of wages to his or her employer, the law protects the employee from retaliatory actions — such as termination — by the employer. Florida workers who have been wrongfully terminated and/or who have suffered non-payment of wages may wish to seek assistance from an employment law attorney pursue a legal action in court.

Source: Florida Record, “Employee accuses home improvement company of wrongful termination after he complained about unpaid wages,” Jenie Mallari-Torres, Nov. 04, 2016

An ex-employee of a bathing services company, Premier Baths, has sued his former employer for infractions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In his lawsuit, the man is claiming damages related to wrongful termination, retaliation, unpaid wages and other issues.

According to the complaint, which was filed late last month in the Orlando Division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the ex-employee says that he began work with the firm as a sales representative. He says that he even received awards and bonuses for stellar job performance. Nevertheless, in 2014, the man was terminated from his position without notice.

The lawsuit alleges that the man was terminated due to his asking questions bout unusual assignments he was asked to complete. The assignments were not in alignment with what the employee initially signed up for and were not what he was promised. They included him needing to travel to “rough” neighborhoods and tend to low-quality sales leads.

The employee claimed that his employer’s actions resulted in damage to his reputation, embarrassment, an inability to secure employment, lack of funds, emotional stress and anxiety. He has asked the court to award him damages for unpaid wages, interest and penalties, other damages, attorneys fees, other costs and further relief deemed appropriate by the court.

Claims relating to wrongful termination are not uncommon in the state of Florida. If you or a loved one believes that you have been unfairly terminated from your employment, you may want to speak to a qualified employment law attorney to find out what can be done to protect your legal rights.

Source: Florida Records, “Sales rep sues former employer for wrongful termination,” Jenie Mallari-Torres, Oct. 30, 2016