Disagreements between employers and employees can quickly turn contentious in the workplace, and a method of dispute resolution is needed before things escalate and become more serious. Looking from both sides, each party believes he or she is right and the other is wrong.

Aside from the employee leaving the job and starting over, many involved in employment disputes cannot see a resolution. However, there are options a wronged employee can consider to resolve the situation. In the same way, employers can also take effective measures to resolve any prolonged dispute in the organization. Having an inefficient payroll department, for instance, is likely to result in employees raising disputes about their wages most of the time. Such situations can be handled through the outsourcing of payroll management through PEO Canada (or a similar firm), which could prove to be a viable solution for resolving wage disputes. Further, employers can increase the efficiency of their companies.

Employment disputes can surface for any number of reasons including discrimination, wage and hour violations or even a wrongful termination. One of the best things an employee can do is to seek legal representation if a dispute does surface. By acquiring representation early on, the employee is already benefiting from certain protections that he or she would not otherwise have. A lawyer familiar with the rights of employees can offer advice every step of the way, ensuring the worker does not make an error in behavior that could derail his or her efforts to find satisfaction.

Employment laws can be complex in Florida, but rest assured the law considers wrongful treatment of an employee a serious matter. Your attorney can help you choose which option will best meet the details of your situation. Resolution options include in-house dispute resolution, arbitration and mediation. In extreme situation, litigation against the employer is also an option.

If you believe you have a legitimate employment dispute in Miami, you will benefit from consulting with an attorney. To get some immediate answers, we invite you to look over the information available on our website. You may also reach out to our staff for more detailed information about your case. Always remember that the law is on your side if you have a valid grievance.

Judge Scalia’s legacy will be studied and debated for decades.  There is no dispute that he was a “conservative” Justice and a proponent of constitutional originalism, a viewpoint that the intent of the framers of the Consitution should be adhered to no matter what the result. For employment lawyers, his opinions were both for and against plaintiffs.  St Mary’s Honor Center v. Hicks, could be his most influential decision. In St. Mary’s Honor Center, Judge Scalia held that if a plaintiff proves that the reason asserted by a defendant-employer for its actions was, not, in fact, the true reason for its decision, then the fact-finder is free to find that unlawful discrimination has occurred, although by no means is the fact-finder required to find that discrimination has occurred. That case put to rest the notion that a plaintiff needs to provide evidence of discrimination that goes beyond proving that the reason for an employment decision was false in order to prevail.

On-call time is one of the most complex areas of employment law. Being on-call is a widely-accepted form of labor, especially in the health care industry. However, determining what portion of on-call time is compensable under the law is the tricky part. The federal government addresses the subject of on-call time in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The FLSA states that employees in Florida and elsewhere must receive at least the minimum wage as well as overtime for extra hours worked. It also has a few things to say about on-call time. Some employees are required to remain on the premises while on-call. Other employees are allowed to leave the premises while on-call. This is where it gets tricky.

The government believes that all workers should be compensated fairly for their duties. As such, employees required to remain onsite while fulfilling their on-call duties are putting in “hours worked” and must be compensated for the entire duration. Conversely, employees who may leave the premises while on-call do not get paid for these hours until and unless they are “called in” to work. However, there are occasions when this is not the case.

If an employee’s freedom is unduly constrained while on-call, he or she may be eligible for compensation. These circumstances are widely varied, which means that the employee may not understand what is compensable time while on-call and what is not compensable time.

If you work on-call and believe you deserve compensation due to the constraints placed on your freedom, you should probably speak with a lawyer about your case. Together, you can determine if your employer is breaking the law by denying you compensation for the time you serve on-call.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, “Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),” accessed Feb. 16, 2016

For many Florida citizens, it can be difficult to tell sexual harassment apart from workplace jocularity. Of course, this is in reference to the more ambiguous forms of harassment such as inappropriate commentary and other seemingly simple actions. Severe forms of sexual harassment are typically quite obvious.

Having said that, many times Florida workers experience a sense of unease in the face of what might otherwise be perceived as harmless words or actions. As such, they begin to question if something more insidious might be happening in the workplace. Victims of sexual harassment at work often delay asserting their legal rights simply because they have trouble identifying where the line is drawn.

Here is what the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has to say about sexual harassment in the workplace. The terms are simple, clear and easy for anyone to understand.

— First of all, the behavior of the person harassing the victim must be unwanted.

— Gender plays no role in what is considered harassment. Both the victim and the harasser may be a male or a female.

— Further, the harasser can be of the same gender as the victim.

— Harassment can occur from “a supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.”

— A person can be victimized by sexual harassment simply by witnessing or becoming affected by offensive conduct in the workplace.

— Sexual harassment can occur without causing economic injury to the victim.

Victims of sexual harassment in Florida have a couple of ways to deal with this unwelcome behavior initially. They can directly tell the harasser to stop the conduct and they can go through the employer-provided grievance or complaint mechanism. If this fails to yield results or worsens the situation, victims can use the law to seek resolution by contacting an attorney.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “Facts About Sexual Harassment,” accessed Feb. 10, 2016

Furor over unequal pay in the workplace has caused so much uproar in the last year that now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has decided to take action. In a proposed policy change, the EEOC will require employers with more than 100 employees to include employees’ individual salaries, in addition to other demographic data, on their annual EEO-1 reports. Such a move could clarify how widespread the issue truly is.

Naturally, the proposal has sparked controversy between those representing the interests of employers and employees. Employers assert that the change will place an undue burden on their administrative costs, in addition to harming their ability to attract top talent. On the other side, many employee rights advocates see the move as a necessary step in the fight to enforce “equal pay for equal work” laws. Without such oversight, they argue, employers can continue to use secrecy about salaries to minimize their responsibility in continuing the gender pay gap.

The EEOC plans to use the data collected as a tool to flag and investigate companies suspected of wage discrimination. According to the Equal Pay Act, men and women must be paid equally for work requiring the same level of skill, effort and responsibility. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act extends this idea to promote equality in other aspects of the workforce, such as opportunities for advancement, wage increases, types of jobs and performance evaluations.

Theoretically, this means that employees should be paid equally regardless of their gender. However, several studies have shown that wage discrimination based on gender continues to plague the American workforce. In his remarks related to the EEOC’s announcement, President Obama reiterated the oft-quoted statistic that women typically earn 79 cents for every dollar that men earn.

The question remains whether the EEOC’s move will actually lead to substantial changes in employment practices. After all, the proposal only aims to collect data on wages, which may be used for analysis by federal regulators, employers and other interested parties for research and enforcement. Acting on that data will likely still become the work of individuals who feel they have suffered discrimination on account of their gender.

The economy always seems to be in a state of flux and most Florida citizens need their jobs to survive. As such, many workers in our state may choose to overlook an employer’s actions or inactions that may violate the wage and hour laws designed to protect American employees. It is understandable when people make this decision because they want to keep their jobs, but that does not mean it is the wise thing to do.

In other cases, workers may not be sure if their employers are acting outside of the law. In these situations, many people choose to continue working without taking action. The reason is the same as before – because they need their jobs.

As a Florida citizen in a position of legal employment, you have rights and protections under the law. Here are a few of the most common wage and hour violations in Florida and other states. You can use this list to help determine if your own employer is in violation.

— Not paying workers time and a half for overtime work

— Not paying employees the state’s minimum wage

— Making unlawful deductions from a worker’s wages

— Asking employees to work or makng them do so while off the clock

The law office of Gary A. Costales is a trusted resource when it comes to Florida’s wage and hour laws. If you believe or suspect your employer is violating your rights, we urge you to seek legal counsel. An experienced attorney can help you resolve your employment issues while protecting your legal rights every step of the way. Please browse our website to learn more or call our office to schedule a free consultation.