Imagine you’ve been working at the same job for the last seven years, and suddenly a new manager comes on scene. At first, the manager seems like a jokester, and you get along great with him or her, but before you know it, things turn sexual. What you thought was good-natured banter has now taken an insulting and demeaning turn. Your manager has even started to touch you in a way that’s extremely uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, situations like this happen frequently in Florida. Even though an employee has been working at a particular job for some time, he or she could encounter one of the following examples of sexual harassment at any time:

Inappropriate touching

A touch on the arm has suddenly turned into a grabbing, fondling, massaging and touching of private areas. This is not just sexual harassment; it’s sexual assault. It’s important to stand up for your rights immediately to stop this behavior.

Inappropriate comments

A co-worker or supervisor is regularly making comments about your sexuality, your body, your clothing or how you look.

Requests for sexual favors

Bosses and supervisors sometimes hound their underlines for sexual favors. This is grossly inappropriate, immoral and unlawful.

Quid pro quo demands

A quid pro quo request or demand involves the promise of some benefit in exchange for a sexual favor or going on a date.

Constantly pestering an employee for dates

No means no at the office. If someone asks you on a date, that’s fine. If that person continues to pester you multiple times to go on dates, this clearly sexual harassment.

Don’t let yourself be a victim of sexual harassment. Tell your harassers to stop. Report the behavior to the appropriate person. If it continues, assert your legal rights in court immediately.

Many workplaces hold training sessions on topics such as sexual harassment. Of course, some employers handle this topic better than others do. Because a sexual harassment lawsuit against your business may prove costly, it is often worth your while to be proactive in how you approach training. This tactic can also help you attract a wider base of qualified applicants if you develop a reputation for being a fair and proactive business.

So, here are some general guidelines to help with your anti-sexual harassment training.

Make it interactive

Many employees go through training that means they sit at their computers, read scenarios and answer questions. Is that type of training bad? Not necessarily. In fact, it could work well for some groups of employees. After all, it is interactive to an extent and may allow employees to take their time and to finish at their pace. It is probably better than just having employees attend a lecture or read a handout without a genuine opportunity to reflect and ask questions.

That said, live, interactive training by qualified trainers is frequently the best-case scenario and can easily be paired with computer-based training. There is only so much a computer program can do, and a real person with helpful credentials can bring a fuller, robust aspect to your training.

Get top-level support

Employees are more likely to take training seriously if they notice that the CEO is present. Thus, it is important that top-level management understands and supports the need for training. Managers should not consider themselves above the need for this type of education and should participate fully. In fact, managers probably need more training because not only do they need to be aware of their own behavior, they must be able to respond appropriately if an employee reports a claim of sexual harassment to them.

Explain about nonretaliation

Many anti-sexual harassment trainings fail to explain about nonretaliation. If your training covers this area, employees should feel more comfortable coming forward because they do not fear a negative consequence such as salary cut or job loss.

As an employee, you are protected by federal law from many types of discrimination that can take place in the workplace. Your employer is responsible for providing you with a work environment that is safe from discrimination, harassment, harm and conflict. Unfortunately, even with federal protections in place, discrimination is one issue that some employees in Miami still experience. To better understand your rights as a worker, you should learn about the different types of workplace discrimination that can occur.

Race

Your employer cannot mistreat you or allow any other workers to treat you unfavorably because of your race, the color of your skin and any characteristics that are often associated with your race. For example, if you are Hispanic, your employer and coworkers cannot make comments or gestures or use racial slurs toward and around you. The company cannot pay you less than other workers who have the same credentials, job title and capacity. You are entitled to the same benefits and treatments as all other workers, regardless of race.

Disability

If you require special accommodations to perform your job because of a disability, you have the right to ask your employer for them. As long as your requests are reasonable, he or she should comply with them. Employers and workers cannot make comments or assumptions about your disability and capabilities. They also cannot use your condition to make hiring, firing, promotion, compensation and other work-related decisions that can affect any condition of your employment.

In the case that your disability restricts movement and you are unable to attend office on an everyday basis, you can even request to Work from Home, given that your job responsibilities can be taken care of from home. In such a scenario, you can hire some recovery coaches ndis or the like, who can assist with other household duties, so that you can take care of the work assigned to you by your employer. In this manner, you can also save yourself from unwanted gaze or discrimination in the workplace.

Apparently, there are other forms of discrimination at work that can make it hard for you to perform your job. If you are experiencing discrimination from your employer or coworkers due to race, disability, or some other factor, you should speak to an attorney to learn about your options.

The purpose of any business contract, including for employment, is to make the agreement and responsibilities between two or more parties explicit and legally binding. However, it doesn’t guarantee the parties will fulfill their ends of the contract. When this happens, it’s an actual breach of contract, and the harmed party can take legal action against the one who made the breach. The type of breach determines whether or not the affected party still has to perform its duties and maintain the contract. The two main types of actual breaches are minor and material.

Minor breaches

A minor, or partial, breach is when one party doesn’t fulfill a portion of its obligations but still delivers the majority. The harmed party may sue for damages but is not relieved of its side of the contract. The courts use six guidelines to determine whether a breach is minor or material.

1. How much work the breaching party already finished
2. If the action was intentional, negligent or innocent
3. The level of certainty that the breaching party will complete the contract
4. How much the affected party benefitted from the work already performed
5. How much compensation the affected party can receive
6. How classifying the breach as material would affect the breaching party

Another consideration is if the contract clearly elevates a detail normally deemed as minor as being important, such as one party specifying an inflexible completion date to meet its business deadlines.

Material breaches

A material breach is similar to a minor one except that the breach is significant enough that the harmed party doesn’t have to keep its end of the contract. If the contract is an ongoing one, then the innocent party also has the option to either maintain or terminate the contract altogether in addition to collecting damages. A breach can also be anticipatory, meaning one party recognizes that the other will not perform its duties or meet its promises, and therefore ends the contract and sues before the breach even occurs.

What to do when there is a breach of contract

If you have experienced a breach of employment contract, the best thing to do is to seek legal assistance. Although Florida law allows you to file a claim for up to five years after the incident, it’s wise to take immediate action. An attorney experienced in employment contract disputes may determine what legal action is appropriate to take so you can receive the compensation you deserve.

A minimum wage is a vital tool for both workers and businesses. As an employee, you rely on the minimum wage requirements to ensure you receive enough compensation. The minimum wage often changes frequently. Minimum wage works in a similar way to insurance money – each employee is worthy of a certain amount of money. For example, if you have an accident or contract an illness, either short-term or long-term, occupational disability insurance is accessible to you as an employee to protect yourself from not being paid. A certain amount of money will be given to you purely on the basis that you are unable to work.

As of January 1, 2019, the hourly minimum wage in Florida is now $8.46, in comparison to $8.25. Here is an analysis of this new law and what to do if your employer does not pay you the correct amount.

All about the new wage hike

Aside from the 21-cent increase to $8.46, tipped workers are also enjoying a rise in wages, from $5.23 to $5.44. This is all thanks to a 2004 constitutional amendment that guarantees the Florida minimum wage to be higher than the national minimum wage. In 2005, the state raised its minimum wage to $6.15, notably higher than the federal wage at the time – $5.15. Right now, the Florida minimum wage is $1.21 higher than the federal wage. The minimum wage in the Sunshine State regularly increases due to inflation.

While this may not seem like a significant increase, it is notable considering the history of the minimum wage in Florida. This is actually the biggest growth since 2012. In 2012, there was a 36-cent increase to $7.67 from $7.31.

Reporting and collecting unpaid wages

Unfortunately, not every business owner or employer adheres to the law. Some employers want to cheat their workers out of their rightful wages. If you are the victim of a wage violation, you may not make enough money to support yourself. You deserve at least the current minimum wage as an employee in Florida.

If you believe you are not getting the wages the guarantees you, you may be able to remedy the situation. Thankfully, there is a process that allows you to file complaints, report unpaid wages and recover back pay from your employer. It is vital to understand your rights and protections regarding wages as a worker in Florida.

Single people often wind up dating someone in their workplace. It’s one of the easiest, most natural places to meet someone. Similar to the way that school filled this role at a younger age, the workplace also gives you a chance to see someone every day and get to know them before you start dating.

In fact, one study found that a full 57 percent of those who were asked had experienced workplace romances. That makes this the norm for most workers in the United States.

That said, about 42 percent of companies in another study claimed they enforced romance policies at work. In a striking 99 percent of cases, these policies said that supervisors and workers under them could not date or engage in romantic relationships with one another. Over the past decade-and-a-half, the percentage of policies that mandate this has increased significantly.

Why is this? Firstly, it is to avoid negative tension in the workplace. Dating in the workplace tends to make things complicated and often ends up badly. There are already so many different websites that people could use for dating (read about double list and others to see an example), so it shouldn’t be a problem to avoid work relationships. But also in part, it’s intended to prevent sexual harassment. It is too easy for someone who is in a position of power to use that power to manipulate someone into a relationship. The worker may feel uncomfortable turning down a supervisor for a date or may not know how to end the relationship if they want to. Supervisors could also use the relationship to harass a worker and then claim it was mutual when it was not.

It is clear that many United States companies take this type of thing seriously, but it does still happen. If you are a victim, you need to know exactly what steps to take and what rights you have.