Wrongful Termination Claims in Florida
Discrimination
Florida and federal law prohibit an employer for terminating employment, or treating employees differently, based on their race, color, national origin, age, gender, disability/handicap, pregnancy, marital status and, in some counties, sexual orientation. A federal law, the Family and Medical Leave Act, prohibits an employer from terminating employment to prevent or interfere with taking medical leave.
Retaliation
Florida and federal laws also prohibit retaliatory terminations. If an employee complains about discrimination or participates in an investigation into discrimination, it is unlawful for an employer to terminate that employee for those reasons. Florida law also prohibits an employer from terminating an employee for testifying at a trial, for having filed or pursed the filing of a claim for Worker’s Compensation or for having to opposed or objected to an illegal practice of an employer. The Family and Medical Leave Act also has an anti-retaliation provision which prohibits an employer fromi interferring with the leave and/or not allowing an employee to returning from a medical leave.
Other Rights
Other rights which may give rise to a claim for wrongful termination include: 1) the right to serve on a jury; 2) right to claim a minimum wage; 3) right to testify in an investigation; 4) right to have wages garnished; 5) right to refuse direct deposit; 6) right to refuse to participate in an abortion; 7) right to serve in the National Guard; 8) right to take an AIDS test; 9) right to possess a certain sickle-cell trait; 10) right to be, or not, a member of a union; 11) right to possess a firearm in a locked vehicle at work; and 12) right to protect oneself or a family member against domestic violence.
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