Florida Employment Legal Questions

I'm fairly sure you are not claiming your employer watches you when you go to the bathroom. That would be illegal. It would also be illegal for your employer to make audio recordings without your consent. However, the GPS tracking is not illegal and most likely your only options are to deal with it or quit.... Read More

Illinois Law provides that  payments must be made at least bi-monthly, with a few exceptions.  If the payment is not made timely, this is an automatic violation of the law (though if the payment is only a  little late, the damages are not worth pursuing).  As part of this, if payment is late, that means, under the law, that the employer violated the minimum wage age by failing to pay any wages for that 2 week period.  This theory of a minimum wage violation for late payment would also apply under Federal Law as a violation of the minimum wage act, though often, the State law may require a higher minimum wage making the state violation the better way to go in terms of remedies. You would need to check Florida law to see if the same semi monthly time period applies.   ... Read More

Basically yes. You have limited privacy rights at work, and mail sent to work would probably not entitle you to privacy. There are a lot of "immoral" things the employer can get away with. If you really feel you were wronged, you have to sometimes get a little creative, and if this means fighting fire with fire, so be it. At times like this you may wish to consider the famous story of Al Capone. He was a gangster in the 1920s, where the government was angry with him because they knew he did stuff wrong (e.g. murder, robbery) but could not get evidence to put him away to prison ON THOSE LEGAL THEORIES. What the government did was find a "DIFFERENT THEORY" and they got the result they wanted, they got justice, as they put him away for tax evasion. Now how does this story relate to you? If you can't get them for "wrongful termination", you need to look at other aspects of your job, for an opportunity to seek legal justice not on the theory that is dear to your heart, but on other issues of possible illegal misconduct: 1. Did they provide you with breaks? 2. Did they pay you properly, including any overtime? 3. Did they make you incur any expenses for work that you were not reimbursed for (e.g. uniform, special shoes, cell phone, gas, etc). 4. Did they pay you your pay check using an out of state check causing you to go to a check cashing place or incurring a fee in order to get your money? If any of these kind of things occurred you might be able to get justice against the company. Call me if you wish to discuss this. Do you have copies of your pay stub(s), check(s)? Do you have at home a copy of the employee manual?... Read More

Just based on the facts you've provided, unless you have an employment contract or there is otherwise an internal company policy that prohibits this type of action, it is unfortunately likely that you don't have much legal recourse. You may try to contact a representative at BOLI to discuss your situation, however, and provide them with more facts to more completely analyze what the situation is.... Read More

Typically, when you voluntarily leave a position, you are not entitled to unemployment benefits. However, there are some exceptions to this. If you feel that you were constructively terminated, you could receive benefits. This is not an easy thing to prove, but basically, if most reasonable employees would have tolerated the working conditions you were placed in, then your resignation is not likely to be constructive discharge. But if most reasonable employees would quit because the working conditions were so intolerable that they had no choice, then your resignation might very well be constructive discharge.... Read More

If the employer agrees with your statement that you were terminated for doing something you were told to do, I would agree that you have a good wrongful termination case. On the other hand, my guess is, that your employer will state a "different reason" you were terminated, or deny you were told that should have done what you did. If you are/ were in a union on the job, you must bring any potential wrongful termination claim, generally to them first, in order to exhaust your administrative remedy. Whether you were in a union or not, I would suggest you immediately start by gathering the evidence (e.g. documents, emails, witnesses that hear your supervisor instructing you, etc) in order to begin a case. If you cannot find any evidence to support your position, and the company denies you were instructed to do something you were terminated for, then it becomes what we call a "he said/ she said" type of case, which are not always easy to prove. If you have the proof, that is another story all together and could help you bring a claim. It is also important, that you immediately try to begin "mitigating your damages", by applying for new jobs. Keep a log of all the companies you are applying to, the results of your applications and interviews. Also, if you have not already, apply for unemployment, although I suspect the company may challenge you on that. Good luck.... Read More

You KNEW you weren't qualified. Were these guys your supervisors? If yes then you may have a "wrongful termination" lawsuit. Michigan is an "at-will" state and you can be fired for almost anything. If they know you weren't qualified . . . and they were management . . . then you might have a case.... Read More

Your sole remedy in GA is unemployment compensation, unless you can prove you were discharged for protected discrimination, limited to race, age, sex, national origin, religiious beliefs, or handicap. Any reason, including a stupid or invalid reason, does not give right to a wrongful termination suit in GA. You likely will need an attorney to win the unemployment case.... Read More

Under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act it is unlawful for a covered employer (i.e., one who employs 15 or more employees) to discriminate against an employee on the basis of religion. Unless the employer is a religious institution, the employer's action in forcing you to engage in religious activities would be unlawful. You can refuse to do so. If the employer fires you you can file discrimination charges with the EEOC.   Michael Caldwell 404-979-3150... Read More

I think you're missing the point here.  The law requires an employer to pay overtime to hourly and non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in any work week.  Most employers schedule work in a way which includes "nonwork" time such as mandatory breaks and lunch breaks.  That is, an 8 to 5 work day includes a total of 9 hours, but may include only 8 hours of "time worked" for wage and hour law purposes.  Such a schedule may include 30 minutes unpaid lunch break and two unpaid 15 min. breaks during the day, for instance.  If an employee has the "option" of making the personal decision to work through lunch and break times, that results in 5 hours per week of overtime which the employer must pay. Therefore, many employers require employees to take the unpaid break time.  Doing so also lowers fatigue and can improve the safety of the workplace. The "bottom line" is that the employer is entitled to set the break policy, and can require employees to take the breaks.  It doesn't matter whether the policy uses the word "provide," the word "requires" or some other term.  The effect is the same; the employer can insist the employee take the break and impose discipline if they do not since working through the break would constitute unauthorized overtime.... Read More