Florida Governor Signs Employment Eligibility Verification Bill into Law
7/2/20
By: Melissa Santalone Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law a bill on verification of employees’ legal authorization to work in the U.S. that is a far cry from the original bill proposed at the beginning of the legislative discussion. As we discussed here, the initial bill would have required all Florida employers to…
U.S. Department of Education Announces Temporary Halting of Wage Garnishments
3/30/20
By: Jeffrey A. Hord On March 25, 2020, the Department of Education (DOE) announced that it will temporarily halt seizing wages and/or withholding tax refunds from borrowers who have defaulted on their student loans held by the federal government. As part of the Trump Administration’s multifaceted response to the COVID-19 national emergency, the DOE has…
Florida Legislature is One Among Several Pushing for Mandatory Use of “E-Verify”
11/8/19
By: Melissa Santalone A Florida State Senator has filed a bill that would require, beginning January 1, 2021, all Florida businesses to use the “E-Verify” system to check whether each newly hired employee is authorized to work in the U.S. The “E-Verify” system is a web-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)…
Florida Employment Law and The Use of Consistent Terminology
1/17/19
By: Michael Kouskoutis Florida’s First DCA recently reversed summary judgment in favor of Florida A&M University (FAMU) in a contract dispute with the school’s former head football and basketball coaches. The coaches both had 4-year contracts with the University, each with a specific end date and permitting early termination only in specific circumstances. Well before…
New Florida Law Change Allows Property Owners to Challenge Lapsed Covenants
11/30/18
By: Melissa Santalone A recently enacted section of the Florida Statutes allows property owners to seek court intervention to prevent their community associations from revitalizing lapsed covenants and restrictions as to their parcels. Property owners can commence an action for judicial determination that any revitalization of those covenants or restrictions as to the property owners’…
8/1/18
By: Jeremy Rogers Recently, the EEOC announced a settlement in a lawsuit brought against SLS Hotel in South Beach. The lawsuit, filed in 2017, followed an investigation into charges made by multiple Haitian former employees who had been terminated in April 2014. They worked as dishwashers in three separate restaurants located in the SLS Hotel. …
Arbitration Agreement Litigation Wins Continue to Fall Like Dominoes for Pizza Hut
6/26/18
By: Tim Holdsworth Following the Supreme Court’s opinion in Epic Systems that class and collective actions waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable, a federal court recently granted a motion to compel arbitration to one of the nation’s largest Pizza Hut franchisees in a lawsuit in Illinois. In Collins et al. v. NPC International Inc., case number 3:17-cv-00312,…
Florida Appellate Court Invalidates Local Minimum Wage Law
2/9/18
By: Melissa A. Santalone A recent decision by Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal invalidated Miami Beach’s local minimum wage law, holding that a state statute preempted the local ordinance. In 2016, the City of Miami Beach enacted a local minimum wage hike, which would have gone into effect January 1 of this year and…
2017 Florida Legislative Scorecard for Labor and Employment Laws
8/9/17
By: Melissa A. Santalone In its 2017 legislative session, both houses of the Florida Legislature introduced bills on a wide array of topics that, were they to become law, would affect the interests of Florida employers in numerous ways. Over all, most employment-related bills failed, but their mere introduction should place employers on notice of…
6/20/17
By: Jeremy W. Rogers Oftentimes in the law, a seemingly straightforward term or name for something turns out to be not so straightforward. Common meanings need to be defined or else creative attorneys may avoid mandates set forth by statute, for instance. One example may include successful arguments against the applicability of a particular statute…
5/31/17
By: Melissa A. Santalone As of July 1, 2007, Section 741.313 of the Florida Statutes mandated that Florida employers with 50 or more employees must provide an employee who has been employed for three or more months with up to three days of leave from work in any 12-month period if the employee or a…
5/12/17
By: Jeremy W. Rogers The general perception of Florida with regard to litigating cases to jury verdicts is that it is very unkind to defendants, particularly large corporations. I have spoken with numerous colleagues who believe that this reputation is completely justified, and it may be. Many also believe that there is a general trend…