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Lake City Labor & Employment Lawyer

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is generally the federal agency that handles disputes between employers and employees. The EEOC’s inspectors and lawyers work very hard. But they normally only take cases which have very high profiles or will settle very quickly. Most likely, your case does not fall into these categories. So, the EEOC may refuse to help you.

Aggrieved workers may not be able to count on the EEOC, but they can count on strong employment law attorneys, like the ones you’ll find at Douglas & Douglas. Our Lake City labor & employment lawyers provide both solid advice and aggressive advocacy. We take as much time as necessary to give you the guidance you need. This guidance makes complex legal problems easier to digest. Furthermore, we never stop fighting for you. Our goal is not to settle the case quickly, but to get you the compensation and justice you deserve.

Employment Discrimination Claims in Lake City

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act sets out a number of protected classes. Employers are often tempted to take action against these individuals simply because of their status. The relevant portions of this federal law apply to:

  • National Origin: An emerging trend in Florida is the prevalence of “English-only” workplaces. In a few cases, the employer has a legitimate business reason underpinning this policy. But in most cases, it’s simply a weak excuse to fire, or not hire, people with limited English proficiency.
  • Religion: Many worshippers observe certain holidays, dress in certain ways, or ab=void certain behaviors out of devotion to their religion. Generally, an employer cannot unilaterally impose requirements which conflict with these values. The religion need not be a large one that’s officially recognized. The worker’s religious beliefs need only be sincere.
  • Age: It’s illegal to discriminate against any worker over 40. A few years ago, the United States Supreme Court made these cases more difficult to win in court. So, the proportion of EEOC age discrimination cases has fallen significantly, and many employers have taken advantage of this lapse.

Other protected classes include gender, pregnancy, and sexual orientation. It’s a bit unclear if “sexual orientation” also includes gender identity, but that appears to be the case.

Wage/Hour Claims in Columbia County

All employees are entitled to a minimum wage. To bypass this requirement, many employers misclassify their employees as “independent contractors” or “interns.” But employment classification usually depends on the type of work the employee performs and the employer/employee relationship. The employer’s unilateral label has little or no effect.

Many wage/hour claims become class-actions. This consolidation increases the compensation that the employer must pay and also allows individual litigants to pool their resources.

Sexual Harassment Claims in Florida

In study after study, the majority of workers say they have experienced sexual harassment at work. But in this context, this term has a specific meaning. Legally, sexual harassment usually involves one of the following:

  • Quid Pro Quo: In the movies, it is romantic when the shy boss asks the pretty worker to “discuss the promotion over dinner.” In the real world, such behavior constitutes sexual harassment. The same thing applies to other major decisions, such as hirings and firings.
  • Hostile Environment: A few crude remarks, or even an isolated inappropriate touch, may not constitute sexual harassment. But if the behavior is bad enough that it affects the way workers do their jobs, the environment is a hostile one.

Many sexual harassment claims actually do not involve sexual harassment. Rather, the employer may retaliate against the employee for reporting the misconduct. Retaliation claims are rather easy to prove. Rather than establish a quid pro quo or a hostile environment, the plaintiff usually need only establish a temporal relationship between the action and the reaction.

Contact Aggressive Labor & Employment Lawyers

Workers in Florida have important legal and financial rights. For a free consultation with an experienced employment discrimination lawyer in Lake City, contact . We do not charge upfront legal fees in these cases.

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