Ver la versión en español aquí. We also discussed this in our Labor & Employment client alert here. On March 10, 2022, the Florida legislature passed House Bill 7 (“HB 7”), the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act, officially named “Individual Freedom,” but also known as the “Stop WOKE Act.” The bill … Continue Reading
Dear Clients and Friends, These words just came out of my mouth, “I have extra toilet paper I can trade for some rice.” Yesterday, I wore gloves, a face mask and carried homemade alcohol wipes in order to go food shopping. How the world has changed in one month! So this will not come as … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí 2020 Session is upon us and there are some interesting labor and employment bills percolating through the Florida Legislature. Here are few particularly notable bills that caught our eye: Minimum Wage Minimum wage is a frequent flier in the Florida Legislature and 2020 is no exception. One pending bill … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí When the first transgender discrimination case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts asked, “What do we do about bathrooms?” Now, The Supreme Court has been asked the question: Does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination at work, apply to discrimination … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Please join us for our 28th Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar Friday, April 27th from 8am-4pm at the JW Marriott Marquis Miami. Our annual seminar draws hundreds of human resource professionals, in-house counsel and senior executives from South Florida’s top businesses. And for good reason! No one does events quite … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí On October 4, 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum advising that the U.S. Department of Justice will no longer take the position that Title VII (the law which prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin, and religion) prohibits discrimination based on “gender identity per … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí With over 400 attendees from more than 200 employers, our 26th Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar was a huge success! Thank you for allowing us to keep you “on Track”. For the first time this year, following our morning sessions, attendees were able to choose from our “high-speed” track designed for … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Transgender Status and the Bathroom Question With North Carolina recently passing a state law which requires a transgender person to use the restroom that matches their sex at birth, the question many Floridians are asking now is: If a person is transgender, or has a gender identity or expression different … Continue Reading
I love this time of year. For some magical reason, everyone’s mood changes and smiles appear. Perhaps it’s their pending vacation or the chance to spend quality time with friends and family. So, in the spirit of the holidays, here is my gift to all our readers. Drum rolls please . . . TEN WAYS TO AVOID GETTING … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí For the past several weeks, the country has been enthralled by the controversy surrounding Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, who spent five days in jail after she refused to comply with a federal court’s directive to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis, an Apostolic Christian, says that … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Legislative efforts have failed repeatedly at the federal level to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of protected classifications under anti-discrimination laws. That has not deterred the EEOC in its quest to protect the LGBT community from employment discrimination. On the heels of the Supreme Court’s … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges, that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution “requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Effective March 27, 2015, the FMLA’s definition of “spouse” will expand to include an FMLA-eligible employee in a lawful same-sex or common law marriage, even if the marriage is not recognized in the state in which the employee lives or works. This change will provide all legally married couples … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Title VII does not protect against sexual orientation discrimination (though many state and local laws do). The battle to amend this most prominent of employment laws to protect sexual orientation has been waged for years, unsuccessfully. Yet, seemingly overnight, issues of gender identity or transgender discrimination have leapfrogged to … Continue Reading
On June 20, 2014, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its proposal to change the FMLA’s definition of “spouse”. According to the DOL, the purpose of the proposed change is to “ensure that same-sex couples who have legally married will have consistent FMLA rights regardless of where they live.” Under the current FMLA regulations, employees … Continue Reading
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) which had defined “marriage” as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and “spouse” as a person of the opposite sex who was a husband or a … Continue Reading
If you have not watched television or driven on any road lately, you might be surprised to learn that there is a presidential election scheduled for Tuesday, November 6. Well maybe not. This blog focuses on issues that employers should consider during the next few weeks. Florida law does not require employers to give employees … Continue Reading
As we blogged about in December, the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama) recently found that transgender employees are protected against job discrimination pursuant to the Equal Protection Clause, which only applies to public sector employees. Whether or not the same protection was available under Title VII, which applies … Continue Reading
Last week, the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama) ruled in favor of Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn, an employee who was fired after informing her employer, the Georgia Legislature, that she was a transsexual and planned on undergoing a complete gender transformation from male to female. Glenn sued the Georgia … Continue Reading
