Florida is the 37th best state for workers in the United States. However, this low rating doesn’t mean the state doesn’t have strong workers’ rights laws.
Florida’s labor laws foster equality in the workplace. They are also meant to prevent employees from misusing their workers.
Workers have many rights in Florida. Here is what you need to know.
Equality in the Hiring Process
There’re many laws that aim to reduce discrimination in the hiring process. Employers will be breaking the law if they:
- Fail to hire a worker due to their national origin, sex, religion, color, and race
- Men and women receive different pay despite being on the same level
- Hiring people because of their age
- Failing to hire people because they are disabled
Florida labor laws are meant to eliminate discrimination during the hiring process. For instance, it’s illegal to try and find the nationality of an interviewee.
At-will Employment
Workers have the right to resign from their place of work without providing an advance warning. In addition, employers can also fire you because of your sex, age, religion, race, or nationality. You can also not lose your job because you are a whistleblower.
Medical Leave
Workers will get medical leave days if they suffer from specific ailments. The employers must provide payment to their workers when they’re on leave.
It’s your right to also access health insurance cover that’s paid for by your employer. Your employer can also not fire you because you have been away from your workplace for too long because of sickness.
Florida employment law entitles you to a 12-weeks pay within a year if you have a child who is less than one year old. This can also happen if you just adopted a foster child. You can also receive the same payment if your spouse, parent, or child is suffering from serious health conditions.
Non-Discrimination in the Workplace
As the lawyers at firstcoastaccidentlawyers.com will tell you, the laws against discrimination don’t end at the hiring stage. You can’t face discrimination at the workplace because of your race, age, gender, religion, or nationality.
For instance, it’s illegal for an employer to refuse to promote you because they think you are too young. At the same time, raising the salaries of male workers is illegal in Florida. Similarly, telling a pregnant employee to remain at home and giving her duties to another employee is unacceptable.
The employer must ensure that there’s no harassment at the workplace. Workers need a place that’s not abusive, hostile, or intimidating. If an employee reports a harassment case, the employer must protect them.
Making offensive and inappropriate jokes is regarded as harassment. Also, receiving threats or undergoing physical assault makes you a victim of workplace harassment. However, the harassment must be widespread and not include petty annoyances.
Know Your Workers’ Rights in Florida
Florida has developed strong workers’ rights laws to protect workers in the state. These employee laws foster equality among workers and reduce cases of discrimination. They also ensure that people work in a conducive environment.
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Hemant Kumar is a project manager at Tridindia with more than nine years of commendable experience in writing about LMS, translation, and IT. His unmatched talent and passion for digital marketing gave him the opportunity to work as a multi-tasking project manager at TridIndia’s sister company, Link Building Corp. Today, he contributes to the world by imparting knowledge on SEO, link building and internet marketing etc., that helps business owners grow their online business.
