Florida State Employee Legal Issues

Anyone who is employed by an entity of the government of the state of Florida is a Florida state employee. A worker employed by the state of Florida might be an employee of a state department, agency, or office. A lawyer consultation in Florida with a Florida lawyer would provide an individual with more information about the structure of Texas state government.

What Are Some Common State Employee Legal Issues?

The state of Florida has many private and public sector employee unions. Florida is a right-to-work state, which means that union membership in a workplace that has a collective bargaining agreement is not mandatory.

An employee does not have to join the union that represents workers in their department or agency. Of course, a worker may join the union, if they choose to do so.

However, in Florida, public employees have a right to bargain collectively with their departments and agencies. So, a public employee who is a member of a union would first turn to their union with complaints about disputes on the job.

Otherwise, state employment disputes are much the same as the disputes that arise in private enterprises. Employees need to understand how their performance on the job is evaluated and how often. They would need to know whether they would have the opportunity to improve if their
performance is assessed as subpar.

They also need to understand the circumstances that would justify the termination of their employment. If they believe that their employment was terminated without cause or for an impermissible reason, e.g., because of their age or race, they want to know what processes they might use to challenge the termination.

What Is Privacy in the Workplace?

Employees in every workplace, whether they are onsite or work from home, expect that they have some right to privacy. The rights that they have generally depend on the policies of their employer or what the employee might be able to negotiate. In workplaces where employees are members of labor unions, the collective bargaining agreement might address workplace privacy issues.

Florida does not have a comprehensive privacy law specific to employee data protection, but there are several key provisions that address different aspects of employee privacy:

• Social Media Password Protection: Florida has a law that bans employers from requiring job applicants and employees to reveal their social media account usernames or passwords.
• Medical Records Privacy: Florida law requires employers to maintain the confidentiality of employees’ medical records. They may be shared only with authorized individuals for specific purposes.
• Workplace Surveillance: Florida is an “all-party consent” state, meaning that all parties, including employees, must give consent before their private conversations are recorded in the workplace. There are also limitations on an employer’s ability to monitor employees through electronic surveillance, such as emails and computer activity.
• Privacy Policies: Under the Florida Information Protection Act (FIPA), employers must implement and maintain reasonable measures to protect personal information collected from customers and employees. They also have to give notice of their privacy practices.
• Right to Privacy in the Workplace: There is no state law in Florida that gives employees a right to privacy in Florida. Federal laws, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), provide some level of privacy protection in the workplace through federal laws like the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Federal laws require an employer to provide employees with safe work environments. This includes employees of the state and state agencies.

Employees need to be aware of the privacy policies of their employer regarding personal communication on employer-owned devices, platforms, and apps. It would probably be best practice to use personal devices, platforms, and apps for personal communication, if an employee wants their communications to be private.

Can Florida State Employees Be Fired?

Florida state employees can be fired. The issue when an employee is fired, of course, is always whether the firing was allowed by the terms of the employment agreement. A state employee may have an employment contract with provisions regarding how long the employment should last and under what conditions it can be terminated.

An agency or department of the State of Florida may have its own policies regarding performance review and the role it plays in justifying termination of employment. Or, an agency or department may have a policy to the effect that employment is at-will and does not have to be justified by some misconduct or subpar performance on the part of the employee.

A state employee would want to talk to a supervisor if they do not have a clear understanding of the circumstances that would justify the termination of their employment and what state law, policy, or regulation governs the termination of employment with the state.

How Do State Employees File an Employment Complaint?

The Florida Commission on Human Relations is the place where an employee can submit their employment discrimination complaint. If an individual’s employer is covered by the Commission, they may file a claim of discrimination and that agency is authorized to investigate the claim.

In addition, a person may always turn to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if they have a complaint against a state or local government agency that alleges discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, transgender status, or pregnancy status, national origin, disability, or genetic information.

The federal EEOC enforces federal laws against state government agencies and departments if they have 15 or more employees for at least 20 calendar weeks in either the current or prior year.

In the case of age discrimination, the state or local government agency is covered by the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), enforced by the EEOC, regardless of the number of employees it has.

So, for claims of discrimination, a Florida state employee may file complaints with both a Florida state agency and the federal EEOC. The EEOC enforces several federal laws dealing with discrimination:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects workers who are 40 years old and older from age discrimination.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bans discrimination against people with disabilities. The ADA also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities.
• The Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA) bans discrimination based on an employee’s genetic profile.
• The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) bans discrimination by employers on the basis of citizenship or immigration status.

In addition, a Florida state employee or former employee may always file a lawsuit in a civil court of law for wrongful termination, breach of their employment contract or other civil cause of action.

If a state employee is injured on the job, they should notify their state employer and then file a claim with the Workers’ Compensation Division of Florida. This Division offers an insurance program for workers injured on the job that is regulated by the state. The Division pays compensation for medical bills and some lost wages for employees who are injured at work or have an illness that is work-related. An employee should make a claim within a year of their injury.

Of course, state employee legal services might be needed to address such issues as disputes over wages, hours, overtime pay, and access to various benefits.

Do I Need an Attorney for State Employee Legal Issues?

If you are an employee of the state of Florida with an employment-related legal issue, you want to talk to a Florida workplace lawyer. LegalMatch.com can connect you to a lawyer who is familiar with the many state and federal laws that address legal issues in state employment. Your lawyer can review the facts of your situation and guide you to the resolution you need.