As an employer in the Miami, Florida, area, managing your employees effectively is essential to your company’s success. However, federal and state laws sometimes affect the choices you make. According to Chron.com, Florida is an at-will employment state, which gives you quite a bit of freedom when you decide an employee is not right for your company. At Welbaum Guernsey, we understand the importance of making sure you are not inviting a lawsuit when you dismiss one or more of your workers.
The at-will employment doctrine states that you do not necessarily have to have a reason to fire a worker. This freedom does have some restrictions, though. For example, federal regulations may prevent you from discharging a person because of discrimination based on race, nationality, skin color, disability, gender or religion. The size of your company affects whether anti-discrimination laws apply to you.
An employee is protected by federal employment law if he or she believes that a safety regulation has been violated and has filed a complaint. Employees also have the right to report any other illegal actions occurring in the company.
If your company has a site where at least 50 employees or one-third of those who work full time are being laid off, you have to give a 60-day notice. This is true of plant closings, as well. Other than these two exceptions, which are set by federal law, you have the right to let employees go without advanced notice. For more information on this subject, please visit our page on business transactions.
