Fort Lauderdale Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits
Discrimination in the workplace is prohibited by many federal, state and local laws. There are laws that prohibit sexual harassment as well as a hostile work environment because of some protected status. Federal laws include Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA 38 U.S.C. 4301-4333). These laws outlaw discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual harassment, disability, age, use of medical leave and because of military service. Most workplace discrimination requires filing a charge with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before a lawsuit can be filed. Generally there is a 180 day statute of limitation to file a charge with the EEOC, however, the deadline could be 300 days depending on whether there is a state agency you can also file with. Providing information and assistance in filing a charge is something Randy Fleischer, Fort Lauderdale workplace discrimination attorney has been fighting workplace discrimination for almost twenty years.
Most states also have laws that prevent workplace discrimination. Some have more protection than the federal laws, some provide less protection. Some states have different statutes of limitations and different protected categories. The types of available damages may also differ between federal and state laws. In Florida, there is a four year statute of limitations for filing discrimination claims in court from the date of the incident. However, before you can file in state court you must file a charge with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which must be done within 365 days of the incident. If the FCHR finds in the employers favor within 180 days of the filing of the charge, then you cannot file suit and must file an appeal with the FCHR or the State Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH). If the FCHR does not issue a determination within 180 days of the charge being filed, then you can file suit in state court as if the FCHR found in favor of the employee. Broward County does have its own ordinance regarding discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.
Getting through this maze successfully is very difficult and good legal representation is helpful to get your charge filed and to get into court. Randy Fleischer, Fort Lauderdale workplace discrimination lawyer, knows how to help you through the administrative agencies, Fort Lauderdale workplace discrimination laws and his assistance can be the difference between getting your charge successfully filed or missing the deadlines that will permanently doom your case.
In Broward County, there is a local ordinance that protects individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation, sexual identity, transgender, marital status and political affiliation. Filing charges based on discrimination because of those protected categories can only be made through the Broward County Civil Rights Division. Randy Fleischer has been on the Broward County Human Rights Board since 1996 and is currently serving his fifth term as Chair of the Board. As a result, there is a conflict for Randy Fleischer to represent parties before the Division, so if you contact Randy regarding those types of charges he will be obligated to recuse himself from dealing with your case if it comes before the Board.