Tampa Employment Lawyer

It depends on where you file, and the longest deadline can be a trap. The Florida Commission on Human Relations allows 365 days, the EEOC generally allows 300 days, and the Hillsborough County human rights ordinance allows 180 days. If you wait until month eleven to use the state deadline, you may already have lost your federal claim. Filing early keeps every option open.

Yes. The Florida Civil Rights Act expressly lists pregnancy as a protected characteristic at employers with 15 or more employees, and federal law does the same. Firing, demoting, cutting hours, or refusing to hire someone because she’s pregnant is prohibited. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act also requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations, and federal law gives nursing employees break time and a private space, other than a bathroom, to pump for a year after birth.

It may not be. The FMLA requires your employer to return you to the same job or an equivalent one, with the same pay, benefits, and schedule and substantially similar duties. A demotion, a pay cut, a worse shift, or a sudden run of write-ups right after you return can point to retaliation. Florida has no broader state leave law, so the FMLA is usually the main protection for Tampa employees coming back from medical or family leave. Write down what changed and when.

Not if Florida’s Private Whistleblower Act applies. It protects employees of private employers with 10 or more employees who object to or refuse to take part in a violation of law, rule, or regulation, or who testify in an investigation. To be protected for reporting to a government agency, you generally first have to raise the problem with your employer in writing and give it a chance to fix it. Lawsuits are due within two years of discovering the retaliation, or four years after it happened, whichever comes first.

Yes, more of them than state or federal law does. The Hillsborough County human rights ordinance covers employers with five or more employees who work 30 or more hours a week. The Florida Civil Rights Act and Title VII start at fifteen employees. The county ordinance also covers sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Complaints go to the county’s Equal Opportunity Administrator within 180 days.

Start with the release. It usually waives claims under federal law and the Florida Civil Rights Act, including discrimination, retaliation, and a firing tied to medical leave or pregnancy. Then look at what else you’re agreeing to, such as confidentiality, non-disparagement, and how the separation will be described to future employers. If you’re 40 or older, federal law gives you at least 21 days to consider the agreement and seven days to revoke it. The first offer is often negotiable, especially when the circumstances raise legal concerns.