Both Florida and the federal government have passed laws that prohibiting discrimination on the basis of specific protected characteristics. Under state and Federal law, both private and public employers in Jacksonville can be found liable for discrimination, depending on what type of trait originally prompted the discrimination.
How Does Employment Discrimination Occur?
Employment discrimination can occur if the employer treats an employee unfairly based on their membership in a category that is legally protected. Some traits which employers are not allowed to evaluate employees with include: race, age, national origin, religion, familial status, and gender. To show employment discrimination in Jacksonville, Florida, the plaintiff needs to be able to show that the employer's intent to treat them unfairly was motivated by their protected status.
How can Employment Discrimination be Proven in Florida?
This can be proved when there is a history of the employer treating members of the class similarly, or if witnesses testify about the employer's statements which would constitute bias as understood by a reasonable person. Furthermore, employers are in clear violation of the law when they fire someone or retaliate against them because they filed a discrimination lawsuit.
Procedures for filing an employment discrimination claim are complicated, because they involve filing the claim with the corresponding agency. Jacksonville, Florida has many lawyers available to help you in filing in a timely fashion, and they can also help you pursue any remedies that might be available to you while your case is being processed.