Florida Employment Law Blog

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

How do you determine if you are eligible?

Eligibility notice. When an employee requests FMLA leave or the employer acquires knowledge that an employee's leave may be for an FMLA-qualifying reason, the employer must notify the employee of the employee's eligibility to take FMLA leave within five business days, absent extenuating circumstances. The eligibility notice must state whether the employee is eligible for FMLA leave, and if the employee is not eligible, must state at least one reason why the employee is not eligible.

What if the employer violates the notice requirements?

Consequences of failing to provide notice. Failure to follow the notice requirements set forth in this section may constitute an interference with, restraint, or denial of the exercise of an employee's FMLA rights. An employer may be liable for compensation and benefits lost by reason of the violation, for other actual monetary losses sustained as a direct result of the violation, and for appropriate equitable or other relief, including employment, reinstatement, promotion, or any other relief tailored to the harm suffered (see §825.400(c)).

If you have been refused eligibility for FLMA leave by your employer and they did not follow the Law's requirements, you should seek legal counsel immediately. Call Feldman, Fox & Morgado to speak with one of our Labor & Employment Lawyers today.

Health News Florida reported today, that Sean Hellein, the primary whistleblower in the WellCare fraud case, has agreed to settle. In filings with the SEC, WellCare said that the settlement is $137.5 million. Sean Hellein stands to receive a substantial settlement -15% or more of the recovery - for being the chief whistleblower.

Being a whistleblower in a government fraud lawsuit can be very rewarding. But if you have information that could be used against your employer, you need to protect your interests and insure you are recognized as the primary whistleblower. You should contact a law firm that handles Labor and Employment law prior to sharing your information with anyone.

What is a Whistleblower Lawsuit?

Whistleblower lawsuits are also known as Qui Tam lawsuits. Qui Tam lawsuits fall under the False Claims Act (FCA 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, also called the "Lincoln Law"). This allows a private citizen who discovers fraudulent activity against the government to file a whistleblower lawsuit.

The individual that reports the fraud can be compensated with a percentage of the money recovered by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) or the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission). Most Qui Tam lawsuits involve huge amounts of money - millions, sometimes billions of dollars. Therefore, the recovery payout to the whistleblower can be significant.

Feldman Fox & Morgado litigates Whistleblower claims across the State of Florida in both State and Federal Court. We are Whistleblower Act attorneys who handle Qui Tam cases and Class Action Cases Nationwide. Se Habla Español.

With offices in Tampa, Ocala, Miami, Naples, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, we cover Florida including Gainesville, Clearwater, Lakeland, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Bradenton and Fort Myers. Covering the US, Feldman, Fox & Morgado also has offices in Atlanta, New York City, Washington D.C. and Stamford Connecticut to serve you.

On Monday, December 19th the Florida Board of Education changed the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) passing score to be 2 points higher. The first such change in 10 years, will affect thousands of high school students who are required to pass the FCAT in order to graduate. Compared to last school year's passing scores, 15,000 more students would NOT have passed the FCAT under the new score requirements.

The story in the Palm Beach Post notes:

"Passing the tenth-grade reading FCAT is a requirement for graduation.

Last school year, the percentage of tenth-grade students statewide passing the reading FCAT was 60 percent. The panel's new scoring recommendation would have dropped that percentage to 56 percent. Robinson's recommendation drops it further, to 52 percent.

That means that, had the proposed scoring system been in place this past Spring, about 15,000 more students statewide would have failed the 10th-grade reading FCAT and had to retake it or risk not graduating."

The FCAT, always controversial, is a topic of concern to the citizens of Florida. How do you feel about the FCAT? Do you think the changes are a good or bad thing for the state? How will this impact your company's ability to search for qualified Florida candidates?

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/schools/more-stringent-fcat-grading-could-leave-15-000-2028063.html

Floridians working for minimum wage have a reason to cheer. Florida's legislature has increased the state's minimum wage causing a $14 per week raise for the lowest paid workers. Beginning next year, the minimum wage will increase by 36 cents to $7.67 per hour. This will raise the yearly earnings of a worker who works 40 hours per week to $15,954 per year if the worker works all 52 weeks.

Florida law requires the minimum wage to be increased with inflation and the cost of living. The increase in the minimum wage occurred after worker's rights groups sued the state because lawmakers had not changed it.