Employment Law
Gould Cooksey Fennell expanded the scope of its services to include Employment Law and Litigation. They represent a variety of individuals in a variety of employment law matters, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower actions, and employment contracts, spanning Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Brevard, Orange, Seminole, and Volusia counties.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Florida in fact has its own civil rights act, commonly referred to as the Florida Civil Rights Act. Similar to Title VII, the FCRA prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and marital status. While these laws are fairly similar, there are important differences that can affect your rights in the workplace.
If a person feels that they have been a victim of discrimination at work because they were not given a job, discipline, discharge, harassed, or otherwise treated differently than other employees due to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, disability, or marital status, then they may look to file a complaint. Because of the potentially confusing and complex nature of employment claims, as well as strict timelines for filing claims, it may be wise to have an experienced attorney assist in this process.
Gould Cooksey Fennell offers a wide variety of Employment Law services, including valuable information on sexual harassment, employment discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, family medical leave act claims, employment contracts and non-competition agreements, and other civil rights violations, including:
Sexual Harassment: hostile work environment, sexual advances, inappropriate verbal or physical conduct, and/or abuse of power. Although laws have been enacted to combat sexual harassment in the workplace, the existence of sexual harassment continues to be a frequent occurrence in the workplace. In most cases, the employer has a handbook or policy manual that tells the employee how to make a complaint. If the employer does not have a handbook or policy manual, then report the matter to a supervisor or manager, and do not forget to document the complaint. We understand that making such a complaint can be an emotional and difficult process. Our Florida Employee Rights Lawyer is here to help.
Employment Discrimination: discharge, denial of promotion or pay raise, failure to hire, and demotion are just some of the ways in which an employee may suffer discrimination on account of his or her race, color, sex, age, national origin, disability, religion, or marital status.
Whistleblower Retaliation: a whistleblower is a person, usually an employee or former employee, who reports misconduct of an employer. This person generally sheds light on conditions which are unsafe and/or unlawful to employees. Any type of conduct may prompt whistle blowing, but generally the misconduct reported should be a violation of a law, rule, or regulation.
Family Medical Leave Act: child birth, caring for a sick spouse or child, medical care, and other similar type responsibilities may entitle an employee to up to twelve weeks of protected leave under the Family Medical Leave Act. In these cases, an employee's position of employment, rate of pay, and other employment benefits, must be preserved for the employee upon his or her return to work.
Employment Contracts and Non-Compete Agreements: We defend employees who are subject to non-competition or trade secret agreements.
Gould Cooksey Fennell, P.A., Attorneys at Law, has offices in Vero Beach, Florida. The firm serves clients throughout the region including Brevard County, Indian River County, St. Lucie County, Martin County, Okeechobee County and Palm Beach County. This includes the following cities: Melbourne, Palm Bay, Fellsmere, Sebastian, Vero Beach, Ft. Pierce, Port St. Lucie, Okeechobee and West Palm Beach, Florida.