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[null,"Prepared By:","Contributors:"]
[null,"Akerman LLP","Sarah M. DeFranco"]
[]
[]
[]
["Global Employment Law Guide"]
[]
["Report Generated: 5/2/2025"]
[]
["View your report results on next tab"]

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["Question","USA, Florida"]
["Lex Mundi Global Employment Law Guide"]
["What are the different categories of employment status (for example, employee, worker, self-employed individuals, etc)?","Florida law does not specify categories of employment status other than employee.\n"]
["Are there different types of employment contracts (for example, fixed-term, indefinite)?","Florida law does not specify different types of employment contracts. The terms and conditions of an employment contract, including, but not limited to, the length of the term of employment and grounds for termination, are agreed to by the parties to the contract. Absent a collective bargaining agreement or employment contract for a definite term of employment, the default rule in Florida is that employment is \"at-will,\" meaning that either the employer or the employee may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any lawful reason, or for no reason.\n"]
["What requirements need to be met in order for an employment contract to be valid?","For an employment contract to be valid, first, the employer must provide consideration to the employee in exchange for the employee entering into and performing the duties required under the contract. The consideration may be in the form of the promise of initial employment, continued employment, increased pay, or other benefits to which the employee is not otherwise entitled from the employer. Second, an employment contract requires definite and certainty in its terms to be enforceable. Third, an employment contract must include a definite term, otherwise, the contract is terminable \"at-will\" and no cause of action may be maintained for its termination. Fourth, if the contract requires performance for a period exceeding one year of its making, then the contract must be in writing to be enforceable. Fifth, if an employment contract includes restrictive covenants, then the contract must be in a writing signed by the party against whom enforcement of the restrictive covenant is sought.\n"]
["Are part-time employees afforded the same rights as full-time employees?","Florida state law does not distinguish between part-time and full-time employees with respect to rights available to employees under Florida private-sector employment laws. However, under the Miami-Dade County jury service ordinance, full-time employees (those regularly scheduled to work 35 hours or more per week) of employers with 10 or more full-time employees are entitled to paid jury duty leave, and under the Broward County jury service ordinance, full-time employees of all employers are entitled to paid jury duty leave for up to five days. By contrast, part-time employees who work fewer than thirty-five hours per week are not entitled to such paid jury duty leave under these two local ordinances.\n"]
["Can employment contracts be assigned?","Generally, under Florida law, a contract for personal services, such as an employment contract, is not assignable by either party unless the parties consent to such an assignment.\n"]
["What rights do employees have (to object, to severance), if any, when the company they work for is transferred as a going concern?","Florida law does not provide employees with common law or statutory rights when the company they work for is transferred as a going concern.\n"]
["Do you have statutory rights for employees on change of control of an employer? If so, please give the statute.","Florida law does not provide employees with statutory rights on change of control of their employer.\n"]
["In what circumstances can employers unilaterally change the terms of employment, and what remedies (if any) are afforded to an employee?","Under Florida law, an employer may unilaterally change the terms of employment of an employee who is employed on an \"at-will\" basis, provided that the change is made on a prospective basis. If the employee is employed pursuant to an employment agreement for a defined term, then the employer may only change the terms of employment if such change is permitted under the employment agreement, or if the employee mutually agrees to modify the terms set forth in the employment agreement.\n"]
["Is your jurisdiction an employment-at-will jurisdiction? What are the employer’s termination rights?","Yes. Absent a collective bargaining agreement or employment contract for a definite term, the default rule in Florida is that employment is \"at-will,\" meaning that either the employer or the employee may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any lawful reason, or for no reason.\n"]
["Are there remedies for dismissal without cause or wrongful termination?","If an employee is employed on an \"at-will\" basis, then the employer may terminate the employee's employment without cause or reason, so long as the employee is not terminated for an unlawful reason. Florida law does not delineate specific remedies for \"wrongful termination.\" Rather, an employee may seek damages under the \nFlorida Civil Rights Act if the employee is terminated by an employer for discriminatory reasons, seek damages under the Florida private or public whistleblower laws if an employee is terminated in violation of the laws, or seek damages under Florida's \nWorkers' Compensation law if the employee is terminated by the employer in retaliation for the employee filing a workers' compensation claim.\n"]
["Are there protections for whistleblowers?","A private employer is prohibited from terminating an employee in violation of Florida's private-sector whistleblower statute. Under that law, an employer is prohibited from terminating an employee based on the employee's: (1) disclosure or threatened disclosure of a violation of a law, rule, or regulation to a government agency; (2) testifying or providing information to a government agency regarding such violations; or (3) objecting to or refusing to participate in an activity that involves such violations.\nUnder Florida's public sector whistleblower statute, a public sector employer in Florida is prohibited from terminating an employee based on the employee's: (1) disclosure of any violation or suspected violation of any federal, state, or local law, rule, or regulation committed by an employee or agent of an agency or independent contractor which creates and presents a substantial and specific danger to the public's health, safety, or welfare to a government agency; (2) disclosure of any act or suspected act of gross mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, gross waste of public funds, suspected or actual Medicaid fraud or abuse, or gross neglect of duty committed by an employee or independent contractor; (3) participating in any investigation, hearing or other inquiry conducted by a government agency; (4) refusing to participate in such violations; or (5) initiation of a complaint regarding such violations.\n"]
["Do employees have a right to privacy? If so, what are the remedies for a breach?","Florida common law recognizes civil actions for damages incurred by employees of private employers for the following three types of invasion of privacy tort claims: intrusion upon solitude or seclusion; public disclosure of private facts; and appropriation of one's name or likeness.\n"]
["Are employees afforded any anti-discrimination protection?","Yes. The \nFlorida Civil Rights Act of 1992 protects employees of employers with 15 or more employees against discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. Additionally, various local ordinances protect employees from discrimination on the basis of additional protected classifications, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, and political affiliation. Employers are advised to check local ordinances in relevant jurisdictions to determine whether additional protected classes are included under applicable local law.\n"]
["Are there statutory rights to vacation, medical leave and parental leave? Have there been any changes to leave benefits in the past 12 months? Is there any proposed legislation that employers should be aware of that will impact leave benefits?","Private-sector employees do not have any statutory rights to vacation, medical leave, or parental leave under Florida state law. There have been no changes under Florida state law to leave benefits for private-sector employees in the past 12 months, and there is no proposed state legislation that private employers should be aware of that will impact leave benefits.\n"]
["Are restrictive covenants recognized and, if so, what are reasonable restrictions as to geography, duration and scope of activity?","With limited exceptions, Florida law prohibits restraints on trade. One of the exceptions is a non-compete restrictive covenant that meets the requirements of Florida statutory law. Under Florida statutory law, a non-competition restrictive covenant is generally enforceable if: it is reasonable in time, area, and line of business; legitimate business interests justify the restrictive covenant; and the restrictive covenant is reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate business interests.\nFlorida courts generally limit geographic restrictions to where the former employee conducted business for the employer. Florida courts have not fully addressed whether a customer restriction may substitute for a geographic restriction. Florida courts focus on whether the restrictive covenant is reasonable, and therefore, some Florida courts have allowed customer-specific restrictions to complement geographic restrictions when reasonably necessary to protect the employer's legitimate business interests.\nFlorida Statute § 542.335 sets forth rebuttable presumptions concerning the reasonable post-term duration of restrictive covenants. For a post-term restrictive covenant not predicated on protection of trade secrets that is sought to be enforced against a former employee, and not associated with the sale of all or part of a business, a court shall presume reasonable in time any restraint six months or shorter in duration, and shall presume unreasonable in time any restraint more than two years in duration.\nFor a post-term restrictive covenant that is predicated on protection of trade secrets, a court shall presume reasonable in time any restraint five years or shorter in duration, and shall presume unreasonable any restraint of more than ten years in duration. The statute also provides rebuttable presumptions concerning the reasonableness of the duration of post-term restrictive covenants in the context of a sale of a business and for former distributors, dealers, franchisees, and licensees.\nThe same requirements for a Florida non-compete restrictive covenant apply to the enforcement of non-solicitation restrictive covenants.\n"]
["Can employees be terminated for refusing to sign a restrictive covenant? What serves as consideration for a restrictive covenant?","Yes, an at-will employee may be terminated for refusing to sign a restrictive covenant. Under Florida law, sufficient consideration for a restrictive covenant includes initial employment, continued employment (if the employee is employed \"at-will\"), or a change in the terms and conditions of employment (such as an increase in compensation or promotion).\n"]
["Does your jurisdiction require contributions to a pension or retirement scheme?","Private employers are not required under Florida law to contribute to a pension or retirement scheme.\n"]
["Are certain benefits mandated by your jurisdiction?","Florida law does not mandate that private employers provide any benefits to employees.\n"]
["Is it permitted to have a mandatory retirement age in your jurisdiction?","Florida law does not specify whether a private employer may or may not have a mandatory retirement age.\n"]
["Is it possible to cease pension or insured benefits (income continuance/disability insurance, healthcare, life assurance, etc.) when work continues beyond retirement age?","Florida law does not address this issue.\n"]
["Can an employer make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for its employees? Are there exceptions that an employer must make? If an employee simply does not want to get the vaccine (without another reason like disability or religious reason), can an employer terminate the employee’s employment?","No. Pursuant to \nFlorida Statute Section 381.00316(3)(a), a business entity (including an employer) may not require any person to provide any documentation certifying vaccination with a COVID-19 vaccine (or any other emergency use authorization or mRNA vaccine) or certifying post-infection recovery from COVID-19, and also may not require a COVID-19 test, as a condition of contracting, hiring, promotion, or continued employment with the business entity.\n"]
["Can an employer require that employees return to work in the office (absent government order to shut down)? If an employee refuses to return to the office, can the employer terminate the employee’s employment?","Absent a collective bargaining agreement or employment contract for a definite term, the default rule in Florida is that employment is \"at-will,\" meaning that either the employer or the employee may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any lawful reason, or for no reason. If an at-will employee refuses to return to work in the office at the employer's request, then, provided the employer is requiring all similarly-situated employees to return to work in the office and the employee has not requested to work remotely as an accommodation for a disability, the employer may terminate the employment of the employee who refuses to return to work in the office. \n"]