South Florida Personal Injury Blog

Florida Employment Lawyers Update:

In one of the most high-profile cases to be heard by the Supreme Court this year, 16 white and one Hispanic firefighter sued the city of New Haven, Connecticut, alleging racial discrimination, says Broward discrimination attorney Andrew Alitowski. The city had administered a test that current firefighters could take to demonstrate eligibility for a promotion within the fire department. The exam was weighted such that 40 percent of the score came from the oral examination and 60 percent came from the written component. However, after discovering that the test showed a disparate racial breakdown, New Haven officials threw out the results of the test on that basis. They found that African-American firefighters who had taken the test performed significantly lower than members of other racial or ethnic groups.

As a result, the white and Hispanic firefighters sued the city of New Haven on the basis that they were being discriminated against. They performed well on a fair test, they said, according to Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer Alitowski. Furthermore, they went into the test after studying with the belief that a solid performance would result in possible promotions to the position of lieutenant firefighter.

The Supreme Court agreed with the firefighters who sued. The city of New Haven apparently rejected the test results amid fears of lawsuits from minority candidates for promotion, says Broward accident attorney Alitowski. Then they were hit with a lawsuit from the other side. Now, following the firefighters’ victory, an African-American firefighter has filed suit, alleging discrimination. In the new suit, Michael Brisco alleges that the test was biased against African-American promotion candidates because they are the victims of systemic discrimination, such as worse public schools in poorer neighborhoods. Briscoe says that he studied heavily for the exam and was at a disadvantage. He also states that the norm for firefighters’ exams is to weight the oral exam at 70 percent of the total score and the written exam at only 30 percent. If the test had been so weighted, he would have finished fourth in the pool of 24 candidates, according to his lawsuit. Briscoe contends that he learned the required material through years of on-the-job training rather than simply memorizing written facts in the days before the exam.

If you have been the victim of discrimination on the basis of your race, ethnic identity, or national origin, contact Alitowski & Moore, P.A., to begin your fight for justice.

Continue reading "Florida Employment Lawyers: Firefighters Continue to Fan the Flame in Discrimination Controversy" »

Florida Employment Lawyers Report

Although the Civil Rights Act protects all workers in the United States from pay and employment discrimination on the basis of sex, Fort Lauderdale injury attorney Andrew Alitowski notes that the Act’s provisions were enacted primarily to protect women from discrimination. Some employers intentionally discriminate against female worker workers, a practice that was particularly rampant in the 1960s, 1970s, and earlier. At that time, many Americans believed that it was more appropriate for women to stay home to care for the home and raise a family. In particular, since most jobs were dominated heavily by men, bosses and employers did not always believe that women were suited for certain types of jobs. Fortunately, the law protects women who receive lower wages due to discrimination or who suffer through sexual harassment at their place of employment.

Now, women have more options than ever before, which many have embraced regardless of age, says Broward personal injury lawyer Alitowski. Many women pursue full-time careers; others elect to stay at home. Increasingly, women with more earning power are working while their partners stay at home. More and more companies are making alternatives possible for workers, especially parents, regardless of their sex. For example, some companies offer “flex-time” scheduling. Others may allow part-time work arrangements or telecommuting. For example, a mother or father who telecommutes may be able to work from a home office and supervise a child, avoid high child-care costs, and attain a better work-life balance.

Broward injury lawyer Alitowski notes that women still face discrimination in the workplace, which can be overt. An auto mechanic shop owner may think that a woman is just not as naturally suited to car repairs than a man is and may be less inclined to hire her as a result – or even to pay her. A sales company may think that women are not aggressive enough to be effective at high-pressure, high-volume sales positions. Several years ago, there were reports that law firms were giving unwitting female associate attorneys pregnancy tests under the guise of drug testing – an alarming violation of their privacy. Pregnancy discrimination is illegal.

In other instances, women may be discriminated againt less overtly. A worker may receive fewer work hours after she comes back from maternity leave, for example.

Unfortunately, during tight economic times, the workplace environment can undergo major changes, says Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer Andrew Alitowski. There may be layoffs, which can cause emotional strain at work for several reasons. Employees become concerned that they, too, will be next on the chopping block, and empathize with their friends and colleagues who did not survive the recession at their place of employment. Nonetheless, employees and workers of all stripes continue to have rights that employers are required by law to honor.

One of these issues is overtime pay, says Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer Andrew Alitowski. Unfortunately, many employers avoid paying the additional wages for extra hours, even though the pay is required by law for many workers. In the case of some businesses, especially small mom-and-pop type operations, it may even be by accident. However, ignorance of the law is not a defense for failing to pay the overtime wages due to a worker. Further, the withholding of the funds may be a deliberate attempt by an employer to boost earnings. Willful violation of the law is extremely problematic.

Worker's compensation is also important. Any time a worker is injured on the job, he or she should be checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. In most cases, the employer will be required to pay for the worker's medical care, ongoing treatment, and even medication and physical therapy. Workers should insist upon being taken to a doctor as soon as the injury occurs or the symptoms manifest. Unfortunately, the employer or its insurance company may be interested in your prior medical records if you are injured on the job. For example, if you have previously been treated for a back injury, they will think that is relevant to a current back or neck problem that was caused by your work. An injured worker should obtain his own attorney if he or she must deal with a team of the insurance company's lawyers, says Broward injury lawyer Alitowski. The sad reality is that the insurance company's best interest is to make sure that the worker does not get his or her medical care covered so that they make more money.

Since unemployment and other economic problems are ongoing, many employees are reluctant to press the issues of overtime compensation and worker's compensation for fear that they will lose their jobs. However, employers are required to cover these costs in most cases. Consult Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer Andrew Alitowski if you believe you are due overtime wages or worker's compensation benefits.

National origin discrimination is against the law. Fort Lauderdale injury attorney Andrew Alitowski has found that this is an area in which few people are familiar with what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behavior, especially in the workplace. Discrimination on the basis of national origin can result in lower wages and serious harassment or discomfort at the workplace for those affected.

Ethnic slurs are never appropriate. A worker’s ancestry or his own national origin has no impact on his ability to perform the job. Broward personal injury lawyer Alitowski says that many people have grown accustomed to making jokes about those whose backgrounds differ from their own. They may actually believe that people who hail from other places are different than they are, or that they are somehow less valuable. Expressing those viewpoints in the workplace is undesirable and undermines people who do not share the speaker’s ethnicity or national origin.

The United States has a rich tradition of immigration; wave after wave of immigrants have come to this nation to work hard, raise their families, and live the American dream. Congress has enacted legislation to prevent new immigrants and their children from facing unnecessary hurdles. For example, a company cannot require that job applicants be fluent in English unless that skill is necessary to perform the job. For example, a plumber might need to be proficient in English in order to communicate with customers – but he may not need to be fluent to fix the pipes and figure the appropriate charges. A business also cannot institute “English only” rules unless it is actually necessary. If two secretaries like to speak their native language of Spanish over lunch, it does not affect their job performance in a predominantly English-speaking office. However, if the secretaries make notes in files, or share information that is communicated between others in the office who do not speak Spanish, the office may require that those functions be performed in English to promote efficiency. An employer also may not discriminate against a worker or job applicant due to her accent unless it imposes very serious hurdles. A person who speaks English well may perform her sales job perfectly well despite the fact that it is her second language; the employer might only have reason to intervene if customers legitimately cannot understand her accent, thereby seriously reducing sales. A worker should never have to withstand unwelcome jokes or disparaging remarks about his background.

Continue reading "The Many Faces of National Origin Discrimination" »

Broward employment discrimination attorney Andrew Alitowski finds that, even in diverse Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade Counties, discrimination against workers on the basis of national origin remains a problem. National origin discrimination can be perpetrated by any employer – even one who is a recent immigrant himself, although from a different country. The nationality of a worker, or the nationality of her parents, has no relation on her ability to complete the requirements of her job.

One way in which national original discrimination manifests itself is by the delegation of certain job tasks for specific individuals. For example, if an employer declined to allow an Aruban-American employee to perform a job task – such as deliveries – which other, similarly positioned employees performed, and did so because he did not want to pay for an accident caused by a “hot-headed Aruban driver,” the employee is experiencing discrimination on the basis of his national origin. The employee is being denied the opportunity to perform the same job functions as his peers, as well as possibly earn higher wages. National origin discrimination could also take the form of workplace harassment. If other workers or supervisors make disparaging jokes or comments about an employee’s national origin, or the origin of his or her parents, it may be discrimination on the basis of national origin. Fort Lauderdale injury attorney Alitowski believes that stereotypes about traits or another country’s culture fuel national origin discrimination.

Discrimination on the basis of key characteristics associated with national origin is common. For example, certain cultural norms, physical appearance, and linguistic characteristics are not sufficient bases for discrimination by an employer. For example, an employer should not refuse to hire a person who speaks English well simply because she dislikes his Haitian accent.

The United States is a country with a rich tradition of immigration. Even immigrant workers who are not naturalized or natural born United States citizens are protected by the national origin provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law also prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and sex. Likewise, workers are protected from discrimination on the basis of pregnancy or ability to become pregnant and disability.

Continue reading "Workplace Discrimination: National Origin" »

In the state of Florida, most workers are "at will" employees, according to Fort Lauderdale employment discrimination attorneys Andrew Alitowski and William Moore. That means that employment is at will, or for so long as the employer and employee both want it to continue. Although most workers and employers generally think that employees should give two weeks of notice prior to leaving the position, the employee is not required to give any notice at all. Likewise, even though an employer might be doing the "right" thing to tell workers about layoffs in advance, before the date at which the employees must cease their work, the employer is not required to give the workers any such notice at all. Broward employment lawyer Alitowski counsels workers on employment issues as part of his employment discrimination law practice.

A contract can alter at will employment. For example, a contract for a specified period of time prevents an employer from firing an employee before the end of the project or date at which the contract ends, as long as the contractual employee is completing his obligations in connection with the agreement.

There are cases, however, when at will -- not contractual -- employees cannot be fired. For example, they cannot be fired for discriminatory reasons, such as their race, sex, or national original. An employee cannot be fired because she is pregnant or could become pregnant. An employer also cannot fire a worker because of her religion, whether it is because it is not the same as her employer's faith, she is not religious at all, the employer does not approve of her religion, or any other reason associated with discrimination on the basis of religion.

Employers cannot fire at will employees for the wrong reasons. Both state and federal law protect "whistleblowers" -- employees who alert management within the company or outside governmental agencies about illegal activities occurring in the workplace. For example, a company cannot fire a worker for retaliation if she alerts federal inspectors that the meat processing plant is not in compliance with regulations. If the company fired her, she could sue for wrongful termination and receive back wages. Contact wrongful termination lawyer Andrew Alitowski for more information if you believe you have been wrongfully terminated or you lost your employment due to retaliatory measures.

.

Continue reading "Broward Employment Discrimination Lawyer -- At Will Employment" »

Pregnant women are afforded significant legal protections with regard to their employment. Pregnancy discrimination is a form of gender discrimination. Many people are surprised that an employer cannot decline to hire a woman just because she is pregnant. Although the employer may be concerned that the woman will be missing a significant amount of work for her maternity leave in the coming weeks or months, that is not a sufficient reason to deny the woman a job. Similarly, unfounded suspicions that the pregnant job-seeker may quit the position after she delivers her child to become a stay-at-home mom is not a legally permissible reason to deny a job offer.

Employers also cannot refuse to hire pregnant women because they believe that their customers or other employees will not react well to the pregnancy. For instance, a department store could not refuse to hire a pregnant woman because it believes customers respond better to thin sales associates or because the management believes that pregnancy is not as attractive or desirable.

West Palm Beach gender discrimination attorney Andrew Alitowski also advises women that they cannot be denied benefits available to other employees on account of their pregnancy. Although employers do not have to provide health coverage for pregnancy or conditions arising out of pregnancy, if they provide health benefits to employees where all workers are female or where the position must be filled by a woman, the benefits must include coverage for conditions arising from the pregnancy. Where an employer generally allows employees to take leave, it must also do so for women who must miss work due to their pregnancy or associated condition.

Most women take maternity leave for at least a few weeks after they give birth to recover physically and to care for their child – but their employer cannot impose a mandatory period of time of maternity leave that women who give birth must take. For example, an employer cannot grant six weeks of maternity leave generally, but refuse to allow those women to return to her normal job duties after only three weeks. She must be allowed to return to work earlier if she so pleases.

Additionally, Palm Beach discrimination lawyer Alitowski says that benefits associated with pregnancy cannot be available only to those employees who are married. Likewise, opportunities for advancement and the calculating of vacation or pay raises must be afforded to pregnant women who must take leave in the same way that they are given to any other employee who is temporarily disabled. The employer must also hold the woman’s job while she is on leave for the same time period it would be held for a worker who took sick leave or was temporarily disabled.

The following video, which is not endorsed by Palm Beach personal injury attorneys Alitowski & Moore, discusses medical conditions associated with pregnancy that could be severe enough to require a woman to take leave from her employment:

Continue reading "Pregnancy Discrimination Attorney Discusses Your Rights" »

The South Florida Sun Sentinel has reported that African-American and Latino workers are often the first ones who are fired during economic hard times. The explanations for why this is true vary, but one common refrain is “last one hired, first one fired” – meaning that the employee who has spent the least amount of time with the business may be the first one to lose his job during tough times. This practice, which sounds fair on its face, may not take into account a newer employee’s positive contributions or better work ethic when compared to his counterparts who have more time at the company. Either way, Fort Lauderdale employment discrimination lawyer Andrew Alitowski believes that employees should keep a sharp eye on the practices of management any time there are layoffs and to be wary of employment discrimination of any kind.

Recessions hit minority populations hard, according to the federal Bureau of Labor statistics. Unemployment in the African-American community is generally about twice that of their white counterparts, according to government figures dating back to the 1970s. From the end of 2007 until now, African-American unemployment has risen markedly to 13.4 percent from 8.9 percent. Similarly, Latino unemployment has gone from 6.2 percent to 10.9 percent. In the same time frame, white unemployment has also risen, but not as starkly. White unemployment is currently at 7.3 percent from 4.4 percent just over a year ago.

The figures are complicated because they represent several factors. African-American and Latino workers are more concentrated in certain areas of the workforce, including construction. The rapid decline of the housing market has contributed to a harsh decrease in the amount of jobs available in that field. Similarly, there are more African-American and Latino workers employed in the service industries, an area that has taken a tremendous hit in light of Americans’ overall ability to spend less.

Although blue collar jobs have been hit the hardest, Broward discrimination attorney Alitowski notes that white collar workers are at high risk, as well. Duke University professor William Darity, who teaches economics and African-American Studies, says that "blacks and Latinos are relative latecomers to the professional world,” which makes them “necessarily the most vulnerable" during layoffs and recessions. Additionally, Professor Darity says that lower relative net worth in minority households makes it more difficult to stay afloat during hard times. For instance, while white households have a median net worth of about $90,000, Latinos have a median net worth of $8,000, and African-American households have a median net worth of $6,000. Those figures reflect less wealth generally, higher rates of unemployment, and that minority families are less likely to own their own homes.

Below, find a video discussing the financial crisis and the disparate impact on communities of color:

Continue reading "Newspaper Finds that Minority Employees Frequently the First Ones Fired " »

Employment discrimination occurs when a person, a coworker or a supervisor, within a workplace denies benefits – such as prospects for promotion, training, or even getting the job offer for that position at all. Fort Lauderdale attorneys Alitowski and Moore represent people who have been discriminated against or subjected to harassment at their jobs, allowing them to be compensated

According to Broward employment discrimination attorney Andrew Alitowski, these types of discrimination can also take the form of harassment in the workplace. Workplace harassment can make you feel uncomfortable or even unsafe. You may be concerned about losing your job or that your professional peers do not take you seriously. Worse, you could be in a situation where, over the long-term, you will make significantly less money than you otherwise would. Additionally, feelings of intimidation may cause you to leave your job – even if you do so to take a lower-paying job or one that is otherwise less desirable than your current position. Harassment can include unwelcome jokes or comments, especially if they continue over a period of time. Coworkers and supervisors alike can harass other employees.

Employment discrimination can be the subject of a lawsuit when it occurs on the basis of certain legally protected grounds. Employers cannot discriminate against employees or job applicants for certain immutable characteristics, such as race, sex, pregnancy status, national origin, or religion. The Americans with Disabilities Act also has provisions to protect workers with disabilities in the workplace.

From an employer’s perspective, Florida employment discrimination attorneys Alitowski and Moore say that allowing discrimination and harassment does not pay off. Having a strict policy against harassment is the first step to ensure that your employees behave professionally. Compliance with this policy, along with effective reporting and investigating mechanisms, promotes employer satisfaction. High rates of employer satisfaction lead to increased productivity and significantly lower rates of turnover. It is better from employers’ perspectives to retain workers over the long term rather than go to the expense of training new workers, hiring more people due to lower productivity, and make up for the higher rates absences associated with employee dissatisfaction.

Earlier this year, Congress enacted the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to allow workers who have experienced discrimination at their jobs a more reasonable time frame in which to file their claims. The Act was necessitated by an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling last year. Lilly Ledbetter was discriminated against at her job due to her gender. An excerpt of the hearings related to fair pay is available here:

Continue reading "What is Employment Discrimination?" »

The Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 after the lobbying efforts of dozens of disability rights groups. The law protects people with disabilities in various aspects of life, such as employment, public accommodations, public transportation, telecommunications, and other areas. Many commentators have likened its protections to the ones that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 granted against discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national origin, and religion. The enactment of the ADA represented a major victory for the disabled. The group of people protected under the ADA is broad.

The ADA does not enumerate specific groups of people who are protected – i.e., deaf people – instead defining the term ‘disabled’ on an individual basis. A person is disabled and thus entitled to ADA protections if he or she is has “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.” The Amendments to the ADA, which became effective on January 1, 2009, offered more insight into this provision of the ADA by providing examples of “major life activities”: some “major bodily functions,” as well as "caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working" and other functions. This can include, for example, people who use wheelchairs, those who have learning disabilities, the blind, and many other disabled people. Employers must make reasonable accommodations for employees (and job applicants) who are disabled. If an employer declined to hire a qualified applicant because she uses a wheelchair and the office has not installed a ramp from the parking lot onto the sidewalk by the building entrance, the job applicant could file a lawsuit against the employer for its failure to make reasonable accommodations – the ramp. Likewise, an employer who refused to make accommodations for a person who is hard of hearing – such as purchasing and installing a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD or TTY) phone – could be held accountable in the same way. The basic principle is that disabled people should lead lives to the fullest extent possible, which includes engaging in the same life activities, like working, that all people do. Employers must make accommodations for disabled employees so long as they are not an “undue hardship.” That determination, according to Broward disability lawyer Andrew Alitowski , is made by examining factors such as the cost of the accommodation, the number of employees at the organization, and the total impact of making such an accommodation. A small local business with only three employees would not be able to make an accommodation that would cost a quarter million dollars, but it would be able to install smaller accommodations.

">

Continue reading "The Americans with Disabilities Act" »

Broward injury lawyers Andrew Alitowski and William Moore represent clients who have suffered racial discrimination. The Civil Rights Act, which President Lyndon Johnson signed into law in 1964, prevents employers from engaging in any kind of discrimination on the basis of race. Fort Lauderdale employment discrimination attorney Alitowski advises that this includes discrimination at any stage of employment, including hiring.

For example, an employer cannot refuse to hire an African-American applicant in favor of a Caucasian applicant on the basis of race. This is true even if the employer believes that, for whatever reason, his customers or clients would respond better to a person of a certain race (or not of a certain race). The Fort Lauderdale discrimination lawyers also note that employers cannot discriminate during training. This means that an employer cannot elect to train people of certain races for better positions or give them more comprehensive training, if these actions are done on the basis of race. Likewise, an employer should not take race into consideration when evaluating employees for promotions or at any stage of employment. Racial harassment or a pattern of racial discrimination are both good evidence of ongoing discrimination in the workplace. Racial jokes can make employees feel uncomfortable and as though they cannot advance at their jobs, which is tremendously problematic. An experienced and compassionate Broward employment discrimination attorney can advise you of your rights in the workplace.

Discrimination on the basis of national origin is similar to racial discrimination in your workplace. Like the racial discrimination ban, the national origin discrimination provisions are found in the Civil Rights Act, a sweeping piece of federal legislation that has changed the social landscape of American in the 45 years since it was enacted. It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you on the basis of where you were born or where your family originated. This is true even in the post-September 11 world, because the laws of the United States are designed to protect everyone, even when particular ethnic groups become unpopular due to political circumstances. For instance, an employer cannot refuse to hire a job applicant because of his ideas about people of Middle Eastern descent, nor is it acceptable for co-workers and superiors to crack jokes about a person’s heritage or national origin when it makes that person feel intimidated.

Harassment or discrimination on the basis of sex, race, national origin, religion, pregnancy status, and disability are not only wrong, but they are also against the law. An experienced employment discrimination attorney can advise you of the best course of action in your particular case. You may be entitled to recover damages, including compensation for the wages you lost when you were passed over for promotions due to your race or national origin.

Continue reading "Broward Personal Injury Attorney – Discrimination on the Basis of Race and National Origin" »