HR Specialist: Florida Employment Law

There’s a dark side to doing business in the Sunshine State. Aggressive attorneys don’t stop with federal laws like FMLA, ADA and FLSA: they use state and local living-wage statutes, rural codes, plus discrimination and other laws to sue employers for sky’s-the-limit damages. This Florida-specific newsletter arrives monthly to help sue-proof every aspect of HR. Written in plain English, it’s your insurance policy for staying in step with current interpretations of state and local laws – and staying out of court. Learn more about HR Specialist: Florida Employment Law and the free report you’ll get when you subscribe...

Some good news: A federal court has ruled that an employer that mistakenly tells an employee he is covered by the FMLA isn’t bound by that mistake.

Recent case: Ronald Kuczynski left his job as president of Lyra Management and started his own company. Lyra Management sued him, and Kuczynski filed his own lawsuit alleging that he had been denied rights to take FMLA leave.

Lyra said he wasn’t eligible because it didn’t employ more than 50 employees. Kuczynski countered that he had a letter from Lyra saying he was eligible.

The court dismissed the case, concluding the letter didn’t bind Lyra. (Kuczynski v. Lyra Management, No. 08-62067, SD FL, 2009)

Final note: The court noted that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals hasn’t ruled on the issue yet. That may mean an appeal.