What Constitutes A 'Retaliation Situation'?

The term 'whistleblower' has been in the news a
lot lately and often has an unfairly negative
connotation of espionage or betrayal. Certainly
the psychological pressure on employees to remain
loyal to their employers and not reveal illegal
or unfair practices can be very powerful, and the
individuals who do expose a wrongdoing should be
celebrated and not vilified in most situations -
and also protected.

Florida law does offer considerable protection to
so-called 'whistleblowers' as long as they fit
the three definitions under F.S. 448.101-448.105
that spell out what the terms employer, employee,
and retaliatory action mean.

Employers and Employees

Under Florida whistleblower law, an employer is
defined as any private entity that employs ten or
more people, whether an individual, partnership,
corporation, or association. Thus the
whistleblower laws protect employees of even very
small companies or other forms of employer. An
employee is defined as an individual who performs
services under the control or direction of an
employer as defined above in return for wages or
other renumeration - this excludes independent
contractors.

Retaliation

The primary fear of most whistleblowers is
retaliation from their employers, and this is the
crux of the statute - protecting legitimate
whistleblowers who bring illegal or unethical
activities to light at great personal risk.
Retaliation is defined in the statues as
suffering 'an adverse personnel action' from
their employers. These actions include demotion,
termination, involuntary transfer, reduction in
pay, or punitive shift assignment (i.e., being
assigned a late-night shift despite clear
protest).

Employees who can demonstrate any of these
actions subsequent to their whistle blowing
activities are entitled under the statute to
bring suit against their employers to seek
relief. Obviously, proving some of these
retaliatory actions is more difficult than
others. While termination after revealing
employer activities may show a clear cause and
effect, a simple shift re-assignment without
reduction in pay or benefits may not be so
obviously retaliatory. Employees seeking to
bring suit under the whistle-blower law must be
sure to document their case very carefully in
order to demonstrate that employer actions were
meant in a punitive way.

The Florida law and other similar laws around the
country are designed to both encourage and
protect employees who are witnesses to illegal or
unethical activities on the part of their
employers, but as with any other accusation in a
legal framework the burden of proof is on the
accuser, and termination or other actions taken
by an employer can and have been reinstated by
the courts.


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If you have a legal issue at work, Mark Fox can
help you. Based in Ocala, Florida, he can provide
you with legal assistance in wrongful termination
or employment discrimination cases. As the
founder and principal attorney at Mark W. Fox,
P.A., Mr. Fox can help you in areas as diverse as
personal injury, labor and employment law, family
law and business law. Please call 352.390.8889 or
go to http://www.mfoxlawgroup.com for more
information.


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