The Florida Supreme Court ruled that an employee does not have to give written notice to their employer of any unlawful activity in order to make a claim for being punished at work because of whistle-blowing. The court said that written notice is only needed for whistle-blowing based on disclosure, not for assistance or objection. This decision came from a case where a Golf Channel employee objected to unlawful activities at work and was fired, but did not give written notice to the company. Basically, Florida law protects employees who report illegal activities at work. But there is a debate over whether the law requires employees to tell their employer about the illegal activity in writing before they can make a claim. Different courts have given different opinions on this issue, so the Florida Supreme Court is now deciding what the law really means. The Golf Channel agrees that there is a problem with the language in the whistle-blower act, and it needs to be interpreted to figure out if the written notice requirement applies to all whistle-blowing claims. The court looked at the purpose of the act and the written notice requirement, and ruled that the written notice only applies to whistle-blowing claims related to disclosing illegal activity. The purpose of the act is to protect employees from retaliation for reporting wrongdoing, and the written notice requirement is meant to give the employer a chance to fix the problem before it becomes a big issue. The court said that when an employee reports something bad their employer is doing, they have to do it in writing to give the employer a chance to fix it. But if the employee is already helping an investigation, they don’t need to give written notice. And if they are stopped from giving notice, they don’t have to. Now, employees are protected from getting in trouble for telling the truth about their employer. Will Golf Channel’s limited approach to the whistle-blower law lead to more employees taking their employers to court? Probably not. The law only protects employees who report their employer for breaking the law, not for other complaints. It also requires that any retaliation against the employee be related to their whistle-blowing. So, there are protections in place to prevent a flood of unnecessary lawsuits. Plus, it’s likely that most companies in Florida follow the law and wouldn’t retaliate against their employees for reporting illegal activities. So, it’s unlikely that there will be a flood of whistle-blower claims. Employees would probably prefer to keep their job rather than go through a costly and uncertain lawsuit. The Golf Channel’s opinion should not be seen as a warning to Florida employers to be careful of claims. Instead, it should be taken as a reminder for companies to do business the right way in Florida. Companies in Florida already spend time and money on hiring and training their employees, and the Golf Channel just tells them to appreciate the employees who report any wrongdoings. Florida has a law that protects employees who report illegal activity, and the Golf Channel supports and encourages this law. This means that employees who report illegal activity are safe from any unfair treatment at work, and the law was meant to give them a strong voice. Overall, the Golf Channel wants to make sure that employees are safe and treated fairly when reporting any wrongdoing. “Retaliatory personnel action” refers to negative things an employer does to an employee, like firing them or cutting their pay, in response to the employee reporting something illegal their employer is doing.
Florida law protects employees who report their employer’s illegal activities to the government, refuse to participate in illegal activities at work, or testify in a government investigation. The law says these employees cannot be retaliated against by their employer.
The law does not say when an employee has to tell their employer about their concerns. This could be a problem if an employee is being questioned by the government about their employer, or if their supervisor tells them not to report something.
Some employees, like Jenkins, Baiton, and Deering, claimed they were fired for refusing to participate in illegal activities at work. The court ruled in favor of these employees, saying their employer’s actions were illegal.
In a previous court case, the court noted that the law has specific numbering for different parts of the statute, and that only the part related to reporting illegal activities to the government requires written notice to the employer.
In simpler terms, the law protects employees from being punished by their employer for reporting wrongdoing, but it’s unclear when they have to tell their employer about it. Despite this, employees like Jenkins and Baiton were still able to get protection from the court. Floridaâs whistle-blower laws protect employees who report illegal activity in the workplace. If an employee wants to sue their employer for violating these laws, they have to first tell their employer about the illegal activity. This notice requirement is found in section 448.102(1) of the law. The purpose of these laws is to encourage people to speak up about corruption and wrongdoing, and to protect workers from retaliation. The laws apply to both public and private sector employees. The Florida Supreme Court is reviewing a case about employees who report their employer for doing something wrong. Before, employees could be fired for reporting illegal activity, but now there are laws protecting them. These laws also protect employees who speak out against discrimination, file workers’ compensation claims, serve on a jury, join a labor union, and more. The court is trying to decide if employees need to give their employer written notice before suing them for retaliating against them for reporting illegal activity. Catherine A. Kyres has her own law firm and helps employees with work-related problems in Florida. She also helps settle disputes between employees and their employers. She went to law school in New England and has a degree in psychology from Simmons College in Boston. She wrote a legal document for a group of lawyers in Florida.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/florida-workers-whistles-are-not-silenced/
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