Q: I was terminated due to excessive tardiness one day after signing a contract for an advance on my future paydays
Can my employer withhold any of my final paycheck if I signed a contract expecting future paydays, and can I be terminated for excessive tardiness even though I reasonably expected to have an ongoing employment with the company that I have worked for almost 11 years.
A: Unless you have an employment agreement--not just an agreement to repay advances--your termination is not unlawful. Why? Because Florida is an “at will” state, which means employers are free to hire, transfer, promote, demote, suspend, reinstate, fire and rehire employees for any reason at any time, i.e., “at will.” The only thing employers cannot do is make any of these adverse employment decisions based upon an employee’s race, age, gender, disability, religion, marital status or national origin.
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