West Palm Beach, FL asked in Employment Law for Florida

Q: I was recently laid off from my job. The reason that was stated was force reduction

My job was posted on the Company website 5 days later. I was not even given an offer to keep my job but at a lower rate of pay. 3 people were laid off, myself being one of them, the only person that was given the opportunity to stay on was the executive assistant, he took a pay cut. It seems like the company wanted to terminate the ones with the highest salaries and longest tenure. The younger ones with less experience and lower salaries were not touched. The store many also told me that I could reapply to the company after my severance runs out as there were jobs that I qualified for. If I was qualified for a job, why terminate me after over 15 years of service? I want to challenge my termination. I live in the West Palm Beach area

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1 Lawyer Answer
Bruce Alexander Minnick
Bruce Alexander Minnick
Answered
  • Tallahassee, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: It sounds like your employer is trying to take advantage of the national health crises to get rid of senior employees by "laying them off" (which BTW entitles you to file for unemployment benefits).

So, if you feel you have been discriminated against by actions of your employer, supervisors or co-workers at your workplace because of your race, age, gender (including sexual harassment), sexual orientation or national origin, religion or marital status or because you have a disability, or feel you have been retaliated against for speaking out or asserting your legal rights in the workplace, you should contact the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) here in Tallahassee. The FCHR's toll free telephone number is (800) 342 8170; or you can call them at (850) 488 7082. If you do call, ask to speak with an Intake Counselor. You do not need a lawyer; but retaining one before you file a charge of discrimination will help get through the bureaucracy.

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