Employment Laws in Florida

Definition of employee. For purposes of the equal pay law, employee means any person employed by an employer, including the state and any of its political subdivisions or instrumentalities.

Definition of employer. Employer means any person employing 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year and any agency of such a person. Not covered are religious corporations, associations, educational institutions, or societies that limit employment to members or persons who subscribe to their beliefs.

For purposes of the equal pay law, employer means any person who employs two or more employees.

Prohibited employment discrimination. Employers may not discriminate against employees or job applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap or marital status. Antinepotism policies are permitted.

AIDS. An employer may not discriminate against an employee or job applicant on the basis of knowledge or belief that the individual has taken a human immunodeficiency test or the results or perceived results of such a test, unless the absence of HIV infection is a bona fide occupational qualification of the job in question.

Sickle-cell trait. No employer may discriminate against an employee or job applicant solely because the employee or job applicant has the sickle-cell trait, or require screening or testing for the sickle-cell trait as a condition of employment.

Equal Pay. An employer may not discriminate between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays wages to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on the performance of jobs which require equal skill, effort and responsibility and which are performed under similar working conditions.

Recordkeeping/posting requirements. Employers must post in a conspicuous place any notice provided by the Florida Commission on Human Relations that are necessary to effectuate the Florida Civil Rights Act.