Florida Archives - Ogletree Deakins

Florida Restricts Sale of Alcohol Due to Surge in COVID-19 Cases Among Young Adults

On June 26, 2020, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) issued Emergency Order 2020-09 suspending the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption at all businesses that “derive more than 50 [percent] of gross revenue from such sales.” The DBPR issued the order due in part to a spike in the number of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in June 2020, especially among younger people who may have been visiting bars, pubs, and nightclubs where alcohol is served and such establishments failing to comply with orders on occupancy restrictions.

Eliza N. Horne Tampa Author

Maja A. Hartzell Tampa Author

Tampa Bay’s New Face-Covering Requirements—We’ve Got You Covered

COVID-19 cases in Florida continue to increase, particularly in the Tampa Bay area. In an effort to slow the spread of the virus, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties have enacted ordinances requiring face coverings in most indoor settings where social distancing (of at least six feet between persons) cannot be maintained.

Dee Anna D. Hays Tampa Author

Phillip B. Russell Tampa Author

Coming Out of the Dark? Florida Governor Issues First Phase of Plan to Reopen the Sunshine State

On April 29, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order (EO) No. 2020-112, outlining the first phase of a three-phase plan to lift stay-at-home restrictions and reopen Florida following the state’s COVID-19 closures. Phase 1 begins the “path to re-opening Florida [to] promote business operation and economic recovery while maintaining focus on core safety principles.”

Stephanie C. Generotti Tampa Author

Karen E. Smeda Tampa Author

Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Releases Reopening Guidance for Restaurants and Hotels

On April 27, 2020, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) released its Critical COVID-19 Guidance Standards for Hospitality Reopening. The FRLA, with input from its restaurant subject matter expert team, developed the guidance in order to safely and expediently reopen restaurants to combat the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Josh C. Harrison Birmingham Author

Sarah Smith Kuehnel Tampa
St. Louis Author

M. Tae Phillips Birmingham Author

Florida Governor Issues Statewide Stay-at-Home Order

With over 60 percent of Florida’s COVID-19 cases identified in southern Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis passed new measures in an effort to limit the continued spread of the virus. On March 30, 2020, Governor DeSantis passed Executive Order (EO) No. 2020-89, restricting public access in Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach and Broward Counties to businesses and facilities deemed non-essential. The March 30, 2020, order also prohibits counties from instituting curfews restricting travel to and from the essential establishments.

Sarah Smith Kuehnel Tampa
St. Louis Author

Karen E. Smeda Tampa Author

COVID-19 Safer-at-Home Orders Now Effective in Tampa Bay and Other Florida Counties and Municipalities

On March 17 and 20, 2020, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Orders 20-68 and 20-71, announcing unprecedented state-wide closures of bars and nightclubs, restaurants for on-site dining, and stand-alone gyms. Since then, additional counties and municipalities in Florida have enacted more stringent measures attempting to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Dee Anna D. Hays Tampa Author

Florida Governor Issues Revised Statewide Coronavirus Mitigation Orders

On March 20, 2020, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a series of executive orders in response to the growing and evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Executive Orders 2020-69 through 2020-72 expand the scope of Executive Order (EO) No. 2020-68, which limited the operation of bars, pubs, and nightclubs, as well as restricted gatherings at restaurants and beaches.

Sarah Smith Kuehnel Tampa
St. Louis Author

Karen E. Smeda Tampa Author

An Update on St. Petersburg’s Wage Theft Notice and Posting Requirements and Recent Amendments to Pinellas County’s Wage Theft Ordinance

In 2015, the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, approved an ordinance prohibiting wage theft in the city. The Wage Theft Ordinance (WTO) “aims to eliminate the underpayment or nonpayment of wages” by giving private employees within the city’s limits an administrative process for seeking back wages, liquidated damages, and costs and attorney’s fees. Pinellas County maintains a similar, though not identical, wage theft ordinance.

Eliza N. Horne Tampa Author

Eleventh Circuit Holds Alleged ‘Unsavory and Unpleasant’ Behavior Not Legally ‘Pervasive’ for Purposes of Title VII Harassment Claim

In Allen v. Ambu-Stat, LLC, No. 18-10640 (January 16, 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Georgia district court’s dismissal of a former employee’s sexual harassment claim and delivered a strong rebuke to a plaintiff seeking to temporarily enjoin the district court’s use of summary judgment in Title VII claims. The decision may provide guidance for employers as to what behavior constitutes pervasive harassment in the workplace.

Amy E. Jensen Atlanta Author

New Year, New Legislative Session Greets Florida Employers

Florida’s 2020 legislative session convened today in Tallahassee. This session will be one to watch, as over 20 workplace-related bills have already been filed, covering such topics as discrimination and retaliation, minimum wage and overtime pay, pre-employment verification and background screening, reemployment assistance, tax credits and refunds, job relocation, job protections for medical marijuana users, paid family leave, and heat illness prevention.

Dee Anna D. Hays Tampa Author

New Year, New Minimum Rates: State-by-State Minimum Wage Updates for 2020

In 2020, a number of states’ minimum wage rates will increase. The following chart lists the states’ (and certain major localities’) minimum wage increases for 2020—and future years if available—along with the related changes in the maximum tip credit and minimum cash wage for tipped employees. The federal minimum wage will remain at $7.25 per

Charles E. McDonald, III Greenville Author

Eleventh Circuit Limits Reach of Arbitration Agreements, Finds “Pay Your Own Fees” Clause Unenforceable

On November 22, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the court with jurisdiction over Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, handed down a decision that invalidates certain provisions in arbitration agreements in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage and hour cases.

Edmund J. McKenna Tampa Author

The Year 2020 Will Begin With an Increase to Florida’s Minimum Wage

The Florida Minimum Wage Act, which applies to all employees in Florida covered by the federal minimum wage, requires the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity to calculate a new minimum wage rate each year on September 30. The wage rate is based on the percentage increase in the federal Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in the South Region for the 12-month period prior to September 1. Florida’s minimum wage is currently $8.46 per hour. According to state government officials, beginning January 1, 2020, Florida’s minimum wage is scheduled to rise to $8.56 per hour, which is a $0.10, or 1.12 percent increase, due to the change in the CPI.

Edmund J. McKenna Tampa Author

Florida Adds Vaping to Regulated Indoor Smoking

The Florida legislature recently amended the “Indoor Air: Tobacco Smoke” Act, §386.202 of the Florida Statutes, to restrict indoor vaping in addition to tobacco smoking in enclosed spaces. The amended act is now known as the “Indoor Air: Smoking and Vaping” Act. The new law went into effect on July 1, 2019.

Edmund J. McKenna Tampa Author

Florida’s 2019 Legislative Session Yields Bills Related to Vaping in the Workplace and Unemployment Benefits for Domestic Violence Victims

The Florida Legislature concluded its annual legislative session on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Over 20 employment-related bills were introduced, covering subjects such as E-Verify, criminal background screening, discrimination and harassment, sexual misconduct reporting in health care, local regulation of employment conditions, minimum wage, vaping, paid leave, internship tax credits, restraints of trade or commerce (noncompete agreements), drug-free workplaces, and unemployment compensation claims. Although only two of these bills survived, many of the bills that did not pass could resurface and impact employers in the near future.

Dee Anna D. Hays Tampa Author

Sara G. Sanfilippo Tampa Author

Eleventh Circuit Opinion Clarifies Definition of ‘Similarly Situated’ Comparators

On March 21, 2019, finding in favor of an employer seeking summary judgment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Lewis v. City of Union City, clarified the definition of “similarly situated” comparators for claims of intentional discrimination, jettisoning the commonly cited “nearly identical” and “same or similar” standards in favor of a test asking whether comparators are “similarly situated in all material respects.”

Amy E. Jensen Atlanta Author

State-by-State Minimum Wage Updates for 2019 and Beyond

In 2019, a number of states’ minimum wage rates will increase.

Charles E. McDonald, III Greenville Author

Florida’s Minimum Wage Will Increase on January 1 to $8.46 per Hour and $5.44 for Tipped Employees

Edmund J. McKenna Tampa Author

Eleventh Circuit Dunks on Businesses With Websites

In its second pro-plaintiff decision in as many months, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that blind website accessibility plaintiffs need not show that difficulty using a place of public accommodation’s website also caused a lack of equal access to the physical place of the public accommodation.

Jennifer S. Rusie Nashville Author

David Raizman Los Angeles Author

Eleventh Circuit Highlights Importance of Safety Training in Affirming Willful Violation of OSHA Standard

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently had the opportunity to remind employers not to ignore training employees on safety.

Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Former Manager’s Equal Pay Act and Title VII Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

In Bowen v. Manheim Remarketing, Inc., No. 16-17237 (February 21, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the Equal Pay Act and Title VII sex discrimination claims of a former manager of a car auction facility who alleged that she had been paid less than the male manager whom she replaced.

Simone R.D. Francis St. Thomas
New York City Author

Court Finds Florida Statute Preempts Miami Beach Minimum Wage Ordinance

On December 13, 2017, a Florida district court of appeal held that Miami Beach violated Florida law by enacting a local ordinance increasing the minimum wage. According to the court, Florida law prohibits municipalities from setting a minimum wage higher than the state minimum wage.

Sarah Smith Kuehnel Tampa
St. Louis Author

New Year, New Pay: A State-by-State Roundup of Minimum Wage Increases for 2018

In 2018, the federal minimum wage will remain at $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees and $2.13 per hour for tipped employees. The following table summarizes the statewide minimum wage increases that have been announced for 2018, along with the related changes to the maximum tip credit permitted and minimum cash wage allowed for tipped employees.

Charles E. McDonald, III Greenville Author

Does the PDA Protect Nursing Mothers From Workplace Bias? 11th Circuit Says Yes

Does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) protect nursing mothers against post-pregnancy workplace discrimination?

Maria Greco Danaher Pittsburgh Author

Florida’s Minimum Wage to Increase on January 1, 2018

Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment that created Florida’s minimum wage in November of 2004. The minimum wage applies to all employees in the state covered by the federal minimum wage. Florida law requires a new minimum wage calculation each year on September 30, based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the South Region for the 12-month period prior to September 1.

Edmund J. McKenna Tampa Author

Hurricane Ready: 5 Ways Florida Employers Can Prepare for the Next Big Storm

With the peak of hurricane season here, the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey fresh in our minds, and Hurricane Irma approaching, Florida employers may want to familiarize themselves with employment laws that may be implicated in the event of a storm and be prepared to address storm-related issues, such as closing their businesses and resuming normal operations.

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