Florida Employees File Lawsuits

Fort Pierce, FLEmployees who believe they were discriminated against in their jobs may be able to file a lawsuit to protect their rights. Some Florida employment lawsuits have been filed, alleging the employees were victims of discrimination on their jobs. Others have filed lawsuits alleging their employers violated federal employment laws.

A racial discrimination lawsuit, filed by three black code enforcement officers has been settled for $400,000. The lawsuit, filed by the three officers against the city of Fort Pierce, alleged that the officers received negative marks on their employment evaluations. They also said that even though all the officers passed the same exam, the black officers did not receive an immediate pay raise while the white employees did. The officers also alleged that they were given group evaluations instead of individual evaluations and that the city manager destroyed those evaluations. Furthermore, they say, they were demoted after they complained about their treatment.

The City has denied any wrongdoing in the case and said it only settled out of consideration for the interests of the residents of Fort Pierce.

Meanwhile, the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against Starbucks has been granted conditional class action status by a US District Court Judge. The lawsuit alleged Starbucks violated federal wage laws by failing to pay their supervisors for overtime hours. The lawsuit covers Starbucks store managers who worked overtime from January 15, 2006 through April, 2009.

According to reports, Starbucks previously settled a Florida lawsuit involving 900 plaintiffs. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum and alleged that workers were not properly paid by the company, including being forced to share tips with shift managers and supervisors.

Meanwhile, a former UPS employee has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, saying he was fired for taking time off work to care for his sick children. The plaintiff, Michael Calhoun, has three sons with Barth's syndrome—a rare, heart-related disease. The youngest of Calhoun's sons had a heart transplant when he was one year old.

The lawsuit alleges that UPS violated the Family Medical Leave Act for terminating his employment when he took time off work to care for his sons. Calhoun says he signed up for the family and medical leave provision, which cave him up to 12 weeks of unpaid intermittent leave in a 12-month period, but had taken only seven of the 12 weeks allowed.

According to an article in the St. Petersburg Times, the lawsuit alleges that UPS violated the leave act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Florida Civil Rights Act and Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

UPS has responded by saying that they do not believe any discrimination took place.