Matthew Kenney

Small Business | Workplace Law

Archives for June 2019

Hostile Workplaces

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Learning the Law: Hostile Workplace Law.

A hostile workplace is one where discrimination or offensive comments (and/or actions) are based on race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, equal pay, pregnancy, retaliation, or sexual harassment.

Employees are legally protected from harassment and/or discrimination, under both Florida and Federal law. Offensive comments need not be addressed to an individual. For example, a manager’s general comments about women, or a minority group, would likely constitute a hostile workplace. Quid pro quo (i.e. “this for that”) harassment is illegal, and occurs when an employment decision is based on the employees willingness, or unwillingness, to do something. Sexual harassment, for example, often involves quid pro quo harassment.

Hostile workplace law is fact specific, and there are many factors affecting a victim’s right to recovery. These include, the number of employees within the company, state and federal statutes of limitation; the position of the harasser in the company; notice to the employer etc.

Remedies for victims are set by state and federal law, and may include attorney’s fees and court costs. In Florida, the maximum recovery is $100.000. Under Federal law, the maximum recovery is $300,000. Recovery can also be non-monetary, such as a promotion; or elimination of the hostile behavior. The goal of the remedy is to place the victim in the situation he/she would be in, without the discrimination or harassment.

If you are experiencing harassment and/or discrimination at work, feel free to call 407-693-2050 for a complementary consultation.

Secured Transactions

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Imagine you own a business selling goods. A good is anything tangible and movable, regardless of dollar value. A customer places an order, but then does not pay you. What do you do?

Most business owners wait, continue to wait, possibly sue, and hope they get something back. The better question is: What should you have done?

The answer: Use Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code to protect your business by securing the transaction. Here is how I’d show a business owner how to protect her company. I would draft a security agreement; and then file a financing statement with the state.

This way, the goods my client sold become collateral. If the buyer sold the goods, then any of the buyer’s assets will be seen as collateral too. Stated simply, my client is going to have a much better chance of getting her money. If the buyer does not pay, my client can start repossessing the buyer’s assets. What if the buyer goes bankrupt? Well, as a secured creditor my client is first in-line to collect the remaining assets. If she did not secure the transaction, she would have been at the end of the line. Let the law protect you. If you’re business is selling goods…secure every transaction. You’ll be glad you did.

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