How do you respond when someone tells you they practice voodoo? How about Santeria or Rastafari? Do you laugh or scoff in response, do you start singing Sublime?? Here in South Florida, a multicultural and multi-ethnic area, there are a plethora of minor religions being practiced by thousands of people. As a result, laughing
Florida Considers Going Unlimited With Medical Marijuana
In November 2016, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved, with more than 70% voting yes, expanded medical marijuana by passing Amendment 2.
Now comes the tough work of implementing Amendment 2. One bill, SB 614, proposes to throw out the current medical marijuana system in Florida (which was set up in 2015 to grow, process
Christian Florist Loses Gay Wedding Flower Case
Who could have ever guessed that post same-sex marriage legalization, litigation would focus on the issues of wedding cakes and wedding florists. But, now comes recent news that the case pending in Washington State involving the florist who declined to provide flowers for her friend’s gay wedding has lost her case at the state
HR and Payroll Must Play Defense – IRS Tax Return Phishing Scams on the Rise
Florida, dating back to its early years, has always been a hot bed of scams and fraud. These days, Florida leads the nation in IRS tax return fraud. And, that is because Florida has a large transient population, no state income tax (so no state review of tax returns which provide a
Texas Dives Into the Toilet Controversy
Back in 2015 Houston, Texas attempted to and failed to pass an expanded human equal rights ordinance (“HERO”) which would have made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on 15 different “protected characteristics,” including sex, race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Now, the State of Texas has thought it prudent to follow
Third Time’s the Charm – City of Jacksonville Passes Human Rights Ordinance That Protects Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
After previous efforts that failed in 2012 and 2016, the City of Jacksonville, Florida has now passed an expanded human rights ordinance (“HRO”) that provides employment and housing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
This time around the City Council addressed several issues that created hurdles during the prior efforts to expand
Did You Get Your Super Bowl Squares?
Well, its a few days until kickoff at Superbowl LI. If your office is like many, someone is collecting money for Super Bowl squares. Most employees and employers view a friendly office pool as all in good fun and most of the time it is.
68091334 – game day football party
Happy New Year! – Florida’s Minimum Wage to Rise in 2017
Happy New Year! Also, its time for Florida employers to pay attention to the new 2017 Florida minimum wage. As of January 1, 2017, Florida’s minimum wage will rise from the current rate of $8.05 per hour to $8.10 per hour.
Under Florida Statute § 448.110 4(a) and (b), the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
HB2 – Trying to Flush It Down the Drain
By many accounts, North Carolina has lost in excess of $400 million in business revenue (and a whole lot of basketball games) due to HB2. HB2, for those who don’t know, is the controversial law that limited who could use which bathrooms and was the subject of fierce protests by many in
On-Call Scheduling – On the Way Out?
News today that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has reached agreements with several large retail companies to limit on-call scheduling of employees. On-call scheduling has been a way for large companies with fluctuating staffing needs to schedule employees depending on weather, holidays, shopper volume, etc. However, many employee rights’ organizations have lobbied against what