The first notice of a discrimination claim can arrive in the mail. A former or current employee files a charge, and the employer is placed on a deadline it did not set. Understanding the statutory sequence in Florida helps a company respond accurately and on time.
Florida Gives Employees a Year to File
Under Section 760.11 of the Florida Statutes, an employee who believes the Florida Civil Rights Act was violated must file a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations within 365 days of the alleged violation. A complaint filed with the federal EEOC can serve the same purpose, and the earliest filing date controls. The employer should note that date, because it frames how far back the allegations can reach.
The Employer’s Response Window Opens Quickly
The Commission mails a copy of the complaint to the accused employer within five days, and the employer may file a verified answer within 25 days. A Miami employment litigation lawyer reviews the allegations during that window, gathers personnel files and policies, and helps shape an answer that is accurate and complete. A rushed or incomplete response can follow a company into later stages of the dispute.
The Commission Then Has 180 Days to Decide
Once the complaint is filed, the Commission must decide within 180 days whether there is reasonable cause to believe a violation occurred. The result sends the case in one of three directions:
- A finding of no reasonable cause leads to dismissal, although the employee can request an administrative hearing within 35 days.
- A finding of reasonable cause lets the employee either sue in court or request an administrative hearing.
- If the Commission makes no determination in 180 days, the employee may proceed as though reasonable cause had been found.
Silence From the Agency Does Not End the Risk
An employee who proceeds after the 180 days must file a civil action within one year after the Commission certifies that notice was mailed. The same one-year period applies after a reasonable-cause finding. The employee must choose between a lawsuit and an administrative hearing, and that choice is exclusive. A quiet agency does not mean the matter has ended, because the statute gives the employee a path forward after 180 days. A Miami employment litigation lawyer can track the 180-day period and the one-year filing window from the first day.
Confidentiality and Cost Deserve Early Attention
The employer is generally told who filed a charge and what it alleges, because it cannot respond to claims it has not seen. Reading about confidentiality in EEOC charges clarifies what stays private during an investigation and what does not.
Litigation also carries costs beyond legal fees, and the real cost of lawsuits includes reputational harm, distraction from daily operations, and higher insurance premiums. Resolving a charge early can limit both the expense and the long-term effects on the business, which is why prompt attention matters from the first notice.
Leave and Agreement Disputes Can Run Alongside a Charge
A former employee who alleges interference with medical leave may bring a separate claim, and a business facing one may look to a Miami FMLA defense practice to respond to the complaint and test the allegations. The records around the leave request become part of the story.
Disputes over employment agreements can accompany a charge. A company whose former worker disputes a non-compete or a severance term may need a Miami employment agreement review to see what the signed language actually promised.
Pay Disputes Carry Their Own Exposure
Wage disputes can involve overtime, off-the-clock work, or workers classified as independent contractors when they should have been treated as employees. Claims that affect a group of workers can grow into class-action lawsuits. Pay disputes tied to overtime or classification fall under Miami wage and overtime work, where organized timekeeping and payroll records carry real weight.
Who Defends Employers at the Firm
Employers facing a charge benefit from counsel who has handled each stage before, from the first agency response through discovery and, if the case does not resolve, trial.
Exhibit G Law Firm defends employers in state and federal court, and founding attorney Giselle Gutierrez has more than a decade of legal experience and serves businesses throughout south Florida. She clerked in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and received the Miami Dade Bar Association’s 2024 Circle of Excellence award for labor and employment law.
Charges are easier to resolve when the response is organized from the first day, so a business that has just received one can reach out to the firm and start gathering records before the 25-day answer window closes.