Amicus Program

As part of Florida NELA’s mission to promote the interest of individual employees and assisting the lawyers who represent them, Florida NELA files amicus curiae briefs in cases before Florida’s District Courts of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court, which involve matters of significance relating to employment and civil rights. Specifically, Florida NELA is interested and seeks to support the issues listed herein. Please contact Florida NELA’s amicus coordinator, Richard E. Johnson, if you are facing one of these important legal issues. Additions to this list are welcome, as are questions about what is presented here.

• Overturn Gallagher. All five Florida District Courts of Appeal have now followed Gallagher. We must get one to reconsider or try to “parachute” into the Florida Supreme Court from the 11th Circuit. Chances are we win if we get to the Florida Supreme Court. Otherwise we’re stuck with this decision.
• Reverse Scelta to re-establish negligent supervision and retention as viable claims with discrimination statutes as the underlying tort.
• Establish that the Florida Private whistleblower Act requires only an employee’s good-faith belief in the illegality of the practice or policy she opposes, not an actual violation of law.
• Establish that a law, rule, or regulation need not be specifically applicable to an employer’s particular industry to qualify for use under the Florida Private Whistleblower Act.
• Establish that the written-notice provision of the Florida minimum wage statute is unconstitutional.
• Establish promissory estoppel as a viable tort for employees.
• Resist efforts to import federal summary judgment standards or Twombly/Iqbal pleading standards into Florida law.
• Create conflict with Winn-Dixie v. Reddig to restore fee multipliers under FCRA.
• Argue for application of Christiansburg standards to 448.08 claims and private whistleblower claims.
• Expand scope of law, rule, or regulation under Private Whistleblower Act to include, at a minimum, obvious examples like Bar rules (reversing Snow v. Ruden, McCloskey, Smith, Shuster, & Russell, P.A.) and other examples like injunctions, executive orders, enforceable agency policies.
• Work to eliminate the judge-created cap on emotional distress damages under FCRA (City of Hollywood v. Hogan, Ernie Haire Ford, Inc. v. Atkinson).
• Protect Byrd v. Richardson-Greenshields from incursions such as Footstar that seek to reintroduce workers-comp bar on torts redressing sexual harassment.
• Prevent spread of routine sanctions motions from federal to state practice.