Our jobs are important to us for reasons other than that they provide financial support for ourselves and our families.  Our jobs are part of the daily routine and provide us with a sense of normalcy and self-identity.  To many,  hard work and loyalty to the employer are viewed as an investment into the future that is expected to yield returns in the form of a sense of greater responsibility,  greater accomplishment and greater contribution to society.  Hopefully, this will result in increasing compensation for our services, which ultimately will result in some degree of financial freedom and an overall better quality of life.  

Unfortunately, however, illegal conduct sometimes occurs in the workplace that can threaten our job security and all of the time and effort we have invested into our jobs.  This can have a devastating impact on our lives, both financially and emotionally, particularly when the employer knew or should have known that some illegal workplace activity was occurring, or yet worse when the employer itself violated one or more of the laws that protect employees in the workplace.

It is important to understand that in the state of Florida, people have no proprietary interest in or entitlement to their jobs.  Unless an employee has an employment contract with the employer for a specific length of time, the employment is "at will."  This simply means that the employment relationship between employer and employee can be terminated by either party at any time, for any reason.  It does not matter that the employee was an exceptional employee or otherwise met or exceeded all of the employer's expectations.  Employers have a great deal of latitude in the personnel decisions they make, especially the decision to terminate someone's employment.  

Employees do have rights, however, including the right work in an environment that is free from discrimination and  sexual harassment, as well as the right to be free from retaliation for complaining about discrimination and harassment, or some other illegal conduct that has occurred.  Certain employees also are entitled to be paid a minimum wage, and to be paid overtime if they work a certain number of hours per week.