At the Downyok Law Firm, Helena is often asked, "is that legal?" Some variant of the question is practically the bread and butter of any legal professional. Experienced attorneys will tell you, however, that whether or not something is legal is often besides the point.
It's easy for us to assume that as good members of society everybody must follow the rules. It is within human nature to try to give everyone else the benefit of the doubt. Of course, over time we come to realize with experience that often people break the rules, even well meaning, good people.
We would certainly all like to believe that our employers know all about employment law rules and regulations, or from the employer's perspective that complying with the law just means being a decent, reasonable person, and sometimes it's that assumption that prevents us from seeking legal counsel; my boss is a good person, my company is a good, honest company, I'm a good boss, how could they do me wrong, how could I do my employees wrong?
- "Florida is an at-will state, I can fire anyone for any reason, I'm legally protected." - not true
- "They can't fire us all without notice, we should organize and protest! We're legally protected." - maybe
It's amazing how often as attorneys we see this sort of thought process take people over, the idea that because the law may or may not say something, they are legally protected. Of course, with experience comes caution, and the observation that even if someone actually is "legally protected," that doesn't necessarily mean that going through with that idea is necessarily a good one.
The law is often a remedy for a situation gone wrong; it's not often a shield that defends against a threat as it happens. In other words, just because you might be legally justified in confronting your employer, doesn't mean you won't get fired. Just because you might be legally justified in terminating an employee doesn't mean you won't get sued.
This is where the importance of hiring an attorney comes in; the attorney you pick should specialize in the field you're wading into, because they can take an experienced yet objective view of the situation, and not only tell you what protections you do and do not have, but also help with weighing the risks with a given course of action.
