Page 167 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

Time off. An employer with 100 or more full-time-equivalent employees shall provide
not less than 1 hour of paid leave for every 37 hours worked, not to exceed seven days per
calendar year; an employer with at least 25, but not more than 99, full-time-equivalent
employees shall provide 1 hour of paid leave for every 43 hours, not to exceed five days per
calendar year; and an employer with 24 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees shall pro-
vide not less than 1 hour for every 87 hours worked, not to exceed three days per calendar
year. Employees who are exempt from overtime payment under the Fair Labor Standards Act
shall not accrue leave for hours worked beyond a 40-hour workweek. Paid leave shall accrue
in accordance with the employer’s established pay period, at the beginning of the
employee’s employment, and the employee may begin to access paid leave after 90 days of
service. An employee’s unused paid leave accrued during a 12-month period shall carry over
annually, but the employee shall not be reimbursed for this leave upon termination or res-
ignation. An employee who is discharged after the completion of a 90-day probationary
period and is rehired within 12 months may access paid leave immediately. The employee
shall make a reasonable effort to schedule paid leave in a manner that does not unduly dis-
rupt the employer’s operations. Paid leave requests, if foreseeable, should be provided at
least ten days in advance or as early as possible, with reasonable certification, including a
signed document by a health care provider, a police report, or a court order by a witness
advocate or domestic violence counselor. This act does not prevent an employer from adopt-
ing or retaining a paid-leave policy more generous than the one herein required. Further, an
employer shall in no manner discharge or discriminate against an employee who (1)
opposes any practice by the employer pursuant or related to this act, (2) files a complaint,
(3) facilitates the institution of a proceeding, or (4) gives any information or testimony in
connection with a relevant inquiry.
Wages paid. The Minimum Wage Act Revision Act of 1992 was amended to establish
minimum-compensation requirements for District security officers working in the metropoli-
tan area. An employer shall pay a security officer working in an office building in the met-
ropolitan area wages (or any combination of wages and benefits) that are no less than the
combined amount of the minimum-wage and fringe-benefit rate for the Guard 1 position
classification established by the U.S. Secretary of Labor pursuant to the Service Contract Act
of 1965. The Minimum Wage Act Revision Act shall take effect following approval by the
mayor after a 30-day period of congressional review pursuant to the State Home Rule Act
and publication in the municipal register. (In the event of a veto by the mayor, the act shall
take effect following an override of the veto by the council.)

FLORIDA

Minimum wage. As a result of legislation that was previously enacted in which the State
minimum wage was indexed to inflation, the State minimum wage was increased to $7.21
on January 1, 2009.
Time off. The State permits an employer to grant an employee up to 3 working days of
leave during a 12-month period if the employee or a family or household member is the vic-
tim of domestic or sexual violence. It will be at the discretion of the employer whether the

150 The H R Toolkit