Pembroke Pines is one of Broward County’s largest cities, with a workforce spread across healthcare, retail, and corporate offices — and its employees deserve to know that being fired for exercising a legal right is against the law. Were you fired after reporting discrimination, requesting a disability accommodation, taking FMLA leave, or reporting unpaid wages? If your employer terminated you for engaging in a legally protected activity, that is illegal retaliation — and Kaplan Employment Law fights for Pembroke Pines employees who were fired for it.
Fired Soon After Speaking Up in Pembroke Pines?
Retaliation is the most common form of wrongful termination. It happens when an employer fires an employee because that employee engaged in a legally protected activity — exercising a legal right or reporting conduct they reasonably believed was unlawful. If you were a good employee who was fired soon after engaging in protected activity, you may have a strong claim.
The Three Elements of a Retaliation Claim
To win a retaliation case, you must prove three things:
- Protected activity — you exercised a legal right or opposed conduct you reasonably believed was illegal.
- A materially adverse action — most often, you were fired. Termination is the clearest example.
- A causal connection — your protected activity is the reason you were fired.
What Counts as Protected Activity
You are protected when you:
- Report or oppose discrimination or harassment based on race, sex, age, disability, religion, or national origin
- Request a reasonable accommodation for a disability under the ADA
- Request or take FMLA leave for a serious health condition, pregnancy, or to care for family
- Report wage violations such as unpaid overtime or stolen tips under the FLSA
- File a workers’ compensation claim after a job injury
- File a charge with the EEOC or take part in a coworker’s investigation
What Is NOT Protected Activity
Not every workplace complaint is legally protected, and this is where many potential cases fall apart. Complaining about a rude boss, workplace bullying, favoritism, nepotism, office politics, or a poorly run or inefficient workplace is not protected activity — even when the treatment is genuinely unfair. If your employer fired you because you complained about problems like these, and your complaint was not tied to discrimination, harassment, unpaid wages, a safety violation, or another legal right, then your termination is not illegal and you do not have a retaliation claim. The law protects you for opposing conduct you reasonably believe is unlawful — not for raising general workplace grievances.
Proving the Causal Connection
Timing is the clearest evidence. The closer your firing was to your protected activity, the stronger the inference that one caused the other, and Florida and Eleventh Circuit courts generally treat a gap of about three months or less as close enough, on its own, to suggest causation. It also matters that the decision-maker knew about your protected activity. And negative or critical comments about your protected activity made directly to you — whether spoken or sent by text or email — are powerful evidence, especially as they build up in the weeks before your firing.
But-For Causation: Why Your Record Matters
Timing is only the start. To win, you must show your protected activity was the but-for cause of your firing — that you would not have been fired if you had not engaged in it. If the employer can point to a separate, legitimate reason that would have gotten you fired anyway, such as a record of showing up late, that can defeat your claim. But it is not the end of your case: if a coworker who did not engage in protected activity committed the same violation and kept their job, that comparison shows the employer’s reason is a pretext and that your protected activity is the real reason you were fired. Learn more about proving a retaliation claim.
What You Can Realistically Recover
In most retaliation cases, the heart of your recovery is lost wages — and realistically, that is what these cases settle for. Lost wages are measured by how long you have been out of work looking for a new job, multiplied by what you would have been earning at your old job if you had never been fired.
Emotional distress damages may also be available, but they require real proof: a mental health diagnosis and ongoing treatment with a psychiatrist for conditions that arose because of the firing.
Punitive damages are rare. They apply only in extreme cases and generally require taking your case to a jury trial.
Why Pembroke Pines Employees Choose Kaplan Employment Law
We focus exclusively on employment law and take on retaliation cases against large employers — and win. You work directly with your attorney, and there are no upfront fees: you pay only if we win.
Fired for Protected Activity in Pembroke Pines? Contact Us Today.
If you were fired for engaging in protected activity, don’t wait — strict deadlines apply to retaliation claims.
