If you work in Miami or anywhere in Miami-Dade County and something at your job crossed a legal line, you have a right to talk to a lawyer before you decide what to do next. As a Miami employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer, Walwin “Wali” Taylor represents employees only — never employers — in cases across Miami-Dade. We handle Miami-Dade matters through the EEOC, the state agency, the Miami-Dade County Commission on Human Rights, and the Miami courts. The first conversation is free and confidential: call (954) 905-9863 or (866) 438-9254 (866-GET-WALI).
Discrimination and Retaliation — Two Different Wrongs
Most people who call us are trying to work out whether what happened was unlawful or just unfair. A boss can be harsh, wrong, or unreasonable without breaking any law. What makes a workplace problem actionable is evidence that an unlawful reason was behind it.
Discrimination is being treated worse at work because of a protected characteristic — your race, color, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, or national origin, among others. It can look like a firing, a demotion, a denied promotion, unequal pay, or a denied accommodation.
Retaliation is being punished for exercising a protected right — reporting or opposing discrimination or harassment, filing a charge, taking part in an investigation, requesting a disability or religious accommodation, taking protected medical leave, or complaining about unpaid wages. You do not have to prove your original complaint was correct; the law generally protects you as long as you had a good-faith, reasonable belief that something unlawful was happening. Retaliation is one of the most common claims we see, and often the strongest, because the timing tells the story.
A Protection Most Miami-Dade Employees Don’t Know They Have
Federal law (Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA) and the Florida Civil Rights Act generally protect employees only at companies with 15 or more employees — and the ADEA at 20 or more. That leaves many people at small businesses with no obvious remedy.
Miami-Dade County closes part of that gap. Under the county’s own anti-discrimination ordinance (Chapter 11A of the Code of Miami-Dade County), an employer is covered if it has five or more employees. That is a third of the state and federal threshold. If you work for a small Miami-Dade employer that is too small for a Title VII or Florida Civil Rights Act claim, the county ordinance may still protect you, and a complaint can be filed with the Miami-Dade County Commission on Human Rights. The ordinance also reaches categories not covered the same way under state law, including sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, and status as a victim of domestic, dating, or stalking violence. Whether your employer is covered — and under which law — is one of the first things we check.
Where Miami-Dade Employment Cases Are Actually Handled
Before a discrimination or retaliation case reaches a courtroom, it almost always goes through an agency first, and which door you use affects your deadlines and your remedies.
The agencies. Most discrimination and retaliation claims must first be filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Florida Commission on Human Relations. Florida’s EEOC charges are handled through the EEOC Miami District Office, which covers Miami-Dade. Because Florida has a worksharing arrangement between the EEOC and the state agency, a charge filed with one is generally dual-filed with the other. Separately, for smaller employers, a complaint can be brought under the county ordinance to the Miami-Dade County Commission on Human Rights.
State court. Miami-Dade County sits in Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit. Most employment cases filed under the Florida Civil Rights Act are heard in the circuit civil division in Miami-Dade.
Federal court. Claims under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 are typically filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and cases arising in Miami-Dade are handled in its Miami division.
Being able to reach every one of these forums — the EEOC Miami office, the state agency, the county commission, and both courthouses — is the practical difference a Miami-Dade employment lawyer makes.
Your Rights as a Florida Employee
Florida is an at-will employment state, which means an employer can generally end the relationship for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all. At-will is not, however, a license to break the law. Federal statutes — Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act — Florida’s Florida Civil Rights Act (Fla. Stat. § 760.10), and the Miami-Dade County ordinance all limit what an employer may do.
Coverage thresholds vary and matter more than most people expect. Title VII and the Florida Civil Rights Act generally apply at 15 or more employees; the ADEA at 20 or more; the FMLA generally at 50 or more employees within 75 miles; and the Miami-Dade ordinance at 5 or more. Wage claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and race claims under § 1981 do not carry the same size thresholds.
Deadlines Are Short — Shorter Than Most People Expect
Employment claims run on strict clocks, and a missed deadline can end an otherwise strong case. The ones that come up most often for Miami-Dade employees:
- EEOC charge — 300 days from the adverse action, because Florida is a deferral state. (You will see 180 days quoted for some other states; that shorter period is not the Florida deadline for an EEOC charge.)
- FCHR complaint — 365 days from the adverse action. This is a different deadline from the EEOC’s, and the two should never be treated as one number.
- Miami-Dade County ordinance complaint — 180 days from the discriminatory act, filed with the county Commission on Human Rights. This is the county clock, separate from the EEOC and FCHR deadlines.
- Right-to-sue notice — 90 days from your receipt of the notice to file suit.
- FLSA and FMLA — 2 years, extended to 3 years for a willful violation.
- 42 U.S.C. § 1981 race claims — 4 years, and no agency charge is required first.
Some claims — Florida’s private whistleblower protections among them — require written notice to the employer before suit. If you think a clock may already be running, call sooner rather than later.
Meet Your Attorney — Walwin “Wali” Taylor
WLT Law Firm is led by Walwin “Wali” Taylor, a member of The Florida Bar whose practice is devoted to representing employees in workplace disputes. He serves on the Florida NELA E-Board, the state affiliate of the National Employment Lawyers Association — the national organization of attorneys who represent workers. He handles employment matters through the EEOC and FCHR process and in the Southern District of Florida.
What to Expect When You Call
- A free, confidential consultation. You describe what happened; we ask questions and tell you what we see. Nothing you tell us goes anywhere else.
- An honest assessment. If the facts do not support a claim, we say so. If a deadline is close, we say that too.
- A plan, in plain English. What we would do first, what evidence matters, and what the realistic path looks like.
- Contingency-friendly fee arrangements. Most employment claims are handled on a contingency basis, so there are no attorney’s fees up front, and where a statute allows it a prevailing employee may recover attorney’s fees from the employer. We explain the fee arrangement in writing before you retain us.
What we will not do is promise you an outcome. No lawyer can, and any lawyer who does should worry you.
Frequently Asked Questions
My company is small. Am I still protected?
Possibly. Federal law and the Florida Civil Rights Act generally require 15 or more employees, but the Miami-Dade County ordinance covers employers with 5 or more. If you work for a small Miami-Dade business, the county ordinance may protect you even when federal and state law do not.
What is the difference between discrimination and retaliation?
Discrimination is being treated worse because of who you are — a protected characteristic like race, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, or national origin. Retaliation is being punished for exercising a protected right, such as reporting discrimination or requesting an accommodation. Many cases involve both.
How long do I have to file a claim in Miami-Dade?
Generally 300 days for an EEOC charge, 365 days for the Florida Commission on Human Relations, 180 days for a Miami-Dade County ordinance complaint, and 90 days to sue after a right-to-sue notice. Some claims run on different clocks, so call early.
How much does it cost to talk to an employment lawyer?
The initial consultation is free. Most employment claims are handled on a contingency basis, so you don’t pay attorney’s fees up front, and in successful cases the employer can be ordered to pay your fees.
Talk to a Miami Employment Discrimination and Retaliation Lawyer
If something at work does not sit right, the cheapest thing you can do is ask. The consultation is free, the conversation is confidential, and you will leave it knowing more than when you started.
Toll-free: (866) 438-9254 (866-GET-WALI)
You can also read more about workplace retaliation in Florida and employment discrimination.
By Walwin Taylor
Last reviewed September 13, 2026.
This page is general information about Florida and federal employment law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different — speak with a qualified attorney about your specific circumstances.