Best Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyers in Florida
Donna M. Ballman
Employment Lawyer/Pregnancy DiscriminationLawyer
Our Fort Lauderdale law firm is headed by Donna M. Ballman. Donna Ballman has built a reputation as skilled and knowledgeable attorney in all of the aspects of labor and employment law, including discrimination,noncompete agreements and employment agreements, pregnancy discrimination and family responsibilities, sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination.
An honors graduate of Wellesley College, Attorney Ballman received her J.D. from the University of Miami, also with honors, in 1986. She has received many awards and honors from her peers in the legal profession, including being named in 2000 as a member of Leading Florida Attorneys voted on by members of the Florida Bar. She is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2006, has been named a Top South Florida Attorney in 2002, by South Florida Legal Guide in 2002-14 and is listed in Who’s Who in American Law.* Donna M. Ballman is AV-rated and has received the highest peer review rating under Martindale Hubbell’s Peer Review Rating process.***
Derek Smith
Employment Lawyer/Pregnancy DiscriminationLawyer
Derek Smith has practiced sexual harassment and discrimination law for over 25 years. He has obtained the largest emotional distress jury verdict ever to be sustained on appeal in the entire United States for an employment law case. Derek Smith has also secured a settlement in excess of $15,000,000 on behalf of a client.
Attorney Derek Smith is an experienced labor & employment law litigator who has particular experience in the areas of workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, civil rights litigation, employment law, and civil litigation. Attorney Smith received his J.D. in 1994 from the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, his B.A. in 1991 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., and studied at the Université de Droit, d’Économie, et des Sciences d’Aix-Marseille in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Attorney Derek T. Smith is admitted to the state bars of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and California. Derek Smith is admitted to the Federal Courts in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and California. Derek Smith is also proud to be admitted to The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.
Attorney Smith is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (“NELA”), National Employment Lawyers Association of New York (“NELA/NY”), New York State Trial Lawyers (“NYSTLA”) and practices in the New York, Florida, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles offices.
Attorney Smith is also a Judge in the annual Robert F. Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition as well as a Judge in the Charles W. Froessel Intramural Moot Court Competition.
Attorney Smith has personally litigated and resolved numerous high profile cases against multi-billion dollar corporations and has attained some of the largest employment law verdicts in workplace discrimination and sexual harassment, with his clients receiving millions in damages in these cases.
Derek T. Smith is fluent in English and French.
KEITH M. STERN
Employment Lawyer/Pregnancy DiscriminationLawyer
The firm’s principal attorney, Keith M. Stern, first discovered his passion for labor & employment law as an undergraduate student at Arizona State University, where he studied the civil rights movement, human resources issues, and business, completing in his Honor’s Thesis entitled “Improving the Performance Approval Process: A Multirater Assessment Approach.”
Next, at the University of Miami School of Law in Coral Gables, Florida, Mr. Stern focused his studies on the field of labor & employment law and began working as a law clerk at T.H. Buscaglia and Associates, a boutique Plaintiff’s-side employment law firm. During his time at the University of Miami, Mr. Stern served as Vice President of the Labor and Employment Law Society and as an Articles and as Comments Editor for the Entertainment and Sports Law Review.
In order expand his knowledge and experience, in 1999, Mr. Stern began working as a law clerk at Fisher & Phillips LLP, a national law firm specializing in the representation of management in labor and employment defense matters. Subsequently, Mr. Stern served as an intern at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), received the Dean’s Certificate of Achievement in Employee Benefits Law, and earned high honors in UM Law’s Litigation Skills Program.
Upon graduation from law school in 2000, Mr. Stern spent one year as an Associate Attorney at the management-defense firm Allen Norton, & Blue, P.A., before deciding to open his own employment law practice in Miami, where Mr. Stern worked as a sole practitioner specializing in both counseling and litigation between late 2001 and early 2004. In mid-2004, Mr. Stern joined the Shavitz Law Group, P.A. in Boca Raton, where over the next decade, he litigated complex individual and collective actions for unpaid overtime and minimum wages on behalf of thousands of employees in federal courts throughout Florida and across the United States.
William M. Julien
Employment Lawyer/Pregnancy DiscriminationLawyer
Florida employment lawyer William M. Julien has focused on employment law issues since 1994. He opened his own law firm to protect employees’ rights in 2002. He earned his law degree from the University of San Francisco. In college, he was named Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year as an NCAA wrestler at Wright State University in Ohio. He brings that same wrestler’s toughness, tenacity, and will to win to your employment law claim.
While many of my law firm’s employment law clients come from communities between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, we have handled workers’ rights cases all over Florida. There’s never a charge for an initial consultation. We handle most claims on a contingent fee basis, so you won’t be charged for legal fees until your case is resolved in your favor. Many laws covering employee rights claims also require your employer to pay your attorney’s fees if you win.
Bar Admissions
- Florida, 1994
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, 1995
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 2004
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1997
Education
- University of San Francisco School of Law, San Francisco, California
- J.D. – 1993
- Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
- B.A. – 1988
- Honors: Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year
Professional Associations and Memberships
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- Florida NELA
- American Association for Justice, (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America)
- American Bar Association
- Palm Beach County Trial Lawyers
- Broward County Trial Lawyers
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum (Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum)
KYLE J. LEE
Employment Lawyer/Pregnancy DiscriminationLawyer
Kyle is admitted to practice law in all Florida State Courts and the United States Court for the Southern, Middle, and Northern District of Florida.
Kyle is a Southern California native and attended the University of California, where he graduated early. Shortly after finishing college, he decided to attend Florida A&M University College of Law.
The day he enrolled in Florida A&M Law, Kyle knew that he wanted to fight for the people, not against them. While at Florida A&M Law, Kyle served as an editor of the highly regarded Law Review. He was also on the Dean’s List and earned the highest grade in multiple classes. Kyle graduated from Florida A&M Law with honors and was in the top 15% of his class.
After graduation, Kyle worked at large law firms representing some of Tampa’s most well-known employers in employment-related disputes. His passion for representing workers in employment disputes allows him to aggressively advocate for his clients’ best interests. He is ready and willing to fight for you.
AWARDS:
- Top 40 Under 40 (National Black Lawyers)
- Top 40 Under 40 Employment Lawyers (American Society of Legal Advocates)
RICHARD CELLER
Employment Lawyer/Pregnancy DiscriminationLawyer
Richard Celler is the Managing Partner of Richard Celler Legal, P.A., a/k/a the Florida Overtime Lawyer. He created this firm after having served as the Founding Member and Managing Partner of one of the largest employee/plaintiff side employment law divisions in the United States.
Mr. Celler managed a team of over 40 employees and 11 lawyers handling single plaintiff and class action employment and discrimination cases throughout Florida and the United States.During his development of this Division, Mr. Celler trained each of the lawyers in the division on the law applicable to employment situations, how to litigate these cases successfully, and how to build a successful employment law practice by keeping the main priority in mind – – the client.
During Mr. Celler’s tenure as the Division Head, he successfully guided his team to substantial settlements and verdicts in thousands of cases including resolutions between $1,000,000 to in excess of $9,500,000.00, on single cases.
Mr. Celler was also the lead trial lawyer for the Division, and secured total client verdicts in excess of $330,000.00 and $1,100,000.00 in employment law trials regarding HIV Discrimination and Family Medical Leave Act Discrimination.
Mr. Celler has served as the first chair (or lead trial counsel) in excess of 40 employment law trials, and has managed thousands single plaintiff and class action overtime and employment cases, throughout Florida and nationwide. In November 2013, Mr. Celler left big firm life with the idea of reopening his own litigation firm with an emphasis on something most big firms cannot provide – – a lower volume of cases, and more focus on the needs and attention of every single client.
Mr. Celler’s practice focuses on all areas of the employment context from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under the Florida Civil Rights Act, Title VII, the Family Medical Leave Act, and other employment related statutes. Additionally, Mr. Celler represents individuals in whistleblower and wage and hour litigation (overtime, minimum wage, commissions, final paychecks).
P. Daniel Williams
Employment Lawyer/Pregnancy DiscriminationLawyer
P. Daniel (“Dan”) Williams is a Florida Board Certified Labor and Employment Law Specialist, and is one of the founding members of Magid & Williams, PA, in Jacksonville, Florida. The firm limits its practice to the area of labor and employment law, representing primarily employees. Mr. Williams received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, with honors, from Drake University Law School in 1994. He has practiced labor and employment law since becoming a member of the Florida Bar in 1994, and he has earned the highest “AV” peer rating in the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory. Jacksonville’s 904 Magazine has listed Mr. Williams in “Legal Eagles – Top River City Lawyers.”
Having developed a passion for representing pregnant workers, Mr. Williams is the published author of his own law book,The Pregnancy Discrimination Act: A Guide for Plaintiff Employment Lawyers. This legal treatise is published by the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), one of the most prominent legal publishers in the United States.
Mr. Williams is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Florida Coastal School of Law (FCSL), in Jacksonville, where he teaches Remedies, a class regarding monetary damages and other relief that can be obtained in civil cases. Mr. Williams frequently lectures on advanced employment law topics at continuing legal education seminars.
He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association (N.E.L.A.), the Jacksonville Bar Association, and the Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Mr. Williams served as the President of the Florida Employment Lawyers Association (Florida Chapter of N.E.L.A.) in 2008-09, served as the Vice President of Programming in 2007, and has been on the executive board of Florida N.E.L.A. from 2006 until the current time. He has also been actively involved in the Publications Subcommittee of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Florida Bar.
Mr. Williams is admitted to practice in all Florida courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, and the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. His experience includes representing employees in cases involving sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender, pregnancy, age, race, national origin, disability, religion, etc. He also has experience representing employees in cases involving family and medical leave, unpaid wages and overtime claims under the FLSA, covenants not to compete, employment contracts, whistle-blower retaliation, FMLA retaliation and interference, workers’ compensation retaliation, and other aspects of labor and employment law.
Title: Unveiling the Impact: Understanding Pregnancy Discrimination and the Role of Lawyers in Florida
Introduction: Pregnancy discrimination is a grave concern that affects the lives of countless women in the workforce. This form of discrimination, often subtle and insidious, poses a significant threat to the well-being, careers, and financial stability of pregnant individuals. In the state of Florida, acknowledging and addressing pregnancy discrimination is crucial, and legal professionals play a pivotal role in safeguarding the rights of pregnant workers.
H1: What is Pregnancy Discrimination?
H2: Definition and Manifestations Pregnancy discrimination refers to the unfair treatment of employees or job applicants based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. This can manifest in various ways, including hiring decisions, promotion denials, unfair job assignments, and termination solely due to pregnancy status.
H2: Legal Framework: Federal and State Protections The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibit pregnancy discrimination at the national level. In Florida, the Florida Civil Rights Act provides additional protections, emphasizing the need for employers to accommodate pregnant workers and prevent discriminatory practices.
H1: The Importance of Addressing Pregnancy Discrimination
H2: Impact on Women’s Careers and Finances Pregnancy discrimination has far-reaching consequences for women’s careers and financial stability. Denied promotions, unfair termination, and a hostile work environment can impede professional growth and perpetuate gender disparities, affecting not only the individuals involved but also the broader workforce.
H2: Health and Well-being of Pregnant Workers The stress and anxiety resulting from pregnancy discrimination can adversely impact the health and well-being of pregnant employees. It underscores the importance of fostering supportive work environments during pregnancy for the overall health of both the employee and the unborn child.
H1: Pregnancy Discrimination in Florida: Legal Landscape
H2: State Laws Complementing Federal Protections Florida has specific state laws that complement federal regulations to protect pregnant workers. Understanding these laws, such as the Florida Civil Rights Act, is crucial for both employers and employees to ensure compliance and protect against discrimination in the workplace.
H2: Recent Legal Developments in Florida Recent legal developments in Florida have strengthened protections for pregnant workers. Courts and lawmakers have taken steps to reinforce legal safeguards, emphasizing the importance of employers accommodating pregnant employees and refraining from discriminatory practices.
H1: The Crucial Role of Lawyers in Addressing Pregnancy Discrimination
H2: Legal Counsel for Pregnant Employees Legal professionals are instrumental in advocating for the rights of pregnant employees. They guide individuals on filing complaints, navigating legal processes, and pursuing legal action against discriminatory employers, empowering pregnant employees to assert their rights and seek justice.
H2: Employers and Legal Compliance For employers, consulting with legal professionals is essential to ensure compliance with federal and state laws regarding pregnancy discrimination. Legal guidance helps establish fair workplace policies, implement necessary accommodations, and foster an inclusive and supportive environment for pregnant employees.
H1: Advocating for Change and Raising Awareness
H2: Community Education and Empowerment Raising awareness about pregnancy discrimination is vital for fostering a culture of inclusivity and equality. Community education efforts empower individuals to recognize their rights, seek legal recourse, and contribute to the broader movement against workplace discrimination.
H2: The Role of Advocacy Groups and Legal Professionals Advocacy groups and legal professionals in Florida play a vital role in shaping public discourse and advocating for policy changes to strengthen protections against pregnancy discrimination. Their efforts contribute to a more equitable and supportive workplace environment for pregnant individuals.
Conclusion: Pregnancy discrimination is a deeply ingrained issue that demands comprehensive attention and action. In Florida, legal professionals serve as advocates for justice, ensuring that pregnant workers are protected by both federal and state laws. By understanding the legal landscape, raising awareness, and seeking legal recourse, individuals and communities can contribute to creating workplaces that respect and uphold the rights of all employees, regardless of their pregnancy status.