Cases

Plaintiff in civil cause of action claimed that she was wrongfully discharged from her employment by the employer because of her attempt to claim benefits under the workers’ compensation law. Section 440.205, Florida Statutes. In order to establish a prima facie retaliation case under Section 440.205, Florida Statutes, the plaintiff must demonstrate the following elements: 1) a statutorily protected expression; 2) an adverse employment action; and 3) a causal connection between participation in the protected expression and the adverse action. In order to satisfy the "casual connection" prong, the plaintiff must, at a minimum, generally establish that the defendant was actually aware of the protected expression (i.e., the claim for workers’ compensation benefits) at the time the defendant took the adverse employment action. Once a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case by proving that the protected activity and a negative employment action are not completely unrelated, the burden then shifts to the defendant to proffer a legitimate reason for the adverse employment action. The burden then shifts back to the plaintiff to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the "legitimate reason" was merely a pretext for the prohibited, retaliatory conduct.

 

Appellate court determined that lower court improperly directed a verdict in favor of the defendant employer. Plaintiff sustained her burden of proving the causation prong required in retaliation cases since evidence was presented which indicated that the employer was aware that she had filed a workers’ compensation claim and there was a close proximity between said awareness and the adverse employment action.