Top Takeaways: 2026 Miami Labor & Employment Law Seminar

Last month, over 200 HR professionals, in-house counsel, and legal heavy hitters joined us for Employment Law: The 2026 Season/New Acts, Plot Twists & Workplace Drama Center Stage, at the Broward County Convention Center.

Our speakers took center stage, spotlighting the latest legal developments and compliance challenges employers and HR professionals need to have on their radar for 2026.

From timely topics and practical guidance to valuable insights, the seminar featured a show-stopping lineup of discussions. Click here to view photos from the event.

We’re recapping the top takeaways from the seminar below.

Get Your Tickets Now! 2026 Miami Labor & Employment Law Seminar

By Stearns Weaver Miller on September 10, 2026 Posted in Disability & Leave, Discrimination & Harassment, Employee & Management Counseling, Employee Benefits & Compensation, Employee Handbooks & Policies, Employment Contracts & Corporate Issues, Employment Litigation, Hiring/Termination, Immigration, Labor Law, Legislation & Regulations, Wage & Hour/Employee Classification

Ver la versión en español aquí

Our employment law attorneys are ready to step into the spotlight. Join us at Employment Law: The 2026 Season/New Acts, Plot Twists & Workplace Drama Center Stage, as we raise the curtain on what’s new, what’s changing, and what may be waiting in the wings for employers in 2026.

Find out more and get your tickets below!

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Welcome to the Show (Breakfast & Check-In) | 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Curtain Up! (Presentations) | 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Broward County Convention Center

1950 Eisenhower Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

Attempted Murder Mystery and Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Law

By Robert Turk on July 10, 2026 Posted in Disability & Leave, Employee & Management Counseling, Employee Benefits & Compensation, Hiring/Termination

Ver la versión en español aquí

Yesterday, in Bouayad v. Normandy Insurance Company, the Florida Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in a case whose facts could have come straight out of a Law & Order TV episode.

Here’s the background as stated by the Court:

While wrapping up his workday as the general manager of a car rental business located on the premises of a hotel near Orlando International Airport, [Mohammed] Bouayad was shot numerous times at close range by an assailant who emerged from a dimly lit area and who did not rob Bouayad. The unsolved crime, captured by a surveillance camera, took place around midnight on June 28, 2019, while Bouayad walked under a covered, outdoor walkway from the hotel atrium (where his company’s kiosk desk was located) to an outside office near the pool. At the end of each shift, Bouayad carried rental agreements and cash (if any) from the kiosk to that office. On the night in question, he worked the late shift because he was training new hires after having recently fired three employees (two for theft, one for drug use). Bouayad otherwise would not have been working that shift.

Though gravely injured by the assailant, Bouayad made his way back to the hotel atrium, where he collapsed and expressed his belief that he had been shot by “Robert”—a reference to Robert Aponte, who, one day earlier, had threatened to kill Bouayad’s son. But Aponte was never charged in connection with the shooting of Bouayad. In fact, although “[t]he shooter’s face was not clearly visible on the video,” . . . witnesses who knew Aponte—including Bouayad’s son—opined that Aponte was not the assailant seen on the video.

The Forecast May Be Mild, Your Hurricane Prep Shouldn’t Be

By Glenn Rissman on June 9, 2026 Posted in Disability & Leave, Employee Benefits & Compensation, Employment Contracts & Corporate Issues, Legislation & Regulations, Wage & Hour/Employee Classification

Ver la versión en español aquí

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center expects a below-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic. The 2026 outlook calls for a 70% probability of 8 to 14 named storms and 3 to 6 hurricanes. Regardless, one direct hit or near miss can disrupt our lives for days, if not weeks.

We have dusted off our annual suggestions for preparing the workplace for a weather interruption.

AI in HR: Efficiency-Maximizer or Legal Minefield?

By Melanie Leitman on May 8, 2026 Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Employee Handbooks & Policies, Employment Contracts & Corporate Issues, Hiring/Termination, Legislation & Regulations

Ver la versión en español aquí

Businesses have officially moved from the “experimentation” stage to the “integration” stage of utilizing artificial intelligence (“AI”) in business operations. AI tools are increasingly being used in the entire lifecycle of the employment relationship, from recruitment to termination and everything in between, including such things as performance management and scheduling. While these tools can maximize efficiency, they present many legal considerations that companies should be aware of.

It is important to understand that the use of AI in any capacity compromises privacy. As such, the use of AI tools in managing any stage of the employment relationship implicates privacy laws which govern collection, processing, and storage of personally identifiable information (“PII”). Unfortunately, the United States does not have a unified legal framework when it comes to privacy law but instead has a patchwork of state and federal laws that may or may not apply depending on the industry, methods of collection, reasons for processing, and means of storage. Depending on the type of PII, your business’s sector, and the nature of your use of the data, you could implicate federal laws like HIPAA, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or state laws like the Florida Security of Communications Act or the California Consumer Privacy Act.

Termination of TPS for Haiti – Stayed

By Glenn Rissman on February 3, 2026 Posted in Immigration, Legislation & Regulations

Ver la versión en español aquí

Late on February 2, 2026, Judge Ana Reyes of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, stayed the November 28, 2025 Notice terminating the designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. Under the November 28 Notice, TPS for Haiti and the work authorization of Haitian nationals in TPS expire at 11:59 tonight, February 3.

A little about the case.

The plaintiffs in the case of Miot v. Trump claim that the November 28 Notice terminating TPS for Haiti violates the Administrative Procedures Act and the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Because the termination of TPS would take effect before there could be a final ruling in the case, the plaintiffs in the case moved to stay the termination of TPS under the November 28 Notice. In an 83-page decision, Judge Reyes explained why she has jurisdiction over the case and explained why the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits and how they were likely to suffer irreparable harm if the termination went into effect tonight. Judge Reyes stayed the termination of TPS for Haiti, while the litigation is pending.

Happy Holidays from Stearns Weaver Miller’s Labor & Employment Department!

By Stearns Weaver Miller on December 17, 2025 Posted in Employment Litigation, Labor Law

Ver la versión en español aquí

Thank you for being a subscriber. Wishing you a joyous holiday season and happy, healthy year ahead.

We hope that BeLabor the Point has brought you important information throughout the year and a few smiles along the way. Speaking of smiles, click on the image below to view our Labor & Employment Law Department’s holiday card!

DHS Terminates TPS for Haiti

By Glenn Rissman on December 1, 2025 Posted in Immigration, Legislation & Regulations

Ver la versión en español aquí

On Friday, November 28, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it is “newly” terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti effective February 3, 2026. After February 3, 2026, nationals of Haiti who have been granted Temporary Protected Status will no longer have TPS.

Haitian nationals in TPS are authorized to work through February 3, 2026 if (1) they have an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) issued under Category A12 or C19 and (2) the EAD has an expiration date of February 3, 2026, August 3, 2025, August 3, 2024, June 30, 2024, February 3, 2023, December 31, 2022, October 4, 2021, January 4, 2021, January 2, 2020, July 22, 2019, January 22, 2018, or July 22, 2017.

To work after February 3, 2026, Haitian nationals currently in TPS must present proof of work authorization (List A or List C document from the Form I-9 instructions), other than the current Category A12 or C19 EAD. The employer will use Supplement B of the current version of the Form I-9 when re-verifying employment authorization.

The End of EAD Automatic Extensions

By Glenn Rissman on November 4, 2025 Posted in Employee Handbooks & Policies, Immigration

Ver la versión en español aquí

On October 30, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim final rule terminating the practice of automatically extending an employment authorization document (EAD) based on a timely filed Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization to renew the expiring EAD. Since 2016, holders of EADs in certain specified categories qualified for an automatic extension of their EAD for up to 180 days (and later up to 540 days) provided they filed their I-765 application before the EAD expired and under the same qualifying category as stated on the expiring EAD card. The purpose of the automatic extension rule was to avoid loss of work authorization caused by processing delays at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

What in the Wide World of Sports is Going on with the H-1B Program?

By Glenn Rissman on September 30, 2025 Posted in Immigration, Legislation & Regulations

Ver la versión en español aquí

A lot.

On September 19, President Trump issued a Proclamation, outlining alleged abuse of the H-1B visa program. To address the abuse of the H-1B program, the Proclamation imposes a one time fee of $100,000 on each new H-1B. The fee requirement expires in twelve months, unless extended. Based on memoranda issued by Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of State this is what we know:

The $100,000 H-1B visa fee applies to applications for visas submitted after September 21, 2025.
The $100,000 H-1B visa fee does not apply to previously issued H-1B visas or to H-1B petitions submitted to USCIS before September 21, 2025.
The Proclamation does not prevent anyone currently holding an H-1B visa issued before September 21, 2025, from traveling in and out of the United States on that H-1B visa.
The Proclamation does not apply to H-1B aliens who are the beneficiaries of petitions filed before September 21, 2025 or are the beneficiaries of H-1B petitions approved before September 21, 2025.