Employment and Civil Rights.
Contact Massey & Duffy
Flat-Fee Pricing
All services are handled by phone, email, and video - anywhere in Florida.
EEOC Charges: $1,500
A Charge of Discrimination is the document that starts many workplace discrimination cases. Filed carelessly, it can narrow the claims you are allowed to bring later. We interview you, draft the charge, and file it with the EEOC and/or the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
Employer Demand: $600
Sometimes an employer will not take you seriously until the letter arrives on law firm letterhead. A demand letter lays out what happened, what law it violated, and what it will take to resolve the matter before anyone files suit. We draft it, sign it, and send it. Many disputes end here.
Severance Review: $600
A severance agreement asks you to release every claim you have, including claims you may not know about yet. Most people sign because they do not know what else to do. We read it, tell you exactly what you are giving up, tell you whether the number is reasonable for your situation, and tell you what is negotiable. Usually within a few days.
Employment and Civil Rights
Florida Employment Law
Since 2003, Massey & Duffy has represented workers in employment, civil rights, and whistleblower matters throughout Florida. The office is in Gainesville. The work is done by phone, email, and video, so where you live in the state does not limit who can represent you.
Every engagement starts with a paid consultation. You will know the fee before any work begins, and for the services listed below you will know the entire fee, not an hourly estimate that grows.
Cases That Go Further
Not every matter fits a flat fee. When a case needs to be filed in state or federal court, the fee arrangement depends on the claim. Discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower cases are often handled on a contingency basis, meaning no fee unless there is a recovery. Wage and hour cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act carry a fee-shifting provision, which means a prevailing employee's attorney's fees are paid by the employer. Business and contract disputes are usually hourly, sometimes partially contingent.
We will tell you which category your case falls into during the consultation, along with an honest read on what it is worth and what it will take.
What We Handle
Discrimination. Race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, religion, age, disability, and marital status, in hiring, pay, promotion, discipline, and termination.
Retaliation and whistleblower claims. Protection for employees who report illegal conduct, refuse to participate in it, or complain about discrimination.
Wage and hour. Unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, misclassification, tip credit violations, and unpaid commissions.
Sexual harassment. Quid pro quo demands and hostile work environment claims.
Disability and accommodation.Failure to accommodate, and termination because of a disability or a perceived one.
Non-competes and severance.Review, negotiation, and litigation of non-compete, confidentiality, and severance agreements.
Civil rights.First Amendment retaliation, false arrest, excessive force, and other Section 1983 claims against government employers and officials.
Invasion of privacy and defamation.Disclosure of medical records or disability status, surveillance in private areas, and public disclosure of private facts.
For Employers
Most companies do not set out to violate employment laws. The laws are numerous, they change, and the courts reinterpret them. We review handbooks, policies, job descriptions, applications, and investigation forms, and we conduct internal investigations when an employee raises an allegation that has to be taken seriously.
A firm known for representing employees brings something particular to an internal investigation. It is evidence of good faith, and it holds up better if the matter is later litigated.
How Cases Are Selected
We take a small number of cases at a time. That is a deliberate choice. A high-volume practice cannot give any single case real attention, and employment cases are won on details that only surface when someone actually reads the file.
We prepare every case as though it will be tried. Employers and their insurers settle cases at fair value when they believe the other side is ready to go. Most of our cases resolve without a trial, and that is the reason why.
Talk to a Lawyer
If something happened at work and you are not sure whether it was legal, that question has an answer, and it is usually worth getting it early. Employment, civil rights cases, and most claims are typically governed by filing requirements that are easy to miss, which is the main reason to have the conversation sooner rather than later..
Consultations are scheduled and paid. Everything you tell us is confidential and protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Michael O. Massey, J.D., L.L.M.
Michael O. Massey founded Massey & Duffy in Gainesville in 2003. Three things from his background matter to your case more than the rest.
A year of reading motions from the judge's side of the bench changes how you write them. He drafts for the person who will actually decide your case. He reads financial records the way other lawyers read depositions. Michael holds an LL.M. in Taxation and worked as an International Tax Senior Consultant at Deloitte & Touche before entering private practice. In wage cases, whistleblower cases involving fraud, and any case where damages are disputed, that background does real work.
He was trained to write. Michael earned his J.D. with High Honors from the University of Florida College of Law, graduating in the top ten percent of his class, and served as Senior Research Editor of the Florida Journal of International Law. He has published in The Florida Bar Journal. Most cases are won or lost on paper long before anyone sees a jury.
Gainesville Office, Statewide Practice
The office is at 855 East University Avenue in Gainesville. The practice is not limited to it. Consultations, document review, EEOC charges, demand letters, and case management are handled by phone, email, and video, and we appear in Florida circuit courts and in the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida.