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Frank Scruggs advises employers regarding compliance with federal and state employment laws, using a distinctive combination of experiences: commercial litigator; executive in the public and private sectors; and member of the governing boards of major corporations.  Frank served as Secretary of Labor and Employment Security for the State of Florida. 

Frank advises companies regarding compliance risks in day-to-day operations and litigates cases that threaten the enterprise and brand.  He uses preventive counseling to help employers avoid charges of discrimination, claims that misclassification of employees violates the Fair Labor Standards Act,  the determination of independent contract status, and myriad other employment law issues.  In addition to litigating employment law cases, he also tries complex commercial disputes.

Representative Experience

  • Advising Boards of Directors regarding executive employment agreements and negotiating severance agreements for companies and executives.
  • Guiding workforce-wide compliance reviews of classification and pay practices and of compliance with nondiscrimination laws.
  • Guiding execution of reductions in force and other cost-saving initiatives affecting thousands of employees, mitigating risks, guiding statistical analysis to detect potentially impermissible disparities, and assisting line managers with workflow redesign.
  • Defending CEO’s and C-Suite Executives facing claim of individual liability arising from workforce compliance issues, including claims of harassment and discrimination.
  • Averting the filing of numerous race discrimination cases by helping evaluate potential and actual claims, improve policies and practices, and by providing the benefits of credibility earned through a career history of devising and implementing employment, procurement, and education policies beneficial to minorities and women.
  • Representing companies facing the risk of loss of proprietary information, customers, and employees by litigating to enforce restrictive covenants and enjoin impermissible solicitation of employees and customers.
  • Commercial litigation on behalf of companies, investors, executives, trustees, receivers and institutions in cases involving claims for breach of contract, professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, lender liability and distressed real estate assets.
  • Advising government contractors regarding compliance with nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements applicable to federal, state and local government contracts.
  • Serving as lead counsel in federal court litigation involving the largest public works project in Florida history and the associated vendor diversity policies governing the expenditure of funds in that project. 

Professional & Community Involvement

  • Member of the Board of Directors, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, 1995 - Present
  • Member of the Board of Directors, Office Depot, Inc., 1996 - 2003
  • Member, Board of Regents, State University System of Florida, 1982 - 1988
  • Chair, Florida Supreme Court Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Commission, 1990 – 1991
  • Member, Orange Bowl Committee, 1989-present
  • Member (and Former Chairman), Broward Workshop

Awards & Recognition

  • South Florida Business Journal's 2011 Key Partner Award
  • Florida Super Lawyers (2011)
  • Florida Trend Magazine's "Legal Elite" (2009-2010)
  • ICABA Icon in Law Honoree, 2011
  • Listed in South Florida's 100 Most Accomplished Blacks and Healthcare & Law (2009 and 2011)
    • Top 10 Attorneys, ICABA 2009
  • Trustee Emeritus, University of Miami
  • Honorary Doctor of Laws, Florida International University
  • Honorary Doctor of Laws, Bethune Cookman College
  • Florida Black Business Investment Board Lifetime Achievement Award

Articles & Presentations

Articles

  • "Many Workers Don't Get Advance Notice of Layoff," Sun-Sentinel, May 15, 2012 (Interview)
  • "Dewey Have Any WARN Act Liability? Let's Discuss," Above the Law, May 9, 2012 (Interview)
  • "Self-review of Equal Opportunity Programs Key to Federal Contracts," Daily Business Review, March 28, 2012
  • "New Rules for Tipped Workers May Add Litigation in Florida," Daily Business Review, June 15, 2011
  • The OFCCP Seeks to Strengthen Enforcement, Engage Stakeholders, and Revamp Its Affirmative Action Requirements, Book Chapter, Aspatore Books, Inside the Minds Series, April 2010
  • Co-Author, "Supreme Court’s Upcoming Decision in Case Involving Privacy of Employee Communications Through Employer-Owned Hand-Held Electronic Devices Should Prompt Employers to Review Their Policies and Practices, Guest Column," Regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Impending Decision in Quon v. City of Ontario, Daily Business Review Special Labor and Employment Section, March 29, 2010
  • "Are WARN Act claims within the scope of § 503(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the Bankruptcy Code?", American Bankruptcy Institute Journal
  • "Cases Involving University Admissions Could Have Implications for Business," Regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Then Impending Decisions in the University of Michigan cases, South Florida Business Journal, May 23, 2003
  • Where the Injured Fly for Justice:  Report and Recommendations of the Florida Supreme Court Racial and Ethnic Bias Study Commission, as Commission Chairman, with Commission Executive Director, Debra Hardin Wagner, December 1990 and December 1991

Presentations

  • Speaker, American Bar Association Convention, The Implications for Business Diversity Initiatives of the Supreme Court’s Decisions in the University of Michigan Admissions Cases
  • Speaker, Labor & Employment Conference of the Broward County Women Lawyers Association: “Mandatory Arbitration Of Employment Disputes:  Employers And Employees Adapt As Landscape Changes.”
  • Speaker, Employment Law Compliance, Florida State University College of Business, Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship

Prior Affiliations

  • Greenberg Traurig, LLC  Ft. Lauderdale  
    • Shareholder and Co-Chair, Labor and Employment Law Practice Group, 1995-2004
  • Office Depot, Inc.  Delray Beach, FL   
    • Executive Vice President,  2004-2005, and Member of the Board of Directors,  1996-2003
  • Steel Hector and Davis, Miami     
    • Associate and Partner, 1977-1995 (On leave for Public Service 1979-80 and 1991-92)
  • State of Florida, Tallahassee                
    • Secretary of Labor and Employment Security, 1991-1992 and Assistant General Counsel to the Governor,  1979-1980