Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 110 > Part I - General State Employment Provisions

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• agency: means any official, officer, commission, board, authority, council, committee, or department of the executive branch or the judicial branch of state government as defined in chapter 216. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Authorized position: means a position included in an approved budget. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Broadband level: means all positions that are sufficiently similar in knowledge, skills, and abilities; the kind or subject matter of work; the level of difficulty or the level of responsibilities; and the qualification requirements of the work so as to warrant the same treatment with respect to title, pay band, and other personnel transactions. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Management Services. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Employing agency: means any agency authorized to employ personnel to carry out the responsibilities of the agency under the provisions of chapter 20 or other law. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Established position: means an authorized position that has been classified in accordance with a classification and pay plan as provided by law. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Firefighter: means a firefighter certified under chapter 633. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Full-time position: means a position authorized for the entire normally established work period, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Furlough: means a temporary reduction in the regular hours of employment in a pay period, or temporary leave without pay for one or more pay periods, with a commensurate reduction in pay, which is necessitated by a projected deficit in any fund that supports salary and benefit appropriations. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Job family: means a defined grouping of one or more occupational groups. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Occupation: means all positions that are sufficiently similar in knowledge, skills, abilities, and the kind or subject matter of work. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Occupational group: means a group of occupations that are sufficiently similar in the kind of work performed to warrant the use of the same performance factors in determining the level of complexity for all occupations in that occupational group. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Official records: means each instrument that the clerk of the circuit court is required or authorized to record in one general series called "Official Records" as provided for in…. See Florida Statutes 28.001
• Part-time position: means a position authorized for less than the entire normally established work period, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Pay band: means the minimum salary, the maximum salary, and intermediate rates that are payable for work in a specific broadband level. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Pay plan: means a formal description of the philosophy, methods, procedures, and salary schedules for competitively compensating employees at market-based rates for work performed. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Position: means the work, consisting of duties and responsibilities, assigned to be performed by an officer or employee. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• Pro se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
• Promotion: means the changing of the classification of an employee to a broadband level having a higher maximum salary; or the changing of the classification of an employee to a broadband level having the same or a lower maximum salary but a higher level of responsibility. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Management Services. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Transfer: means moving an employee from one geographic location of the state to a different geographic location more than 50 miles from the employee's current work location. See Florida Statutes 110.107
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01