Frank Scruggs

Frank Scruggs advises companies and executives regarding employment law, negotiates employment and severance agreements, litigates employment disputes, and handles complex commercial litigation.

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 or other statutes, and myriad employment law matters, including non-competition covenants, executive contracts, and trade secrets. Frank extensively litigates commercial disputes involving banking, creditor rights, and real estate.

Frank Scruggs has an extensive history of service as an official of Florida’s state government and as a member of the governing boards of corporations and universities. Frank served as Secretary of Labor and Employment Security for the State of Florida and as a member of the Florida Board of Regents. He is a Trustee Emeritus of the University of Miami.

Currently, he serves on the Boards of Directors of Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC), one of the largest financial services companies in the United States, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, “Florida Blue.”

He has received the designation, Board Leadership Fellow, from the National Association of Corporations Directors (NACD) and the Professional Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight, from the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University.

J.D., Harvard Law School
M.P.A., Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs
A.B., summa cum laude in Government, Cornell University
Advanced Management ProgramThe Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Florida
Washington, D.C.

Dispute Resolution

Class Action Litigation
Complex Commercial Litigation
Labor & Employment

• Lead counsel for the defense in federal court WARN Act class action.
• Lead counsel for the defense in federal court action involving claims of website inaccessibility in ostensible violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Lead counsel for the defense in state court litigation involving claims of theft of trade secrets and violation of restrictive covenants.
• Lead counsel in litigation for enforcement of covenants protecting trade secrets and limiting solicitation of customers and employees.
• Negotiating executive employment agreements and severance agreements for senior officers and companies, including:
  • CEO's in entertainment and hospitality
  • CFO's in financial services, biotechnology, and manufacturing
  • Presidents/COO's in several industries
  • CHRO's in several industries
• Guiding workforce-wide reviews of classification and pay practices for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and nondiscrimination laws.
• Advice to numerous executive teams and to their primary corporate counsel regarding the mass layoff and plant closure provisions of the WARN Act.
• Guiding corporate investigations, including by Special Litigation Committees of Boards of Directors.
• Guiding execution of reductions in force affecting thousands of employees, mitigating risks, guiding statistical analysis to detect potentially impermissible disparities, and advising managers regarding workflow redesign.
• Advising government contractors regarding compliance with nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements applicable to federal, state, and local government contracts.
• 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.

• The Best Lawyers in America®, 2014-2021
• South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyer, 2014-2019
• Florida Super Lawyers, 2011–2019
• Florida Trend, Legal Elite, 2009-2010, 2014-2017
• South Florida Legal Guide, Distinguished Attorney, 2015
• The Florida Bar, President’s Award of Merit, 2014
• South Florida Business Journal, Key Partner Award, 2011
• ICABA Icon in Law Honoree, 2011
• Listed in South Florida’s 100 Most Accomplished Blacks and Healthcare & Law, 2009, 2011
• Chair, Board of Directors, National Association of Corporate Directors South Florida Chapter
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, Florida International University Honorary Doctor of Laws, Bethune Cookman College
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
• Florida Black Business Investment Board Lifetime Achievement Award
• Martindale-Hubbell, AV® Preeminent™ rated
• Trustee Emeritus, University of Miami
• Vice Chair, Board of Directors, National Association of Corporate Directors South Florida Chapter

• Member of the Board of Directors, SunTrust Banks Inc. (2013-2019) and Member of the Board of Directors, Truist Financial Corporation (2019-Present)
• 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)
• Chairman, The Florida Bar President’s Task Force to Study the Enhancement of Diversity on the Bench and the Judicial Nominating Commissions, 2014
• Member, Orange Bowl Committee (1989-present)
• Member (and Former Chairman), Broward Workshop

Thirty-Five Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2021 Edition of Best Lawyers In America
August 19, 2020

NACD Florida Chapter Announces New Board of Directors Chair 
June 29, 2020

Twenty-Seven Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in 2020 Edition of Florida Super Lawyers
June 8, 2020

Twenty-one Berger Singerman Attorneys Listed in South Florida Legal Guide as Top Attorneys
October 31, 2019

Thirty Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2020 Edition of Best Lawyers In America
August 14, 2019

Super Lawyers spotlights Frank Scruggs in, "Moving Society Forward"
2019

Twenty-Eight Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in 2019 Edition of Florida Super Lawyers
May 29, 2019

Thirty-One Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in 2018 Edition of Florida Super Lawyers
June 17, 2018

Litigation Counsel of America Honors Frank Scruggs with the Peter Perlman Service Award
October 30, 2017

Thirty Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2018 Edition of Best Lawyers In America
August 14, 2017

Seven Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2017 Edition of Florida Trend's "Legal Elite"
June 21, 2017

Thirty-Two Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2017 Super Lawyers Florida Edition
June 8, 2017

Twenty-Eight Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2017 Edition of Best Lawyers In America
August 14, 2016

Twelve Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2016 Edition of Florida Trend
June 21, 2016

Thirty-Six Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2016 Super Lawyers Florida Edition
June 13, 2016

Frank Scruggs, Speaker, "From Hyatt to Boeing: Leadership in the Boardroom," National Association of Corporate Directors
April 2, 2018

Frank Scruggs, Speaker, "Corporate Transformations, NACD Master Class
December 6, 2017

Frank Scruggs, Speaker, "HRABC's 6th Annual Legal Seminar," Nova Southeastern University's Huizenga School of Business
May 9, 2017

Frank Scruggs, Panelist, "Thinking Inside the Box When Selling or Acquiring A Distressed Company: Labor and Employment Law Risk Assessment and Value Preservation," Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Southeast Regional Conference
June 2, 2016

EEOC’s Lawsuit to Require a Trucking Company to Allow a Long-Distance Truck Driver to Have an Emotional Support Dog in His Vehicle is Headed Toward a Trial Court Decision in 2018
January 2, 2018

EEOC’s Suit Against Florida-Based Transportation and Logistics Company May Interest Employers Nationally
March 16, 2017

OFCCP Again Delays Adoption of Regulations Addressing Construction Industry Employment Practices
September 26, 2016

Recent Case Provides Wake-Up Call to the Lodging Industry: Potential Liability of Individual Managers and Related Entities Under FLSA
January 13, 2016

The Independent Contractor vs. Employee Classification Issue in Florida Unemployment Compensation Claims Determination: An Intriguing Appeal Against the Backdrop of Multiple Battles Involving Uber
January 5, 2016

• Greenberg Traurig, LLC Ft. Lauderdale
  • Shareholder and Co-Chair, Labor and Employment Law Practice Group, June 1995 - February 2004
• Office Depot, Inc. Delray Beach, FL
  • Executive Vice President, March 2004- November 2005, and Member of the Board of Directors, 1996 - February 2004
• Steel Hector & Davis, LLP, Miami, FL
  • 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