What Are Florida's Job Discrimination Laws?

• Individual states mirror U.S. federal laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace. In addition, states have the right to augment the federal laws with state laws that offer greater protection against employment discrimination. The Florida Legislature is responsible for the introduction, debate and eventual passage of anti-discrimination laws. There are several online and traditional resources for learning more about Florida regulations, however, the basic employment and labor laws are posted on the Florida Legislature website.

Florida Laws Prohibiting Discrimination

• The 2010 Florida Statutes set forth state laws prohibiting discrimination, making it illegal for employers "to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status." These are the same premises upon which the federal anti-discrimination laws in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 received President Lyndon B. Johnson's signature. There are additional bases on which Florida prohibits discrimination, including employment classification, access to labor union membership, and the same rules apply to employment agencies as well (Reference 1).

Civil Rights Not Addressed by Florida Legislature

• The absence of Florida law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation is a topic James Hipps (an alleged victim of discrimination) discusses in "Florida's Employment Discrimination. Hipps states: "Some of the more progressive cities and counties in Florida (although few and far between) have local ordinances against such discrimination, but in realistic terms, state law trumps local and county-wide ordinances, so even if someone faces employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation, the fight, if they choose to wage one, would most certainly be an uphill battle." Thirteen states, plus the District of Columbia, prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Six of Florida's municipalities prohibit this form of discrimination (Reference 3).

Enforcement Agency

• Just as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces anti-discrimination laws, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Florida Commission on Human Relations has jurisdiction over discrimination claims pursuant to state law. From a review of Florida statutes, it's unclear what level of enforcement authority the Florida Commission on Human Relations has. A state-based commission like the one in Florida is generally referred to as a Fair Employment Practices Agency. When an individual files allegations of discrimination, the state attorney general brings charges against the named defendant. The monetary limit for damages the Florida state attorney can seek is $10,000 per violation.