Florida Senate - 2014 CS for SB 220
By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senators Thompson,
Bullard, and Joyner
578-01645-14 2014220c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Civil Rights Act;
3 amending s. 509.092, F.S.; prohibiting discrimination
4 on the basis of pregnancy in public lodging and food
5 service establishments; amending s. 760.01, F.S.;
6 revising the general purpose of the Florida Civil
7 Rights Act of 1992; amending s. 760.05, F.S.; revising
8 the function of the Florida Commission on Human
9 Relations; amending s. 760.07, F.S.; providing civil
10 and administrative remedies for discrimination on the
11 basis of pregnancy; amending s. 760.08, F.S.;
12 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of pregnancy
13 in places of public accommodation; amending s. 760.10,
14 F.S.; prohibiting discrimination with regard to
15 employment benefits; prohibiting employment
16 discrimination on the basis of pregnancy; prohibiting
17 discrimination on the basis of pregnancy by labor
18 organizations, joint labor-management committees, and
19 employment agencies; prohibiting discrimination on the
20 basis of pregnancy in occupational licensing,
21 certification, and membership organizations; providing
22 an exception to unlawful employment practices based on
23 pregnancy; reenacting s. 760.11(1), F.S., relating to
24 administrative and civil remedies for violations of
25 the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, to incorporate
26 the amendments made to s. 760.10(5), F.S., in a
27 reference thereto; providing an effective date.
28
29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31 Section 1. Section 509.092, Florida Statutes, is amended to
32 read:
33 509.092 Public lodging establishments and public food
34 service establishments; rights as private enterprises.—Public
35 lodging establishments and public food service establishments
36 are private enterprises, and the operator has the right to
37 refuse accommodations or service to any person who is
38 objectionable or undesirable to the operator, but such refusal
39 may not be based upon race, creed, color, sex, pregnancy,
40 physical disability, or national origin. A person aggrieved by a
41 violation of this section or a violation of a rule adopted under
42 this section has a right of action pursuant to s. 760.11.
43 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 760.01, Florida
44 Statutes, is amended to read:
45 760.01 Purposes; construction; title.—
46 (2) The general purposes of the Florida Civil Rights Act of
47 1992 are to secure for all individuals within the state freedom
48 from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex,
49 pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status and
50 thereby to protect their interest in personal dignity, to make
51 available to the state their full productive capacities, to
52 secure the state against domestic strife and unrest, to preserve
53 the public safety, health, and general welfare, and to promote
54 the interests, rights, and privileges of individuals within the
55 state.
56 Section 3. Section 760.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to
57 read:
58 760.05 Functions of the commission.—The commission shall
59 promote and encourage fair treatment and equal opportunity for
60 all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy,
61 national origin, age, handicap, or marital status and mutual
62 understanding and respect among all members of all economic,
63 social, racial, religious, and ethnic groups; and shall endeavor
64 to eliminate discrimination against, and antagonism between,
65 religious, racial, and ethnic groups and their members.
66 Section 4. Section 760.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to
67 read:
68 760.07 Remedies for unlawful discrimination.—Any violation
69 of any Florida statute making unlawful discrimination because of
70 race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, age,
71 handicap, or marital status in the areas of education,
72 employment, housing, or public accommodations gives rise to a
73 cause of action for all relief and damages described in s.
74 760.11(5), unless greater damages are expressly provided for. If
75 the statute prohibiting unlawful discrimination provides an
76 administrative remedy, the action for equitable relief and
77 damages provided for in this section may be initiated only after
78 the plaintiff has exhausted his or her administrative remedy.
79 The term “public accommodations” does not include lodge halls or
80 other similar facilities of private organizations which are made
81 available for public use occasionally or periodically. The right
82 to trial by jury is preserved in any case in which the plaintiff
83 is seeking actual or punitive damages.
84 Section 5. Section 760.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to
85 read:
86 760.08 Discrimination in places of public accommodation.
87 All persons are shall be entitled to the full and equal
88 enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges,
89 advantages, and accommodations of any place of public
90 accommodation, as defined in this chapter, without
91 discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color,
92 national origin, sex, pregnancy, handicap, familial status, or
93 religion.
94 Section 6. Subsections (1) and (2), paragraphs (a) and (b)
95 of subsection (3), subsections (4) through (6), and paragraph
96 (a) of subsection (8) of section 760.10, Florida Statutes, are
97 amended to read:
98 760.10 Unlawful employment practices.—
99 (1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer:
100 (a) To discharge or to fail or refuse to hire any
101 individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual
102 with respect to compensation, benefits, terms, conditions, or
103 privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race,
104 color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap,
105 or marital status.
106 (b) To limit, segregate, or classify employees or
107 applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend
108 to deprive any individual of employment opportunities, or
109 adversely affect any individual’s status as an employee, because
110 of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy,
111 national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
112 (2) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employment
113 agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise
114 to discriminate against, any individual because of race, color,
115 religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or
116 marital status or to classify or refer for employment any
117 individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
118 pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
119 (3) It is an unlawful employment practice for a labor
120 organization:
121 (a) To exclude or to expel from its membership, or
122 otherwise to discriminate against, any individual because of
123 race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age,
124 handicap, or marital status.
125 (b) To limit, segregate, or classify its membership or
126 applicants for membership, or to classify or fail or refuse to
127 refer for employment any individual, in any way which would
128 deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment
129 opportunities, or adversely affect any individual’s status as an
130 employee or as an applicant for employment, because of such
131 individual’s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national
132 origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
133 (4) It is an unlawful employment practice for any employer,
134 labor organization, or joint labor-management committee
135 controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining,
136 including on-the-job training programs, to discriminate against
137 any individual because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy,
138 national origin, age, handicap, or marital status in admission
139 to, or employment in, any program established to provide
140 apprenticeship or other training.
141 (5) Whenever, in order to engage in a profession,
142 occupation, or trade, it is required that a person receive a
143 license, certification, or other credential, become a member or
144 an associate of any club, association, or other organization, or
145 pass any examination, it is an unlawful employment practice for
146 any person to discriminate against any other person seeking such
147 license, certification, or other credential, seeking to become a
148 member or associate of such club, association, or other
149 organization, or seeking to take or pass such examination,
150 because of such other person’s race, color, religion, sex,
151 pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
152 (6) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer,
153 labor organization, employment agency, or joint labor-management
154 committee to print, or cause to be printed or published, any
155 notice or advertisement relating to employment, membership,
156 classification, referral for employment, or apprenticeship or
157 other training, indicating any preference, limitation,
158 specification, or discrimination, based on race, color,
159 religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, absence of
160 handicap, or marital status.
161 (8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, it
162 is not an unlawful employment practice under ss. 760.01-760.10
163 for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint
164 labor-management committee to:
165 (a) Take or fail to take any action on the basis of
166 religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or
167 marital status in those certain instances in which religion,
168 sex, condition of pregnancy, national origin, age, absence of a
169 particular handicap, or marital status is a bona fide
170 occupational qualification reasonably necessary for the
171 performance of the particular employment to which such action or
172 inaction is related.
173 Section 7. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
174 made by this act to section 760.10(5), Florida Statutes, in a
175 reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 760.11, Florida
176 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
177 760.11 Administrative and civil remedies; construction.—
178 (1) Any person aggrieved by a violation of ss. 760.01
179 760.10 may file a complaint with the commission within 365 days
180 of the alleged violation, naming the employer, employment
181 agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee,
182 or, in the case of an alleged violation of s. 760.10(5), the
183 person responsible for the violation and describing the
184 violation. Any person aggrieved by a violation of s. 509.092 may
185 file a complaint with the commission within 365 days of the
186 alleged violation naming the person responsible for the
187 violation and describing the violation. The commission, a
188 commissioner, or the Attorney General may in like manner file
189 such a complaint. On the same day the complaint is filed with
190 the commission, the commission shall clearly stamp on the face
191 of the complaint the date the complaint was filed with the
192 commission. In lieu of filing the complaint with the commission,
193 a complaint under this section may be filed with the federal
194 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or with any unit of
195 government of the state which is a fair-employment-practice
196 agency under 29 C.F.R. ss. 1601.70-1601.80. If the date the
197 complaint is filed is clearly stamped on the face of the
198 complaint, that date is the date of filing. The date the
199 complaint is filed with the commission for purposes of this
200 section is the earliest date of filing with the Equal Employment
201 Opportunity Commission, the fair-employment-practice agency, or
202 the commission. The complaint shall contain a short and plain
203 statement of the facts describing the violation and the relief
204 sought. The commission may require additional information to be
205 in the complaint. The commission, within 5 days of the complaint
206 being filed, shall by registered mail send a copy of the
207 complaint to the person who allegedly committed the violation.
208 The person who allegedly committed the violation may file an
209 answer to the complaint within 25 days of the date the complaint
210 was filed with the commission. Any answer filed shall be mailed
211 to the aggrieved person by the person filing the answer. Both
212 the complaint and the answer shall be verified.
213 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.