Florida Discrimination & Harassment (FCRA)

The Florida Civil Rights Act (Fla. Stat. ch. 760) applies to employers with 15 or more employees, is enforced by the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR), and is construed in line with Title VII. It adds marital status to the protected list (race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, marital status). There is no individual supervisor liability (Patterson).

Charges are typically dual-filed with the EEOC, and administrative exhaustion is required; dual-filing exhausts FCRA remedies even when the charge cites only federal law (Steak N Shake v. Ramos, 2025). Pregnancy discrimination is sex discrimination under the FCRA (Delva).

The 2022 Individual Freedom Act ("Stop WOKE Act," Fla. Stat. § 760.10(8)) tried to restrict mandatory DEI/"concept" training, but the Eleventh Circuit affirmed an injunction blocking the employer provisions on First Amendment grounds (Honeyfund, 2024) — so those provisions are currently unenforceable. The federal floor (Title VII, ADA, ADEA; Bostock) applies alongside the FCRA.

Run prompt, impartial investigations and use the Faragher-Ellerth playbook (a strong policy, reporting channels, prompt correction), train managers, and don't rely on the enjoined Stop WOKE provisions — conduct standards still track Title VII/FCRA harassment law.