Florida Senate - 2014                                     SB 220
       
       
        
       By Senator Thompson
       
       
       
       
       
       12-00174A-14                                           2014220__
    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. 760.02, F.S.;
    8         providing a definition for the term “pregnancy”;
    9         amending s. 760.05, F.S.; revising the function of the
   10         Florida Commission on Human Relations; amending s.
   11         760.07, F.S.; providing civil and administrative
   12         remedies for discrimination on the basis of pregnancy;
   13         amending s. 760.08, F.S.; prohibiting discrimination
   14         on the basis of pregnancy in places of public
   15         accommodation; amending s. 760.10, F.S.; prohibiting
   16         discrimination with regard to employment benefits;
   17         prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of
   18         pregnancy; prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
   19         pregnancy by labor organizations, joint labor
   20         management committees, and employment agencies;
   21         prohibiting discrimination on the basis of pregnancy
   22         in occupational licensing, certification, and
   23         membership organizations; providing an exception to
   24         unlawful employment practices based on pregnancy;
   25         reenacting s. 760.11(1), F.S., relating to
   26         administrative and civil remedies for violations of
   27         the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, to incorporate
   28         the amendments made to s. 760.10(5), F.S., in a
   29         reference thereto; providing an effective date.
   30          
   31  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   32  
   33         Section 1. Section 509.092, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   34  read:
   35         509.092 Public lodging establishments and public food
   36  service establishments; rights as private enterprises.—Public
   37  lodging establishments and public food service establishments
   38  are private enterprises, and the operator has the right to
   39  refuse accommodations or service to any person who is
   40  objectionable or undesirable to the operator, but such refusal
   41  may not be based upon race, creed, color, sex, pregnancy,
   42  physical disability, or national origin. A person aggrieved by a
   43  violation of this section or a violation of a rule adopted under
   44  this section has a right of action pursuant to s. 760.11.
   45         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 760.01, Florida
   46  Statutes, is amended to read:
   47         760.01 Purposes; construction; title.—
   48         (2) The general purposes of the Florida Civil Rights Act of
   49  1992 are to secure for all individuals within the state freedom
   50  from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex,
   51  pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status and
   52  thereby to protect their interest in personal dignity, to make
   53  available to the state their full productive capacities, to
   54  secure the state against domestic strife and unrest, to preserve
   55  the public safety, health, and general welfare, and to promote
   56  the interests, rights, and privileges of individuals within the
   57  state.
   58         Section 3. Subsection (12) is added to section 760.02,
   59  Florida Statutes, to read:
   60         760.02 Definitions.—For the purposes of ss. 760.01-760.11
   61  and 509.092, the term:
   62         (12) “Pregnancy” means a woman affected by pregnancy,
   63  childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or
   64  childbirth.
   65         Section 4. Section 760.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   66  read:
   67         760.05 Functions of the commission.—The commission shall
   68  promote and encourage fair treatment and equal opportunity for
   69  all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy,
   70  national origin, age, handicap, or marital status and mutual
   71  understanding and respect among all members of all economic,
   72  social, racial, religious, and ethnic groups; and shall endeavor
   73  to eliminate discrimination against, and antagonism between,
   74  religious, racial, and ethnic groups and their members.
   75         Section 5. Section 760.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   76  read:
   77         760.07 Remedies for unlawful discrimination.—Any violation
   78  of any Florida statute making unlawful discrimination because of
   79  race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, age,
   80  handicap, or marital status in the areas of education,
   81  employment, housing, or public accommodations gives rise to a
   82  cause of action for all relief and damages described in s.
   83  760.11(5), unless greater damages are expressly provided for. If
   84  the statute prohibiting unlawful discrimination provides an
   85  administrative remedy, the action for equitable relief and
   86  damages provided for in this section may be initiated only after
   87  the plaintiff has exhausted his or her administrative remedy.
   88  The term “public accommodations” does not include lodge halls or
   89  other similar facilities of private organizations which are made
   90  available for public use occasionally or periodically. The right
   91  to trial by jury is preserved in any case in which the plaintiff
   92  is seeking actual or punitive damages.
   93         Section 6. Section 760.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   94  read:
   95         760.08 Discrimination in places of public accommodation.
   96  All persons are shall be entitled to the full and equal
   97  enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges,
   98  advantages, and accommodations of any place of public
   99  accommodation, as defined in this chapter, without
  100  discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color,
  101  national origin, sex, pregnancy, handicap, familial status, or
  102  religion.
  103         Section 7. Subsections (1) and (2), paragraphs (a) and (b)
  104  of subsection (3), subsections (4) through (6), and paragraph
  105  (a) of subsection (8) of section 760.10, Florida Statutes, are
  106  amended to read:
  107         760.10 Unlawful employment practices.—
  108         (1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer:
  109         (a) To discharge or to fail or refuse to hire any
  110  individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual
  111  with respect to compensation, benefits, terms, conditions, or
  112  privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race,
  113  color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap,
  114  or marital status.
  115         (b) To limit, segregate, or classify employees or
  116  applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend
  117  to deprive any individual of employment opportunities, or
  118  adversely affect any individual’s status as an employee, because
  119  of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy,
  120  national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
  121         (2) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employment
  122  agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise
  123  to discriminate against, any individual because of race, color,
  124  religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or
  125  marital status or to classify or refer for employment any
  126  individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
  127  pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
  128         (3) It is an unlawful employment practice for a labor
  129  organization:
  130         (a) To exclude or to expel from its membership, or
  131  otherwise to discriminate against, any individual because of
  132  race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age,
  133  handicap, or marital status.
  134         (b) To limit, segregate, or classify its membership or
  135  applicants for membership, or to classify or fail or refuse to
  136  refer for employment any individual, in any way which would
  137  deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment
  138  opportunities, or adversely affect any individual’s status as an
  139  employee or as an applicant for employment, because of such
  140  individual’s race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national
  141  origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
  142         (4) It is an unlawful employment practice for any employer,
  143  labor organization, or joint labor-management committee
  144  controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining,
  145  including on-the-job training programs, to discriminate against
  146  any individual because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy,
  147  national origin, age, handicap, or marital status in admission
  148  to, or employment in, any program established to provide
  149  apprenticeship or other training.
  150         (5) Whenever, in order to engage in a profession,
  151  occupation, or trade, it is required that a person receive a
  152  license, certification, or other credential, become a member or
  153  an associate of any club, association, or other organization, or
  154  pass any examination, it is an unlawful employment practice for
  155  any person to discriminate against any other person seeking such
  156  license, certification, or other credential, seeking to become a
  157  member or associate of such club, association, or other
  158  organization, or seeking to take or pass such examination,
  159  because of such other person’s race, color, religion, sex,
  160  pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.
  161         (6) It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer,
  162  labor organization, employment agency, or joint labor-management
  163  committee to print, or cause to be printed or published, any
  164  notice or advertisement relating to employment, membership,
  165  classification, referral for employment, or apprenticeship or
  166  other training, indicating any preference, limitation,
  167  specification, or discrimination, based on race, color,
  168  religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, absence of
  169  handicap, or marital status.
  170         (8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, it
  171  is not an unlawful employment practice under ss. 760.01-760.10
  172  for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint
  173  labor-management committee to:
  174         (a) Take or fail to take any action on the basis of
  175  religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or
  176  marital status in those certain instances in which religion,
  177  sex, condition of pregnancy, national origin, age, absence of a
  178  particular handicap, or marital status is a bona fide
  179  occupational qualification reasonably necessary for the
  180  performance of the particular employment to which such action or
  181  inaction is related.
  182         Section 8. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  183  made by this act to section 760.10(5), Florida Statutes, in a
  184  reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 760.11, Florida
  185  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  186         760.11 Administrative and civil remedies; construction.—
  187         (1) Any person aggrieved by a violation of ss. 760.01
  188  760.10 may file a complaint with the commission within 365 days
  189  of the alleged violation, naming the employer, employment
  190  agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee,
  191  or, in the case of an alleged violation of s. 760.10(5), the
  192  person responsible for the violation and describing the
  193  violation. Any person aggrieved by a violation of s. 509.092 may
  194  file a complaint with the commission within 365 days of the
  195  alleged violation naming the person responsible for the
  196  violation and describing the violation. The commission, a
  197  commissioner, or the Attorney General may in like manner file
  198  such a complaint. On the same day the complaint is filed with
  199  the commission, the commission shall clearly stamp on the face
  200  of the complaint the date the complaint was filed with the
  201  commission. In lieu of filing the complaint with the commission,
  202  a complaint under this section may be filed with the federal
  203  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or with any unit of
  204  government of the state which is a fair-employment-practice
  205  agency under 29 C.F.R. ss. 1601.70-1601.80. If the date the
  206  complaint is filed is clearly stamped on the face of the
  207  complaint, that date is the date of filing. The date the
  208  complaint is filed with the commission for purposes of this
  209  section is the earliest date of filing with the Equal Employment
  210  Opportunity Commission, the fair-employment-practice agency, or
  211  the commission. The complaint shall contain a short and plain
  212  statement of the facts describing the violation and the relief
  213  sought. The commission may require additional information to be
  214  in the complaint. The commission, within 5 days of the complaint
  215  being filed, shall by registered mail send a copy of the
  216  complaint to the person who allegedly committed the violation.
  217  The person who allegedly committed the violation may file an
  218  answer to the complaint within 25 days of the date the complaint
  219  was filed with the commission. Any answer filed shall be mailed
  220  to the aggrieved person by the person filing the answer. Both
  221  the complaint and the answer shall be verified.
  222         Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.