House Bill 0461c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 461

        By the Committee on Claims and Representative Melvin






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Broward County School

  3         Board; providing for the relief of Andrew

  4         Greene; providing for an appropriation to

  5         compensate him for injuries sustained as a

  6         result of the school board's negligence and

  7         invasion of privacy; providing an effective

  8         date.

  9

10         WHEREAS, in September 1992, Mr. Andrew Greene, an

11  employee of the Broward County School Board, was injured and

12  his rights were violated when the school board released to the

13  media derogatory and inflammatory information, including

14  personnel records, concerning Mr. Greene, and

15         WHEREAS, by releasing information from Andrew Greene's

16  personnel file, the school board violated section 231.291,

17  Florida Statutes, which requires the board to provide 10 days'

18  notice to employees prior to the release of any derogatory

19  material in their personnel file, and

20         WHEREAS, as a result of the release of Mr. Greene's

21  confidential personnel file, the print media published

22  derogatory and inflammatory articles prior to a runoff

23  election held on October 1, 1992, resulting in the loss of his

24  job with the Broward County School Board, and

25         WHEREAS, in September 1992, Mr. Greene was a candidate

26  for the Broward County School Board and was preparing for a

27  runoff election to be held on October 1, 1992, and Mr. Greene

28  subsequently lost that election, and

29         WHEREAS, Mr. Greene's attorneys, in August 1993, filed

30  suit against the county, alleging that releasing the

31  information from Mr. Greene's personnel file constituted

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 461

    176-151-00






  1  negligence and invasion of privacy on the part of the Broward

  2  County School Board, and

  3         WHEREAS, in 1995, an offer of judgment in the amount of

  4  $225,000 was made for the settlement of the entire suit, and

  5  that offer was rejected by the school board, and

  6         WHEREAS, the Circuit Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit

  7  in and for Broward County, Florida, in Case No. 93-22732 found

  8  the Broward County School Board 100 percent negligent and, on

  9  October 10, 1997, awarded Mr. Greene $250,000 for negligence

10  and $600,000 for invasion of privacy, and

11         WHEREAS, the Broward County School Board is responsible

12  for paying Mr. Greene $100,000 under the statutory limits on

13  the waiver of sovereign immunity, which will leave an

14  unsatisfied remaining judgment of $750,000, NOW, THEREFORE,

15

16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

17

18         Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this

19  act are found and declared to be true.

20         Section 2.  The Broward County School Board is

21  authorized and directed to compensate Andrew Greene in the

22  amount of $500,000 out of funds of the school board not

23  otherwise appropriated, for injuries sustained as a result of

24  the school board's release of Mr. Greene's confidential

25  personnel files in violation of s. 231.291, Florida Statutes.

26         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

27  law.

28

29

30

31

                                  2