Senate Bill sb1844

    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1844

    By Senator Margolis





    35-892-03                                            See HB 25

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to prevention of discrimination

  3         in prescription plans; requiring certain

  4         employers to ensure that prescription plans

  5         include certain coverage, are comprehensive,

  6         and do not discriminate on the basis of gender;

  7         providing for penalties; providing an effective

  8         date.

  9

10         WHEREAS, Title VII of the United States Civil Rights

11  Act makes it unlawful for an employer "to fail or refuse to

12  hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to

13  discriminate against any individual with respect to his or her

14  compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment

15  because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or

16  national origin.", and

17         WHEREAS, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

18  amended section 701 of the Civil Rights Act to provide that

19  "The terms 'because of sex' or 'on the basis of sex' include,

20  but are not limited to, because of or on the basis of

21  pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; and

22  women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical

23  conditions shall be treated the same for all employment

24  related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe

25  benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but similar

26  in their ability or inability to work....", and

27         WHEREAS, the United States Equal Employment Commission

28  found that two employers' exclusions of prescription

29  contraceptive drugs and devices in their respective health

30  plans were discriminatory on the basis of sex and pregnancy in

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






    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1844
    35-892-03                                            See HB 25




  1  direct violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as

  2  amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and

  3         WHEREAS, the United States District Court Western

  4  District of Washington at Seattle found in Jennifer Erickson

  5  v. The Bartell Drug Company, 141 F. Supp. 2d 1266, that the

  6  employer's exclusion of prescription contraception from its

  7  prescription plan is inconsistent with the requirements of

  8  Title VII as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and

  9         WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States has

10  held in Shaw v. Delta Airlines, 463 US 85 (1983), that the

11  states play a significant role in the enforcement of Title VII

12  and therefore, under Shaw, state fair employment laws

13  governing employment benefits are not preempted by ERISA

14  insofar as such laws prevent conduct that is also unlawful

15  under Title VII, NOW, THEREFORE,

16

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

18

19         Section 1.  Any employer that offers employees a

20  comprehensive prescription benefit plan in connection with

21  providing health care coverage shall ensure that the

22  prescription benefit plan includes coverage for contraceptive

23  drugs and devices, provides comprehensive coverage for

24  employees of both genders, and does not discriminate based

25  upon sex-based characteristics of the employees. Any employer

26  who fails to comply with the requirements of this section

27  shall be subject to the administrative and civil remedies

28  provided in section 760.11, Florida Statutes.

29         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

30  law.

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