HB 293 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to discrimination in labor and 2
employment; creating the "Senator Helen Gordon Davis 3
Fair Pay Protection Act"; amending s. 448.07, F.S.; 4
defining terms; prohibiting an employer from providing 5
less favorable employment opportunities to employees 6
based on their sex; providing exceptions; revising 7
applicability; providing civil penalties; amending s. 8
448.102, F.S.; prohibiting an employer from taking 9
certain employment actions against employees; creating 10
s. 448.111, F.S.; prohibiting an employer from 11
engaging in certain activities relating to wages and 12
benefits; prohibiting an employer from requiring 13
employees to sign certain waivers and documents; 14
providing applicability; authorizing an employer to 15
confirm wage or salary history under certain 16
conditions; providing an effective date. 17
18
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19
20
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Senator Helen 21
Gordon Davis Fair Pay Protection Act." 22
Section 2. Section 448.07, Florida Statutes, is reordered 23
and amended to read: 24
448.07 Wage rate discrimination based on sex prohibited. — 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, unless the 26
context or subject matter clearly requires otherwise, the term 27
following terms shall have the meanings as defined in this 28
section: 29
(a) "Business necessity" means an overriding legitimate 30
business purpose that relies on a bona fide factor, as described 31
in subparagraph (2)( a)4., to effectively fulfill that business 32
purpose. 33
(b)(a) "Employee" means any individual employed by an 34
employer, including individuals employed by the state or any of 35
its political subdivisions or instrumentalities of subdivisions. 36
(c)(b) "Employer" means any person who employs two or more 37
employees. 38
(d) "Less favorable employment opportunity" means: 39
1. Assigning or directing an employee to a position or 40
career track in which the work performed requires substantially 41
less skill, effort, and respo nsibility than the work performed 42
by the majority of individuals in the employee's same occupation 43
and labor market area; 44
2. Failing to provide an employee with information about 45
promotions or advancement in the full range of career tracks 46
offered by the employer; 47
3. Assigning the employee work less likely to lead to a 48
promotion or career advancement opportunity; or 49
4. Limiting or depriving an employee of a promotion or 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
career advancement opportunity that would otherwise be available 51
to the employee but for the employee's sex. 52
(g)(c) "Wages" means and includes all compensation paid by 53
an employer or the employer's his or her agent for the 54
performance of service by an employee, including the cash value 55
of all compensation paid in any medium other tha n cash. 56
(e)(d) "Rate" with reference to wages means the basis of 57
compensation for services by an employee for an employer and 58
includes compensation based on time spent in the performance of 59
such services, on the number of operations accomplished, or on 60
the quality produced or handled. 61
(f)(e) "Unpaid wages" means the difference between the 62
wages actually paid to an employee and the wages required to be 63
paid to an employee pursuant to subsection (3). 64
(2) DISCRIMINATION BASED ON BASIS OF SEX PROHIBITED.— 65
(a) An No employer may not provide a less favorable 66
employment opportunity to an employee based on the employee's 67
shall discriminate between employees on the basis of sex or pay 68
the employee by paying wages to employees at a rate less than 69
the rate the employer pays an employee at which he or she pays 70
wages to employees of the opposite sex for substantially similar 71
equal work on a job, jobs the performance of which requires 72
equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which is are 73
performed under similar working conditions, except when the 74
employer demonstrates that the entire wage differential is based 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
on one or more of the following reasonably applied factors when 76
such payment is made pursuant to : 77
1. A seniority system; 78
2. A merit system; 79
3. A system that which measures earnings by quantity or 80
quality of production; or 81
4. A bona fide differential based on any reasonable factor 82
other than sex, including, but not limited to, education, 83
training, or experience. This subparagraph applies only if the 84
employer demonstrates that the factor is not based on, or 85
derived from, a sex-based wage differential; is job -related with 86
respect to the position in question; and is consistent with a 87
business necessity. This subparagraph does not apply if the 88
employee demonstrates that an alternative business practice 89
exists that would serve the same business purpose without 90
producing the wage differential. 91
(b) An employer who is paying a wage in violation of this 92
section may not reduce another employee's wage to comply with 93
this section when exercised in good faith . 94
(c)(b) A No person may not shall cause or attempt to cause 95
an employer to discriminate against an any employee in violation 96
of the provisions of this section. 97
(3) CIVIL ACTION FOR UNPAID WAGES. —Any employer or person 98
who violates the provisions of this section is liable to the 99
employee for the amount of the difference between the amount the 100
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employee was paid and the amount he or she should have been paid 101
under this section, plus liquidated damages . Nothing in this 102
section allows a claimant to recover more than an amount equal 103
to his or her unpaid wages while so employed for 1 year prior to 104
the filing of the claim. An action to recover such liability may 105
be maintained in any court of competent jurisdi ction by one or 106
more employees on their own behalf or on behalf of other 107
employees similarly situated the aggrieved employee within 3 108
years 6 months after the date of the alleged violation 109
termination of employment . For purposes of this subsection, a 110
violation occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or 111
other practice is adopted, when an employee becomes subject to a 112
discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, or when 113
an employee is affected by the application of a discriminatory 114
compensation decision or other practice, including each time 115
wages are paid, resulting in whole or in part from such a 116
decision or practice. The court in such action may award to the 117
prevailing party costs of the action and a reasonable attorney 118
attorney's fee. 119
(4) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 120
(a) An employer who violates this section is subject to a 121
civil penalty: 122
1. Not to exceed $2,500 for a first violation. 123
2. Not to exceed $3,000 for a second violation. 124
3. Not to exceed $5,000 for a third or subsequent 125
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violation. 126
(b) In determining the amount of a civil penalty to be 127
assessed under paragraph (a), a court of competent jurisdiction 128
shall consider the severity of the violation Nothing in this 129
section or in s. 725.07, relating to discrimination based on sex 130
in providing equal pay for equal services performed, is 131
applicable to any employer, labor organization or member 132
thereof, or employee whose employer is subject to the federal 133
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended . 134
Section 3. Section 448.102, Florid a Statutes, is amended 135
to read: 136
448.102 Prohibitions. —An employer may not take any 137
retaliatory or discriminatory personnel action against an 138
employee because the employee has: 139
(1) Disclosed, or threatened to disclose, to any 140
appropriate governmental ag ency, under oath, in writing, an 141
activity, policy, or practice of the employer that is in 142
violation of a law, rule, or regulation. However, this 143
subsection does not apply unless the employee has, in writing, 144
brought the activity, policy, or practice to the attention of a 145
supervisor or the employer and has afforded the employer a 146
reasonable opportunity to correct the activity, policy, or 147
practice. 148
(2) Provided information to, or testified before, any 149
appropriate governmental agency, person, or entity condu cting an 150
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investigation, hearing, or inquiry into an alleged violation of 151
a law, rule, or regulation by the employer. 152
(3) Objected to, or refused to participate in, any 153
activity, policy, or practice of the employer which is in 154
violation of a law, rule, or regulation. 155
(4)(a) Discussed or disclosed the employee's own wages; 156
(b) Inquired about another employee's wages; 157
(c) Discussed another employee's wages, if such wages have 158
been voluntarily disclosed by such employee; 159
(d) Requested that the employe r provide a reason for the 160
amount of the employee's own wages; or 161
(e) Testified or will testify, assisted, or participated 162
in an investigation or proceeding under this section. 163
Section 4. Section 448.111, Florida Statutes, is created 164
to read: 165
448.111 Prohibited employer activities related to wages 166
and benefits.— 167
(1) An employer may not: 168
(a) Rely on the wage or salary history of a current, 169
former, or prospective employee in determining the wages or 170
salary for such individual. 171
(b) Orally or in writing seek, request, or require the 172
wage or salary history from a current, former, or prospective 173
employee as a condition of being interviewed, as a condition of 174
continuing to be considered for an offer of employment, or as a 175
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
condition of employment or promotion. 176
(c) Orally or in writing seek, request, or require the 177
wage or salary history of a current, former, or prospective 178
employee from a current or former employer, except as provided 179
in subsection (3). 180
(d) Retaliate against or re fuse to interview, hire, 181
promote, or otherwise employ a current, former, or prospective 182
employee: 183
1. Based upon prior wage or salary history. 184
2. Because the current, former, or prospective employee 185
did not provide wage or salary history, in accordance with this 186
section. 187
3. Because the current, former, or prospective employee 188
filed a complaint alleging a violation of this section. 189
(e) Prohibit an employee from: 190
1. Discussing or disclosing the employee's own wages; 191
2. Inquiring about another emplo yee's wages; 192
3. Discussing another employee's wages, if such wages have 193
been voluntarily disclosed by such employee; or 194
4. Requesting that the employer provide a reason for the 195
amount of the employee's own wages. 196
(f) Require an employee to sign a wai ver or any other 197
document that prohibits the employee from: 198
1. Discussing or disclosing the employee's own wages; 199
2. Inquiring about another employee's wages; or 200
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
3. Discussing another employee's wages, if such wages have 201
been voluntarily disclosed by such employee. 202
(2) This section does not prevent a current, former, or 203
prospective employee from voluntarily disclosing wage or salary 204
history, including, but not limited to, for the purposes of 205
negotiating wages or salary. 206
(3) An employer may confirm wage or salary history only 207
if, at the time an offer of employment with compensation is 208
made, the prospective employee responds to the offer by 209
providing prior wage information to support a wage higher than 210
that offered by the employer. 211
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 212