CS/HB 1109 2023
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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 substitution of work experience for 2
postsecondary education requirements; providing a 3
short title; amending s. 112.219, F.S.; removing 4
obsolete language; defining the term "public 5
employer"; conforming provisions to changes made by 6
the act; creating s. 112.2195, F.S.; providing 7
definitions; providing requirements for hiring 8
considerations by public employers; providing an 9
exception; providing that a postsecondary degree may 10
be a baseline requirement under a certain 11
circumstance; authorizing an applicant to appeal a 12
hiring consideration to the Department of Management 13
Services; providing that certain reports may be made 14
to the department; p roviding remedies if the 15
department substantiates an appeal or a report; 16
providing applicability; authorizing rulemaking; 17
amending s. 287.057, F.S.; authorizing an agency to 18
substitute certain work experience for postsecondary 19
educational requirements for a person seeking to enter 20
into a contract with the agency under certain 21
circumstances; providing an effective date. 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
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
Section 1. Sections 112.219 and 112.2195, Florida 26
Statutes, may be cited as the "Expanding Public Sector Career 27
Opportunities Act." 28
Section 2. Section 112.219, Florida Statutes, is amended 29
to read: 30
112.219 Substitution of work experience for postsecondary 31
educational requirements. — 32
(1) Beginning July 1, 2022, The head of a public employer 33
an employing agency may elect to substitute verifiable, related 34
work experience in lieu of postsecondary educational 35
requirements for a position of employment if the person seeking 36
the position of employment is otherwise qualified for such 37
position. 38
(2) Related work experience may not substitute for any 39
required licensure, certification, or registration required for 40
the position of employment as established by the public employer 41
employing agency and indicated in the advertised descri ption of 42
the position of employment. 43
(3) If the head of a public employer an employing agency 44
elects to substitute related work experience for postsecondary 45
educational requirements, the public employer employing agency 46
must include, in all advertisement s for the position of 47
employment made by the public employer employing agency, a 48
notice that such substitution is authorized and a description of 49
the related work experience equivalencies that may be 50
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substituted for the required postsecondary education. 51
(4) This section and s. 112.2195 do does not abridge state 52
and federal laws and regulations governing equal opportunity 53
employment. 54
(5) For purposes of this section, the term "public 55
employer" has the same meaning as in s. 448.095(1) "employing 56
agency" means any agency or unit of government of the state or 57
any county, municipality, or political subdivision thereof, 58
including special districts, that is authorized to employ 59
personnel to carry out the responsibilities of the agency or 60
unit of government. 61
Section 3. Section 112.2195, Florida Statutes, is created 62
to read: 63
112.2195 Expanding public sector career opportunities. — 64
(1) For purposes of this section, the term: 65
(a) "Applicant" means a person seeking gainful employment 66
from a public employer. 67
(b) "Baseline requirement" means the minimum skills or 68
previous training or experience required to satisfactorily 69
perform the primary duties of an employment position. 70
(c) "Department" means the Department of Management 71
Services. 72
(d) "Direct experience" means any previous work experience 73
during which: 74
1. The applicant's primary duties were consistent with the 75
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employment position he or she is currently seeking; or 76
2. The skills required for the applicant's primary duties 77
are transferable to the employment position he or she is 78
currently seeking. 79
(e) "Hiring consideration" means all of the following: 80
1. A decision to offer an applicant an interview. 81
2. An interview held in good faith between the public 82
employer and the applicant. 83
3. A decision to move an applicant to a subsequent round 84
in the hiring process. 85
4. A decision to include the applicant on a list of 86
applicants for consideration by another member of the public 87
employer. 88
5. A final offer of employment. 89
(f) "Postsecondary degree" means an associate degree, a 90
bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree from an accredited 91
college or university. 92
(g) "Public employer" has the same meaning as in s. 93
448.095(1). 94
(2) Both of the following apply for hiring considerations 95
by public employers: 96
(a) A public employer may not deny consideration to an 97
applicant solely on the basis of the applicant lacking a 98
postsecondary degree, except as provided under subsection (3). 99
(b) A public employer shall determine for each employment 100
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position baseline requirements that an applicant must meet. 101
Prior direct experience or specified certifications or courses 102
may be included as a baseline requirement. A postsecondary 103
degree may only be included as a baseline requirement as 104
provided in subsection (4) . 105
(3) Paragraph (2)(a) does not apply if a public employer 106
clearly demonstrates that the job duties of the employment 107
position require a postsecondary degree. In the job posting, a 108
public employer must substantiate the necessity of a 109
postsecondary degree on the basis that the postsecondary degree 110
is the best measure to determine if an applicant possesses 111
specific skills required for the job or that the employment 112
position requires advanced accreditation or licensure that is 113
only available to a person who holds a specific postsecondary 114
degree. 115
(4) A public employer may include a postsecondary degree 116
as a baseline requirement only as an alternative to the number 117
of years of direct experience required, not to exceed: 118
(a) Two years of direct experience for an associate 119
degree; 120
(b) Four years of direct experience for a bachelor's 121
degree; 122
(c) Six years of direct experience for a master's degree; 123
(d) Seven years of direct experience for a professional 124
degree; or 125
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(e) Nine years of direct experience for a doctoral degree. 126
(5)(a) An applicant who is eliminated from a hiring 127
consideration solely because the applicant lacks a postsecondary 128
degree may appeal such decision to the department. 129
(b) A person may report to the department any job postings 130
by a public employer which require a postsecondary degree but 131
fail to include the information required under subsection (3). 132
(c) If an appeal or report is substantiated by the 133
department, the public employer must reopen the hiring process, 134
modify the job posti ng, or take other action as directed by the 135
department. 136
(6) This section does not apply to political appointments 137
or other employment positions hired by elected representatives 138
in the state. 139
(7) The department may adopt rules to implement the 140
requirements of subsection (5). 141
Section 4. Subsection (28) is added to section 287.057, 142
Florida Statutes, to read: 143
287.057 Procurement of commodities or contractual 144
services.— 145
(28) An agency may substitute verifiable, related work 146
experience in lieu of postsecondary education requirements for 147
contractual services pursuant to ss. 112.219 and 112.2195 if the 148
person seeking the contract for services is otherwise qualified 149
for such contract. 150
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Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 151