CS/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; conforming provisions to changes 5
made by the act; creating s. 112.2195, F.S.; providing 6
definitions; providing requirements for hiring 7
considerations by employing agencies; providing an 8
exception; providing that a postsecondary degree ma y 9
be a baseline requirement under a certain 10
circumstance; authorizing an applicant to request that 11
the Department of Management Services review a hiring 12
consideration; requiring the department to review each 13
such request; requiring the department to provid e a 14
copy of its findings to the applicant and employing 15
agency; authorizing the department to advise the 16
Public Employees Relations Commission as to the merits 17
or lack thereof of the case reviewed; providing that 18
certain actions by the department are not f inal agency 19
action; providing the commission certain jurisdiction; 20
requiring the commission to dismiss a complaint 21
without holding a hearing under certain circumstances; 22
providing that certain reports may be made to the 23
department; providing remedies if th e department 24
substantiates a report; authorizing rulemaking; 25
CS/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
providing applicability; amending s. 287.057, F.S.; 26
authorizing an agency to substitute certain work 27
experience for postsecondary educational requirements 28
for a person seeking to enter into a con tract with the 29
agency under certain circumstances ; amending s. 30
447.207, F.S.; requiring the commission to hear 31
certain appeals; providing an effective date. 32
33
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34
35
Section 1. Sections 112.219 and 112.2195, Florida 36
Statutes, may be cited as the "Expanding Public Sector Career 37
Opportunities Act." 38
Section 2. Subsections (1) and (4) of section 112.219, 39
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 40
112.219 Substitution of work experience for postseconda ry 41
educational requirements. — 42
(1) Beginning July 1, 2022, The head of an employing 43
agency may elect to substitute verifiable, related work 44
experience in lieu of postsecondary educational requirements for 45
a position of employment if the person seeking the position of 46
employment is otherwise qualified for such position. 47
(4) This section and s. 112.2195 do does not abridge state 48
and federal laws and regulations governing equal opportunity 49
employment. 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
Section 3. Section 112.2195, Florida Statutes, is cr eated 51
to read: 52
112.2195 Expanding public sector career opportunities. — 53
(1) For purposes of this section, the term: 54
(a) "Applicant" means a person seeking gainful employment 55
from an employing agency. 56
(b) "Baseline requirement" means the minimum skil ls or 57
previous training or experience required to satisfactorily 58
perform the primary duties of an employment position. 59
(c) "Department" means the Department of Management 60
Services. 61
(d) "Direct experience" means any previous work experience 62
during which: 63
1. The applicant's primary duties were consistent with the 64
employment position he or she is currently seeking; or 65
2. The skills required for the applicant's primary duties 66
are transferable to the employment position he or she is 67
currently seeking. 68
(e) "Employing agency" has the same meaning as in s. 69
112.219. 70
(f) "Hiring consideration" means all of the following: 71
1. A decision to offer an applicant an interview. 72
2. An interview held in good faith between the employing 73
agency and the applicant. 74
3. A decision to move an applicant to a subsequent round 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
in the hiring process. 76
4. A decision to include the applicant on a list of 77
applicants for consideration by another member of the employing 78
agency. 79
5. A final offer of employment. 80
(g) "Postsecondary degree" means an associate degree, a 81
bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree from an accredited 82
college or university. 83
(2) Both of the following apply to hiring considerations 84
made by an employing agency: 85
(a) An employing agency may not deny co nsideration to an 86
applicant solely on the basis of the applicant lacking a 87
postsecondary degree, except as provided under subsection (3). 88
(b) An employing agency shall determine for each 89
employment position baseline requirements that an applicant must 90
meet. Prior direct experience or specified certifications or 91
courses may be included as a baseline requirement. A 92
postsecondary degree may only be included as a baseline 93
requirement as provided in subsection (4). 94
(3) Paragraph (2)(a) does not apply if an e mploying agency 95
clearly demonstrates that the job duties of the employment 96
position require a postsecondary degree. In the job posting, an 97
employing agency must substantiate the necessity of a 98
postsecondary degree on the basis that the postsecondary degree 99
is the best measure to determine if an applicant possesses 100
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specific skills required for the job or that the employment 101
position requires advanced accreditation or licensure that is 102
only available to a person who holds a specific postsecondary 103
degree. 104
(4) An employing agency may include a postsecondary degree 105
as a baseline requirement only as an alternative to the number 106
of years of direct experience required, not to exceed: 107
(a) Two years of direct experience for an associate 108
degree; 109
(b) Four years of direct experience for a bachelor's 110
degree; 111
(c) Six years of direct experience for a master's degree; 112
(d) Seven years of direct experience for a professional 113
degree; or 114
(e) Nine years of direct experience for a doctoral degree. 115
(5)(a) An applicant who is eliminated from a hiring 116
consideration solely because the applicant lacks a postsecondary 117
degree may request that the department review such decision. 118
1. The department shall review each request it receives. 119
Upon completion of the review, the depa rtment shall provide a 120
copy of the review findings to the applicant and the employing 121
agency involved. The department may advise the Public Employees 122
Relations Commission as to the merit or lack of merit of each 123
case reviewed. The actions of the department under this 124
subparagraph do not constitute final agency action. 125
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2. Jurisdiction to effectuate the purposes of this 126
paragraph shall vest with the Public Employees Relations 127
Commissions for appropriate administrative determination. If, 128
upon preliminary rev iew, the commission agrees with the 129
department's determination that a case lacks merit and finds, at 130
the discretion of the commission, that there was a complete 131
absence of justiciable issues of either law or fact raised in 132
the applicant's complaint regardi ng an employing agency's hiring 133
consideration, the commission must dismiss the complaint without 134
holding a hearing. 135
(b) A person may report to the department any job postings 136
by an employing agency which require a postsecondary degree but 137
fail to include the information required under subsection (3). 138
If the report is substantiated by the department, the employing 139
agency must reopen the hiring process, modify the job posting, 140
or take other action as directed by the department. 141
(c) The department may adop t rules to implement the 142
requirements of this subsection. 143
(6) This section does not apply to an executive branch 144
appointment requiring confirmation by the Cabinet or Senate or 145
the appointment of a head of a department, a secretary, or an 146
executive director, as those terms are defined in s. 20.03(4), 147
(5), and (6), respectively. 148
Section 4. Subsection (28) is added to section 287.057, 149
Florida Statutes, to read: 150
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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
287.057 Procurement of commodities or contractual 151
services.— 152
(28) An agency may substitute verifiable, related work 153
experience in lieu of postsecondary education requirements for 154
contractual services pursuant to ss. 112.219 and 112.2195 if the 155
person seeking the contract for services is otherwise qualified 156
for such contract. 157
Section 5. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (9) of 158
section 447.207, Florida Statutes, to read: 159
447.207 Commission; powers and duties. — 160
(9) Pursuant to s. 447.208, the commission or its 161
designated agent shall hear appeals, and enter such orders as it 162
deems appropriate, arising out of: 163
(d) Section 112.2195, relating to reasons for eliminating 164
an applicant from a hiring consideration solely because the 165
applicant does not have a postsecondary degree. 166
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 167