Florida Senate - 2023 CS for SB 1310 By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senators DiCeglie and Hooper 578-03259-23 20231310c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to substitution of work experience for 3 postsecondary education requirements; providing a 4 short title; amending s. 112.219, F.S.; removing 5 obsolete language; defining the term public 6 employer; conforming provisions to changes made by 7 the act; creating s. 112.2195, F.S.; defining terms; 8 providing requirements for hiring considerations by 9 public employers; providing an exception; providing 10 that a postsecondary degree may be a baseline 11 requirement under a certain circumstance; authorizing 12 an applicant to appeal a hiring consideration to the 13 Department of Management Services; authorizing a 14 person to report to the department any job postings 15 that fail to include specified information; providing 16 remedies if the department substantiates an appeal or 17 a report; providing applicability; authorizing the 18 department to adopt rules; amending s. 287.057, F.S.; 19 authorizing an agency to substitute certain work 20 experience for postsecondary educational requirements 21 for a person seeking to enter into a contract with the 22 agency under certain circumstances; providing an 23 effective date. 24 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26 27 Section 1.Sections 112.219 and 112.2195, Florida Statutes, 28 may be cited as the Expanding Public Sector Career 29 Opportunities Act. 30 Section 2.Section 112.219, Florida Statutes, is amended to 31 read: 32 112.219Substitution of work experience for postsecondary 33 educational requirements. 34 (1)Beginning July 1, 2022, The head of a public employer 35 an employing agency may elect to substitute verifiable, related 36 work experience in lieu of postsecondary educational 37 requirements for a position of employment if the person seeking 38 the position of employment is otherwise qualified for such 39 position. 40 (2)Related work experience may not substitute for any 41 required licensure, certification, or registration required for 42 the position of employment as established by the public employer 43 employing agency and indicated in the advertised description of 44 the position of employment. 45 (3)If the head of a public employer an employing agency 46 elects to substitute related work experience for postsecondary 47 educational requirements, the public employer employing agency 48 must include, in all advertisements for the position of 49 employment made by the public employer employing agency, a 50 notice that such substitution is authorized and a description of 51 the related work experience equivalencies that may be 52 substituted for the required postsecondary education. 53 (4)This section and s. 112.2195 do does not abridge state 54 and federal laws and regulations governing equal opportunity 55 employment. 56 (5)For purposes of this section, the term public 57 employer has the same meaning as in s. 448.095(1) employing 58 agency means any agency or unit of government of the state or 59 any county, municipality, or political subdivision thereof, 60 including special districts, that is authorized to employ 61 personnel to carry out the responsibilities of the agency or 62 unit of government. 63 Section 3.Section 112.2195, Florida Statutes, is created 64 to read: 65 112.2195Expanding public sector career opportunities. 66 (1)For purposes of this section, the term: 67 (a)Applicant means a person seeking gainful employment 68 from a public employer. 69 (b)Baseline requirement means the minimum skills or 70 previous training or experience required to satisfactorily 71 perform the primary duties of an employment position. 72 (c)Department means the Department of Management 73 Services. 74 (d)Direct experience means any previous work experience 75 during which: 76 1.The applicants primary duties were consistent with the 77 employment position he or she is currently seeking; or 78 2.The skills required for the applicants primary duties 79 are transferable to the employment position he or she is 80 currently seeking. 81 (e)Hiring consideration means all of the following: 82 1.A decision to offer an applicant an interview. 83 2.An interview held in good faith between the public 84 employer and the applicant. 85 3.A decision to move an applicant to a subsequent round in 86 the hiring process. 87 4.A decision to include the applicant on a list of 88 applicants for consideration by another member of the public 89 employer. 90 5.A final offer of employment. 91 (f)Postsecondary degree means an associate degree, a 92 bachelors degree, or a graduate degree from an accredited 93 college or university. 94 (g)Public employer has the same meaning as in s. 95 448.095(1). 96 (2)Both of the following apply for hiring considerations 97 by public employers: 98 (a)A public employer may not deny consideration to an 99 applicant solely on the basis of the applicant lacking a 100 postsecondary degree, except as provided under subsection (3). 101 (b)A public employer shall determine for each employment 102 position baseline requirements that an applicant must meet. 103 Prior direct experience or specified certifications or courses 104 may be included as a baseline requirement. A postsecondary 105 degree may only be included as a baseline requirement as 106 provided in subsection (4). 107 (3)Paragraph (2)(a) does not apply if a public employer 108 clearly demonstrates that the job duties of the employment 109 position require a postsecondary degree. In the job posting, a 110 public employer must substantiate the necessity of a 111 postsecondary degree on the basis that the postsecondary degree 112 is the best measure to determine if an applicant possesses 113 specific skills required for the job or that the employment 114 position requires advanced accreditation or licensure that is 115 only available to a person who holds a specific postsecondary 116 degree. 117 (4)A public employer may include a postsecondary degree as 118 a baseline requirement only as an alternative to the number of 119 years of direct experience required, not to exceed: 120 (a)Two years of direct experience for an associate degree; 121 (b)Four years of direct experience for a bachelors 122 degree; 123 (c)Six years of direct experience for a masters degree; 124 (d)Seven years of direct experience for a professional 125 degree; or 126 (e)Nine years of direct experience for a doctoral degree. 127 (5)(a)An applicant who is eliminated from a hiring 128 consideration solely because the applicant lacks a postsecondary 129 degree may appeal such decision to the department. 130 (b)A person may report to the department any job postings 131 by a public employer which require a postsecondary degree but 132 fail to include the information required under subsection (3). 133 (c)If an appeal or report is substantiated by the 134 department, the public employer must reopen the hiring process, 135 modify the job posting, or take other action as directed by the 136 department. 137 (6)This section does not apply to political appointments 138 or other employment positions hired by elected representatives 139 in the state. 140 (7)The department may adopt rules to implement the 141 requirements of subsection (5). 142 Section 4.Subsection (28) is added to section 287.057, 143 Florida Statutes, to read: 144 287.057Procurement of commodities or contractual 145 services. 146 (28)An agency may substitute verifiable, related work 147 experience in lieu of postsecondary education requirements for 148 contractual services pursuant to ss. 112.219 and 112.2195 if the 149 person seeking the contract for services is otherwise qualified 150 for such contract. 151 Section 5.This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.