HB 495 2025
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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 adverse personnel action s against 2
employees; creating s. 112.3242, F.S.; providing 3
legislative intent; defining terms; prohibiting 4
agencies and independent contractors from taking 5
specified actions against employees for disclosing 6
certain information to the Commission on Ethics; 7
providing applicability; requiring that information 8
disclosed include specified violations or alleged 9
violations; requiring disclosure of specified 10
information to the commission under specified 11
circumstances; providing that specified provisions 12
protect employees and persons who submit written 13
complaints to the commission or provide information to 14
an investigator during an investigation of a 15
complaint; providing applicability; authorizing 16
certain employees or applicants for employment to file 17
complaints in accordance with spec ified provisions; 18
authorizing such employees or applicants to pursue a 19
specified administrative remedy or a civil action 20
within a specified timeframe; authorizing local public 21
employees to file a complaint with the appropriate 22
local governmental authority, under specified 23
circumstances; providing requirements for 24
administrative procedures created by local 25
HB 495 2025
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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
governmental authorities; authorizing such employee to 26
bring civil actions in a court of competent 27
jurisdiction, under specified conditions; requiring 28
specified relief; providing that it is an affirmative 29
defense to certain actions that the adverse personnel 30
action was predicated on grounds other than the 31
exercising of certain protected rights; providing 32
construction; providing an effective date. 33
34
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 35
36
Section 1. Section 112.3242, Florida Statutes, is created 37
to read: 38
112.3242 Adverse personnel action against employee for 39
disclosing information of specified nature to the Commission on 40
Ethics prohibited; employee remedy and relief. — 41
(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT. —It is the intent of the 42
Legislature to prevent agencies or independent contractors from 43
taking retaliatory action against an employee who reports to an 44
appropriate agency any violation of th is part or s. 8(f), Art. 45
II of the State Constitution on the part of a public employer or 46
an independent contractor. It is further the intent of the 47
Legislature to prevent agencies or independent contractors from 48
taking retaliatory action against any perso n who discloses 49
information to an appropriate agency regarding alleged breaches 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
of the public trust or violations of s. 8(f), Art. II of the 51
State Constitution on the part of an agency, a public officer, 52
or an employee. 53
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, unless otherwise 54
specified, the term: 55
(a) "Adverse personnel action" means the discharge, 56
suspension, transfer, or demotion of any employee or the 57
withholding of bonuses, the reduction in salary or benefits, or 58
any other adverse action taken agai nst an employee within the 59
terms and conditions of employment by an agency or independent 60
contractor. 61
(b) "Agency" means any state, regional, county, local, or 62
municipal governmental entity, whether executive, judicial, or 63
legislative; any official, offi cer, department, division, 64
bureau, commission, authority, or political subdivision therein; 65
or any public school, Florida College System institution, or 66
state university. 67
(c) "Employee" means a person who performs services for, 68
and under the control and direction of, or contracts with, an 69
agency or independent contractor for wages or other 70
remuneration. 71
(d) "Independent contractor" means a person, other than an 72
agency, who is engaged in any business and enters into a 73
contract, including a provider agree ment, with an agency. 74
(3) ACTIONS PROHIBITED. — 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
(a) An agency or independent contractor may not dismiss, 76
discipline, or take any other adverse personnel action against 77
an employee for disclosing information pursuant to this section. 78
(b) An agency or independent contractor may not take any 79
adverse personnel action that affects the rights or interests of 80
a person in retaliation for the person's disclosure of 81
information under this section. 82
(c) This subsection does not apply when an employee or a 83
person discloses information known by the employee or person to 84
be false or when the employee or person discloses information 85
that forms the basis of an award of costs or attorney fees or 86
both pursuant to s. 112.317(7). 87
(4) NATURE OF INFORMATION DISCLOSED. —The information 88
disclosed under this section must include any violation or 89
suspected violation of: 90
(a) Any standard of conduct imposed by this part; 91
(b) Section 8, Art. II of the State Constitution; or 92
(c) Section 11.062, s. 350.031, s. 350.04, s. 350.0 41, s. 93
350.042, or s. 350.0605. 94
(5) TO WHOM INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED. —The information 95
disclosed under this section must be disclosed to the Commission 96
on Ethics. 97
(6) EMPLOYEES AND PERSONS PROTECTED. —This section protects 98
employees and persons who submi t a written complaint to the 99
Commission on Ethics executed on a form prescribed by the 100
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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
commission and signed under oath or affirmation or provide 101
information to an investigator during an investigation of a 102
complaint. A remedy or other protection under this section does 103
not apply to any employee or person who has committed or 104
intentionally participated in committing the violation or 105
suspected violation for which protection under this section is 106
being sought. 107
(7) REMEDIES.— 108
(a) Any employee of or applican t for employment with any 109
state agency as defined in s. 216.011(1) who is discharged, 110
disciplined, or subjected to other adverse personnel action or 111
denied employment because he or she engaged in an activity 112
protected by this section may file a complaint, which complaint 113
must be made in accordance with s. 112.31895. Upon receipt of 114
notice from the Florida Commission on Human Relations of 115
termination of the investigation, the complainant may elect to 116
pursue the administrative remedy available under s. 112.31 895 or 117
bring a civil action within 180 days after receipt of the 118
notice. 119
(b) Within 60 days after the action prohibited by this 120
section, any local public employee protected by this section may 121
file a complaint with the appropriate local governmental 122
authority if that authority has established by ordinance an 123
administrative procedure for handling such complaints or has 124
contracted with the Division of Administrative Hearings under s. 125
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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
120.65 to conduct hearings under this section. The 126
administrative procedur e created by ordinance must provide for 127
the complaint to be heard by a panel of impartial persons 128
appointed by the appropriate local governmental authority. Upon 129
hearing the complaint, the panel shall make findings of fact and 130
conclusions of law for a fina l decision by the local 131
governmental authority. Within 180 days after entry of a final 132
decision by the local governmental authority, the local public 133
employee who filed the complaint may bring a civil action in any 134
court of competent jurisdiction. If the l ocal governmental 135
authority has not established an administrative procedure by 136
ordinance or contract, a local public employee may, within 180 137
days after the action prohibited by this section, bring a civil 138
action in a court of competent jurisdiction. For t he purpose of 139
this paragraph, the term "local governmental authority" includes 140
any regional, county, or municipal entity, special district, 141
Florida College System institution, state university, or school 142
district or any political subdivision of any of the foregoing. 143
(c) Any other person protected by this section may, after 144
exhausting all available contractual or administrative remedies, 145
bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction 146
within 180 days after the action prohibited by this section. 147
(8) RELIEF.—In any action brought under this section, the 148
relief must include the following: 149
(a) Reinstatement of the employee to the same position 150
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held before the adverse personnel action was commenced, or to an 151
equivalent position, or reasonable fro nt pay as an alternative 152
relief. 153
(b) Reinstatement of the employee's full fringe benefits 154
and seniority rights, as appropriate. 155
(c) Compensation to the employee, if appropriate, for lost 156
wages, benefits, or other lost remuneration caused by the 157
adverse personnel action. 158
(d) Payment of reasonable costs, including attorney fees, 159
to a substantially prevailing employee, or to the prevailing 160
employer if the employee filed a frivolous action in bad faith. 161
(e) Issuance of an injunction, if appropriate, by a court 162
of competent jurisdiction. 163
(f) Temporary reinstatement of the employee to his or her 164
former position or to an equivalent position, pending the final 165
outcome on the complaint, if an employee complains of being 166
discharged in retaliation for a prote cted disclosure and if a 167
court of competent jurisdiction or the Florida Commission on 168
Human Relations, as applicable under s. 112.31895, determines 169
that the disclosure was not made in bad faith or for a wrongful 170
purpose or occurred after an agency's initia tion of an adverse 171
personnel action against the employee that includes 172
documentation of the employee's violation of a disciplinary 173
standard or performance deficiency. This paragraph does not 174
apply to an employee of a municipality. 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
(9) DEFENSE.—It is an affirmative defense to any action 176
brought pursuant to this section that the adverse personnel 177
action was predicated upon grounds other than, and would have 178
been taken absent, the employee's or person's exercise of rights 179
protected by this section. 180
(10) EXISTING RIGHTS.—This section does not diminish the 181
rights, privileges, or remedies of an employee under any other 182
law or rule or under any collective bargaining agreement or 183
employment contract; however, the election of remedies in s. 184
447.401 also applies t o actions under this section. 185
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 186