Florida — Workplace Discrimination

The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (FCRA), codified in Chapter 760, Florida Statutes, prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. "Employer" means any person employing 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (the weeks need not be consecutive). The Florida Commission on Human Relations enforces the FCRA.

Source: Fla. Stat. § 760.10(1); Fla. Stat. § 760.02(7)

An employee alleging discrimination under the Florida Civil Rights Act must file a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations within 365 days of the alleged violation. This deadline applies to violations of Fla. Stat. §§ 760.01–760.10, which prohibit employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. The 365-day filing period is longer than the 300-day limit for filing with the federal EEOC under Title VII, giving Florida employees additional time to exhaust administrative remedies.

Source: Fla. Stat. § 760.11(1)

In a civil action brought under the Florida Civil Rights Act, Fla. Stat. § 760.11(5) authorizes three categories of relief: injunctive and affirmative relief (including back pay), compensatory damages, and punitive damages. These remedies are subject to specific statutory caps and procedural rules that differ from the federal Title VII framework.

Back pay — 2-year lookback cap

The court may issue an order prohibiting the discriminatory practice and "providing affirmative relief from the effects of the practice, including back pay." But Fla. Stat. § 760.11(9) imposes a temporal limit: "No liability for back pay shall accrue from a date more than 2 years prior to the filing of a complaint with the commission." This 2-year lookback applies whether the matter proceeds administratively or in court, and runs from the date the complaint was filed with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (not from any later reasonable-cause determination or filing of a civil action).

Compensatory damages — no statutory cap

The statute allows the court to "award compensatory damages, including, but not limited to, damages for mental anguish, loss of dignity, and any other intangible injuries." Florida law does not impose a dollar cap on compensatory damages in FCRA cases, unlike the tiered caps in Title VII (42 U.S.C. § 1981a, which cap compensatory and punitive damages combined at $50,000 to $300,000 depending on employer size). This makes the FCRA a more plaintiff-favorable path for cases involving substantial emotional-distress or reputational harm.

Punitive damages — $100,000 statutory cap

Punitive damages are available, but the statute imposes a hard cap: "The judgment for the total amount of punitive damages awarded under this section to an aggrieved person shall not exceed $100,000." The statute expressly provides that "[t]he provisions of ss. 768.72 and 768.73 do not apply to this section," meaning FCRA plaintiffs need not satisfy the heightened evidentiary showing or bifurcated-trial procedure Florida's general punitive-damages statutes otherwise impose. The $100,000 ceiling applies regardless of the employer's wealth or the egregiousness of the conduct.

Sovereign-immunity limits for state employers

When the defendant is the state or an agency or subdivision thereof, Fla. Stat. § 760.11(5) imposes additional restrictions: the state is not liable for punitive damages at all, and "[t]he total amount of recovery against the state and its agencies and subdivisions shall not exceed the limitation as set forth in s. 768.28(5)." Under Fla. Stat. § 768.28(5), that limitation is $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident (across all claimants), covering all relief—compensatory damages, back pay, costs, and attorney's fees combined. Any judgment above those amounts may be reported to the Legislature for consideration of a claim bill, but cannot be collected absent legislative action.

Attorney's fees — prevailing-party discretion, Title VII standard

Fla. Stat. § 760.11(5) provides: "In any action or proceeding under this subsection, the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs." The same subsection directs that "[i]t is the intent of the Legislature that this provision for attorney's fees be interpreted in a manner consistent with federal case law involving a Title VII action." Courts therefore apply the framework from Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. 412 (1978): a prevailing plaintiff ordinarily recovers fees unless special circumstances make an award unjust, while a prevailing defendant recovers only when the plaintiff's claim was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.

Source: Fla. Stat. § 760.11(5); Fla. Stat. § 760.11(9); Fla. Stat. § 768.28(5)