The courts have refused to apply the requirements of § 768.28 because the FPWA was intended to be a “stand-alone statutory scheme,” similar to the Florida Civil Rights Act,containing its own administrative pre-suit notice requirements other conditions. § 768.28 do not apply to claims under the FPWA. Procedural Requirements – Conditions Precedent A. Again, this is the same standard that applies in Title VII and other employment claims. Feesįor an employer to recover attorney’s fees in an FPWA action, the employer must demonstrate that the employee’s claim was frivolous, unreasonable or without foundation. If the employee is not obligated to comply with pre-suit administrative procedures, the state court action must be brought within 180 days of the alleged adverse action. If the employee is obligated to comply with pre-suit administrative procedures, as will be discussed below, a state court action must be brought within 180 days of an administrative decision. The employee then bears the ultimate burden of demonstrating that the employer’s proffered reason is mere pretext for unlawful conduct. If the employee satisfies these three elements of a prima facie case under the FPWA, the employer may rebut that case by proffering a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for its actions.
The employee must show that the person taking adverse action had knowledge of the protected activity and there must be some temporal proximity between the two events. Any action that adversely alters the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment, such as dismissal, discipline, demotion, denial of raises or bonuses, transfers, etc., qualifies as an adverse action.Īgain, much like other employment laws, the causation requirement is broadly construed, requiring only that the protected activity and the adverse action are not completely unrelated. The FPWA defines adverse action broadly, much like Title VII and other employment statutes. An act or suspected act of gross mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, gross waste of public funds, suspected or actual Medicaid fraud or abuse, or gross neglect of duty committed by an employee, agent of an agency, or independent contractor.A violation or suspected violation of law committed by another employee, agent of an agency, or independent contractor, which creates and presents a substantial and specific danger to the public’s health, safety, or welfare.There are two types of disclosures protected under the FPWA: There is a causal connection between the two events.įla.Plaintiff suffered an adverse employment action and.Plaintiff engaged in a statutorily protected disclosure.Elements of the ClaimĪ prima facie claim of whistleblower retaliation consists of three elements, much like a retaliation claim under Title VII: The statute does not provide for suit against persons in their individual capacity. Dep’t of Health and Rehabilitative Servs., 790 So.2d 403, 406 (Fla. The FPWA is remedial and should be given liberal construction. In enacting the Florida Public Whistleblower’s Act (“FPWA”), the legislature intended to prevent retaliatory actions against employees and persons who make certain disclosures to an appropriate agency.
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