Discrimination

Despite the significant progress our community has made, there is still no statewide law that prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ people in Florida. This means that, according to state law, it is legal to fire someone, evict them from housing, or deny them service at a restaurant just because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ). While it is illegal to discriminate in employment, housing and public accommodations based race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap or marital status, the LGBTQ community is currently left out of statewide non-discrimination protections.

Now more than ever, we know we need to pass the Florida Competitive Workforce Act (FCWA) which would finally prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ Floridians. This bill will finally ensure that Florida is a safe place to live, work, and play for all people, including those who are LGBTQ.

Although no statewide law yet exists, Equality Florida has been successfully working with our local partners all over the state to ensure LGBT people are protected from discrimination at the local level. Public opinion has been steadily moving in our direction. Polls show that nearly 75% of Floridians support fully inclusive laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.

We have passed more local nondiscrimination laws than any other state in the country and every single one includes gender identity and sexual orientation protections. In fact, those protections now cover 60% of Floridians in the third largest state in the country. Communities enact these protections because they know having a diverse talent pool helps their community to thrive. Having these protections is quickly becoming the standard for cities and counties across Florida.

To put that in perspective, Florida’s local laws cover more people than the combined populations of Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, District of Columbia, Vermont and Wyoming and the territories: Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands.

In addition to cities and counties, businesses have been leading the way in offering LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination protections. In fact, over 75% of Fortune 500 companies protect employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Equality Florida launched Equality Means Business to partner with businesses who know that equality isn’t just the right thing to do, but that it is also good for their business.

We’re still mourning the 49 lives we lost at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Discrimination against LGBTQ people in Florida is not up for debate. And in the aftermath of Pulse, we promised that we would never forget those we lost and that we would always #HonorThemWithAction.

Click here to find more ways you can #HonorThemWithAction.
 

Human Rights Ordinances:

Alachua County (SO/GIE)

City of Atlantic Beach (SO/GIE)

City of Boynton Beach (SO/GIE)

Broward County (SO/GIE)

City of Delray Beach (SO/GIE)

City of Dunedin (SO/GIE)

Duval County (SO/GIE)

City of Fernandina Beach (SO/GIE)

City of Gulfport (SO/GIE)

City of Gainesville (SO/GIE)

City of Greenacres (SO/GIE)

Town of Haverhill (SO/GIE)

Hillsborough County (SO/GIE)

City of Jacksonville (SO/GIE)

City of Key West (SO/GIE)

City of Lake Clarke Shores (SO/GIE)

City Of Lake Worth (SO/GIE)

City of Largo (SO/GIE)

City of Leesburg (SO/GIE)

Leon County (SO/GIE)

City of Mascotte (SO/GIE)

City of Miami (SO/GIE)

City of Miami Beach (SO/GIE)

Miami Dade County (SO/GIE)

Monroe County (SO/GIE)

City of Mount Dora (SO/GIE)

City of North Port (SO/GIE)

City of Oakland Park (SO/GIE)

Orange County (SO, GIE)

City of Orlando (SO/GIE)

Osceola County (SO/GIE)

Palm Beach County (SO/GIE)

Pinellas County (SO/GIE)

City of Sarasota (SO/GIE)

City of St. Augustine (SO/GIE)

City of St. Petersburg (SO/GIE)

City of Tampa (SO/GIE)

City of Tallahassee (SO/GIE)

Village of Tequesta (SO/GIE)

Volusia County (SO/GIE)

City of Venice (SO/GIE)

City of Wellington (SO/GIE)

City of West Palm Beach (SO/GIE)

City of Wilton Manors (SO/GIE)