June 16, 2015
Beginning July 1, 2015, Florida employers with 15 or more employees cannot discriminate on the basis of pregnancy. This prohibition comes after the Florida Supreme Court ruled in 2014 in Delva v. Cont’l Group, Inc., 137 So. 3d 371 (Fla. 2014) that pregnancy discrimination is a form of sex discrimination under Florida employment law. As a result, employers cannot fail or refuse to hire, discharge or otherwise discriminate in compensation or terms, conditions and privileges of employment on the basis of pregnancy. The law does allow employers to take an action based on pregnancy if such action is justified based on a bona fide occupational qualification that is necessary for job performance. The law also allows employers to abide by the terms of bona fide employee benefit plans that measure earnings by production as long as the terms are not designed to evade the pregnancy discrimination laws.
Fla. Stat. 760.10 » Delva v. Cont’l Group, Inc. »