Florida Workplace Harassment Laws: FCRA, 15 Employees, 365 Days

Florida law reaches workplace harassment through the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, which makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any individual "with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment" because of a protected trait (Fla. Stat. § 760.10(1)(a)). The act has no separate harassment clause, and it applies to employers with 15 or more employees (§ 760.02(7)).

Complaints go to the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) within 365 days of the alleged violation (§ 760.11(1)). For how other states handle these questions, see workplace harassment laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Florida state law on workplace harassment by employers, supervisors and coworkers under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (Fla. Stat. §§ 760.01-760.11), with notes on § 110.1221 (state executive agencies), § 69.081 and the civil stalking injunction in § 784.0485. It does not cover wrongful firing or the full complaint and lawsuit procedure (see Florida wrongful termination), damages estimates, criminal harassment or stalking prosecutions, harassment outside employment, local ordinances, or federal-employee procedure.

Florida harassment rules at a glance

What Florida law prohibits

Part I of Chapter 760 does not use the word harass. The act's employment section makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer:

"(a) To discharge or to fail or refuse to hire any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status." (Fla. Stat. § 760.10(1)(a))

A harassment claim under Florida law rests on the "terms, conditions, or privileges of employment" language. That is the same structure federal Title VII uses, and it matters for the standard discussed below.

Which Florida employers are covered

For purposes of §§ 760.01-760.11, "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, and any agent of such a person" (§ 760.02(7)). "Person" is defined broadly to include individuals, corporations, partnerships, unions, "the state; or any governmental entity or agency" (§ 760.02(6)).

Florida does not carve out a lower threshold for harassment. An employee of a business with fewer than 15 employees falls below the line for a harassment claim under the Florida Civil Rights Act, just as for any other discrimination claim under it. Federal Title VII uses the same figure: it defines an employer as one with fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b)).

Section 760.10(1)(a) protects "any individual" from the listed practices. The act contains no provision that addresses unpaid interns, volunteers or independent contractors by name.

Protected traits under the Florida Civil Rights Act

Section 760.10(1)(a) lists nine traits:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex
• Pregnancy
• National origin, which "includes ancestry" (§ 760.02(5))
• Age
• Handicap
• Marital status

The list does not name sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or military status. Separate Florida statutes outside the act add narrower protections: a person with or perceived as having HIV or AIDS has "every protection made available to handicapped persons" (§ 760.50(2)); a person may not be denied employment, retention in employment, or any promotion or advantage of employment because of an obligation as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces (§ 250.481); and no employer may refuse employment to or discharge a person solely because the person has the sickle-cell trait (§ 448.075). How federal law treats sexual orientation and gender identity in harassment claims is covered on the workplace harassment laws hub.

The legal standard: Florida follows Title VII

Because the act has no harassment clause, it also has no statutory test for when harassing conduct becomes unlawful: there is no "severe or pervasive" text in Part I of Chapter 760 and no departure from that test. The standard comes from case law. In Harper v. Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., 139 F.3d 1385 (11th Cir. 1998), the Eleventh Circuit described Florida law this way:

"The Florida courts have held that decisions construing Title VII are applicable when considering claims under the Florida Civil Rights Act, because the Florida act was patterned after Title VII. ... No Florida court has interpreted the Florida statute to impose substantive liability where Title VII does not."

Harper itself involved a grooming-policy claim, not a hostile work environment. Its point for a harassment question is the method: federal Title VII decisions supply the rules for a claim under the Florida act. The federal hostile-environment test, and how federal courts assign employer responsibility for supervisor and coworker harassment, are explained on the workplace harassment laws hub.

Employer responsibility and the individual harasser

The Florida Civil Rights Act does not set out its own rule for when an employer answers for harassment by a supervisor, a coworker or a customer; under Harper, Title VII decisions fill that gap.

On personal liability, the statute's text does not answer the question in terms. The unlawful practices in § 760.10 are written as practices of "an employer," an employment agency, a labor organization or a joint labor-management committee, and the definition of employer includes "any agent of such a person" (§ 760.02(7)). The act does not say whether that phrase makes an individual supervisor or coworker personally liable.

Retaliation for complaining

Section 760.10(7) makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, an employment agency, a joint labor-management committee or a labor organization "to discriminate against any person because that person has opposed any practice which is an unlawful employment practice under this section, or because that person has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this section." How a firing after a complaint fits with Florida's default employment rule is covered on the Florida at-will employment page.

Deadlines and where to file

The FCHR takes complaints under the act.

• Agency complaint: a person aggrieved by a violation of §§ 760.01-760.10 "may file a complaint with the commission, within 365 days of the alleged violation" (§ 760.11(1)). The FCHR's complaint page states the same 365-day rule.
• Filing with the EEOC instead: "In lieu of filing the complaint with the commission, a complaint under this section may be filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission," and the filing date for the commission's purposes "is the earliest date of filing with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the fair-employment-practice agency, or the commission" (§ 760.11(1)). Under its worksharing agreement with the EEOC's Miami District Office, the FCHR is the fair employment practices agency for Florida employers with 15 or more employees, and each agency is designated as the other's agent for receiving charges.
• Going to court (as amended effective July 1, 2026): "A civil action brought under this section shall be commenced no later than 1 year after the date of determination of reasonable cause by the commission or the issuance of a Notice of Right to Sue by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whichever is earlier." If neither happens "within 180 days after the filing of the complaint, a civil action brought under this section may be commenced no later than 18 months after the filing of the complaint" (§ 760.11(5)). A separate one-year period in § 760.11(8)(c) runs from the date the commission certifies that it mailed the notice described in § 760.11(8)(b).
• If the commission finds no reasonable cause: the commission dismisses the complaint, and the aggrieved person may request an administrative hearing, but the request must be made within 35 days of the determination. "If the aggrieved person does not request an administrative hearing within the 35 days, the claim will be barred" (§ 760.11(7)).
• Federal charge: the EEOC states that its "180 calendar day filing deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis." The EEOC's Miami District Office, which handles most Florida counties, and the EEOC's Mobile Local Office, which handles 12 western Panhandle counties, each list the Florida Commission on Human Relations as a fair employment practices agency (FEPA) in their areas. The EEOC says the 300-day period applies where a state or local anti-discrimination law covers the location of the alleged harm and the basis for the charge, so check the deadline with the EEOC or the FCHR before relying on it.

The current wording of § 760.11(5) comes from chapter 2026-116, Laws of Florida, which took effect July 1, 2026. A person whose complaint was filed before that date can ask the FCHR or a Florida lawyer which version of the deadline applies. The steps between the complaint and a lawsuit are on the Florida wrongful termination page, which also covers the act's remedies and damages limits; the Florida employment discrimination settlement calculator is an estimating tool, not a prediction of any outcome.

Training and written policies

Florida imposes no harassment training or written-policy requirement on private employers in Chapter 760 or Chapter 448 (the state's general labor chapter). The only general employer duty in the Florida Civil Rights Act of this kind is a poster: each employer "shall post and keep posted in conspicuous places upon its premises a notice provided by the commission" (§ 760.10(11)). Section 760.10(8), added in 2022 (ch. 2022-72), concerns the content of training an employer requires, not whether training must be given. Its enforcement is enjoined: in Honeyfund.com Inc. v. Governor (11th Cir. 2024), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed an order preliminarily enjoining the operation of § 760.10(8) on First Amendment grounds, and on July 26, 2024 the federal district court in that case (N.D. Fla. No. 4:22-cv-00227) declared that § 760.10(8) violates free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and permanently enjoined the state defendants, other than the Governor, from implementing, operating, or enforcing it.

State government is different. Section 110.1221 provides:

"It is the policy of the state that sexual harassment is a form of discrimination. The department shall adopt uniform sexual harassment rules applicable to all executive agencies. The rules must define the term 'sexual harassment' in a manner consistent with the federal definition."

That section reaches state executive agencies only, through rules adopted by the Department of Management Services.

NDAs, confidentiality and arbitration

Neither the Florida Civil Rights Act nor Chapter 448 contains a provision limiting nondisclosure or confidentiality terms in private harassment settlements or employment agreements. Florida's Sunshine in Litigation Act voids concealment terms in a narrower setting: "Any portion of an agreement or contract which has the purpose or effect of concealing information relating to the settlement or resolution of any claim or action against the state, its agencies, or subdivisions or against any municipality or constitutionally created body or commission is void, contrary to public policy, and may not be enforced" (§ 69.081(8)(a)). That rule reaches settlements with public bodies, not with private employers.

Federal law adds limits for sexual harassment disputes: the Speak Out Act makes nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses agreed to before a sexual harassment dispute arises judicially unenforceable where the conduct is alleged to violate federal, tribal or state law, and the Ending Forced Arbitration Act lets the person alleging sexual harassment elect court over a predispute arbitration agreement; both are explained on the workplace harassment laws hub.

Is workplace bullying illegal in Florida?

The Florida Civil Rights Act reaches discrimination because of the nine traits it lists. Chapters 760 and 448 contain no provision on general workplace bullying, such as hostility toward an employee for reasons unrelated to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap or marital status.

Stalking injunctions

Harassing conduct that follows a person can also fall under Florida's civil stalking injunction, which is not limited to the workplace. As used in the stalking statute, § 784.048, "harass" means "to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person which causes substantial emotional distress to that person and serves no legitimate purpose" (§ 784.048(1)(a)), and "a person who is the victim of stalking" has standing in circuit court to file a verified petition for an injunction for protection against stalking (§ 784.0485(1)(a)). Criminal stalking itself is outside the scope of this page.

Documenting harassment and workplace monitoring

Florida's rules on recording a conversation at work, including a conversation with a harasser, are on the Florida workplace recording laws page. Employer monitoring of email, devices and workspaces is covered on the Florida employee monitoring laws page.

Recent changes to Florida harassment law

• 2022: chapter 2022-72 added § 760.10(8), on the content of required training; a federal court permanently enjoined its enforcement in 2024 (Honeyfund.com Inc. v. DeSantis, N.D. Fla. July 26, 2024, after the 11th Cir. affirmed a preliminary injunction).
• 2026: chapter 2026-116 (CS/HB 1407, approved by the Governor May 22, 2026) rewrote the civil-action deadlines in § 760.11(5), effective July 1, 2026. It left the 365-day complaint deadline in § 760.11(1) unchanged.

Related pages

• Workplace harassment laws by state
• Florida wrongful termination
• Florida at-will employment laws
• Florida employee monitoring laws
• Florida workplace recording laws

This article provides general legal information about Florida workplace harassment law under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 and related Florida statutes as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Florida or the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is workplace harassment illegal in Florida?

The Florida Civil Rights Act has no separate harassment clause. Section 760.10(1)(a) makes it an unlawful employment practice for a covered employer to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap or marital status, and harassment claims rest on that language.

How many employees does an employer need for Florida harassment law to apply?

Fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (Fla. Stat. § 760.02(7)). The act uses the same threshold for harassment and for other discrimination claims.

How long do you have to file a harassment complaint in Florida?

A complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations is due within 365 days of the alleged violation (§ 760.11(1)). A complaint filed with the EEOC may be filed in lieu of one with the commission, and the earliest filing date counts.

What counts as a hostile work environment in Florida?

The Florida Civil Rights Act does not define a hostile work environment or set a standard of its own. Decisions construing federal Title VII apply to claims under the act (Harper v. Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., 11th Cir. 1998), so the federal test explained on the workplace harassment laws hub is the reference point.

Is sexual orientation a protected class under Florida's employment law?

The list in Fla. Stat. § 760.10(1)(a) is race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, handicap and marital status; it does not name sexual orientation or gender identity. Separate statutes cover HIV or AIDS (§ 760.50), reserve military obligations (§ 250.481) and the sickle-cell trait (§ 448.075). How federal law treats those traits is covered on the workplace harassment laws hub.

Does Florida require sexual harassment training?

Chapter 760 and Chapter 448 impose no harassment training or written-policy requirement on private employers. The act's only general employer duty of this kind is the § 760.10(11) workplace poster, and § 110.1221 requires sexual harassment rules only for state executive agencies.

Is it illegal to retaliate against an employee for reporting harassment in Florida?

Section 760.10(7) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against any person because that person opposed an unlawful employment practice or made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the section.

Is workplace bullying illegal in Florida?

The Florida Civil Rights Act reaches discrimination because of the traits it lists. Chapters 760 and 448 contain no provision on general workplace bullying that is not tied to one of those traits.