SB 1776 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Employment Rights

Summary

Employment Rights; Revising the definition of the term “independent contractor”; revising the prohibitions against retaliatory personnel action against an employee by his or her employer; providing that an employee may not recover in an action against an employer for a retaliatory personnel action unless the employee can prove certain claims by clear and convincing evidence; requiring, rather than authorizing, a court to award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party for retaliatory personnel actions, etc.

Issues: ✗ Labor & Employment

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 10, 2025 Last action Jun 16, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 1776 Filed → S 1776 c1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill revises Florida's whistleblower protection laws to strengthen protections for employees who report employer misconduct. Key changes include clarifying definitions of 'independent contractor' and 'appropriate governmental agency,' adding requirements for employees to notify supervisors before reporting violations, and establishing clear and convincing evidence standards for retaliation claims. The bill also mandates courts to award attorney fees to prevailing parties and clarifies how existing remedies interact with whistleblower protections.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of whistleblower protections by adding new categories of protected activities and clarifying the relationship between independent contractors and employers. It also modifies the procedural requirements for filing retaliation claims.

DEFINITION

Added definition of 'independent contractor' to clarify that persons who are employers under s. 448.101 cannot be classified as independent contractors under this act.

Expanded definition of 'appropriate governmental agency' to include any agency charged with enforcing laws governing employer activities, policies, or practices.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement that employees must notify supervisors or employers in writing before disclosing violations, giving the employer a reasonable opportunity to correct the issue.

ENFORCEMENT

Changed attorney fees from discretionary to mandatory, requiring courts to award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party in retaliation cases.

Established clear and convincing evidence standard for employees to prove retaliation claims, with burden shifting to employers if they proffer alternative reasons for personnel actions.

ELIGIBILITY

Added provisions clarifying that existing statutory remedies may preclude claims under this act if they are available for the same conduct.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 18, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Commerce and Tourism, 03/17/25, 1:30 pm, 110 Senate Building

upper

Mar 10, 2025

Introduced

upper

Mar 7, 2025

Committee

Referred to Commerce and Tourism; Judiciary; Rules

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors