Tallahassee –The repeatedly-introduced Florida Competitive Workforce Act (FCWA) has reached the Civil Justice Subcommittee in the Florida House, but has not yet been placed on any of the upcoming agendas.
FCWA bills were filled in both the Florida House (HB 33) and Senate (SB 156) with the goal of prohibiting discrimination against LGBTs in employment, housing and public accommodations. They were filed in November 2014 after the same bill died in subcommittee the year before. The bill has been introduced in some form since 2007 but has died in committee each session.
Florida Competes, a coalition formed by the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Florida, met in Orlando the last week of January 2015 to discuss the bill and its progression in session. The coalition consists of organizations and businesses that are working together to pass FCWA.
The bill was introduced and sponsored last year by Human Rights Campaign’s Southern Regional Field Director Joe Saunders, who was a former Fla. House Representative. This session Rep. Holly Raschein (R- Key Largo) introduced the bill in the House; she co-sponsored the bill that was introduced by Saunders last legislative session.
