Gender identity could come under further fire in state workplaces as local lawmakers advance a bill to mandate state employers not to punish employees who deliberately misgender others and allow employees to express traditional or "biblical" beliefs around sexual and gender identity inside the workplace.
The Freedom of Conscience in the Workplace Act, filed in the Florida House of Representatives as HB1495 and in the Florida Senate as SB440 , would do several things, including:
- Ban state employers (state, local governments, school districts, police and fire, etc.) from requiring employees refer to others using preferred pronouns.
- Ban employers from asking about any other genders but male or female on job applications.
- Requires employers to allow the expression of "deeply held religious, moral, conscience-based, or biology-based beliefs, including a belief in traditional or Biblical views of sexuality and marriage, or the employee's or contractor's disagreement with gender ideology" in or outside of the workplace.
Rep. Rachel Plakon (R-Seminole County) proposed the legislation after she said she heard of an employee of a local county government who expressed such beliefs online, was required to attend a diversity training but didn't go and got fired.
"It's our intention that people will still be able to exercise their freedom of speech," Plakon said in an emailed statement to WESH 2. "If they want to identify with certain gender identities and pronouns, they still can under this bill; however, as a condition of employment, training, instruction, or other activity related to gender identity will not be required."
The companion Senate legislation was filed by Ocala Sen. Stan McClain.
The bill is the latest in a sweeping set of bills filed by Republican Florida state legislators over recent years targeting trans Floridians.
"If it passes, you can almost guarantee there will be a lawsuit that will be filed or multiple lawsuits that will be filed to challenge it," said UCF political science professor Aubrey Jewett. "The federal courts act as the umpires to decide what's allowed and what's not allowed, sort of on a case by case basis."
Meanwhile, activists have geared up to fight this and a number of other proposals this legislative session.
"It encourages discrimination in the workplace, and oftentimes that already kind of happens," said Fidel Gomez, Jr., a trans/non-binary Orlando-area activist. "With the language they're using in this bill, it's very specific to it's kind of allowed for the discrimination to happen."
Gomez said the legislation would discourage both potential trans/non-binary job applicants but also current trans/non-binary state employees.
"There are tons of people that do work in these facilities that maybe might not be out about their identity," Gomez said.
Plakon's bill was referred to the Government Operations Subcommittee.
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